What I Do At Work

I'm writing this from my work laptop.
I think that might mean that the company owns the text of this post.

But I have a work laptop. I have a cubicle and an email address and an extension that people can call.

People keep asking me what I do at work. I figured it was time for me to answer everyone at once.

Title: Food Services Assistant/Temporary Administrative Support/Kitchen Girl

Department: IT: Office Services

Desk Location: Somewhere between the mailroom and Policy Issue

I work Monday-Friday, 8-4:30. I was hired on a temporary basis while they work to approve a more permanent position. There's some shuffling going on, and an assistant was needed right away. I'll probably be here until the end of the year.

I spend most of my day on my feet. I sit down and check my email and The Hub (the company intranet) when I get to the office in the morning. I drop my big bag containing my glasses, Bible, journal, and various pens and pads of sticky notes. My small purse comes with me to the kitchen area.

At 8:00, or a little after, I head down to my actual work space. I unlock the pantry if I'm the first one there. I set down my purse in my little cubby hole, plug in my headphones, find a podcast I want to listen to (TED talks, TED Radio Hour, StoryCorps, and Here's The Thing are the current subscriptions), and start the day.

My first task is usually making sure the breads are stocked. We have six different kinds of bagels, four kinds of sliced bread, plus English muffins, buns, and SandwichThins. I also stock the butter, peanut butter, and cream cheese.
I then move to the packaged breakfast items (donuts, muffins, oatmeal).
Then come the shelves of snacks. We have granola bars, candy bars, Little Debbie snacks, a rolling rack of bagged chips, and individually wrapped Dove bites. Among other items.
We have canned fruits and vegetables, frozen meals, drinks, cereal, cheese, stuff to make sandwiches (breakfast, burgers, and deli). If your diet is "typical American," we have something for you. If you're looking for something a little more exotic, I apologize. We stock what gets eaten.

We spend the first hour making sure everything is stocked.
Then we start getting everything ready for the salad bar. A few things need to be chopped. We take the items out of Ziploc containers and put them into black food service containers.

We set up, keep it stocked, eat lunch, break it down, and spend the afternoon stocking and doing dishes and cleaning.

I drink coffee and water through the day. I sit down when I can. I take breaks sometimes.

At 4:30, I'm officially done and head back to my desk to check email and The Hub and Facebook and my personal email before heading home.

I'm sitting at my desk at the end of the first day of Agent School week. Agents come from all over the country to watch presentations, take classes, and make sure they're up-to-date on various issues relating to insurance.

I helped today by cutting veggies for their break and helping set up lunch. I'll spend my week doing whatever I can to make it easier for those who are in charge of organizing the week.

I also helped decorate the top of the salad bar for the season.

I've put leftover wedding flowers in vases to put on the tables in the eating area.

I'm helping to plan the Thanksgiving luncheon.

I'm accommodating employees' needs as well as I can and with as much cheer and joy and grace as is possible. It's not difficult.

This is behind-the-scenes work. I'm not and obvious part of the operations of the business. We stay in the kitchen area and make sure we do good work. It's rarely boring, even if it can be mundane. My feet often start hurting around 2:00. My hands will dry out as the weather changes. I rarely wear my glasses to work, because I have blasts of steam in my face about fifty times a day. My hair responds to those blasts of steam, so I try to keep it managed.

I stick to a business casual to business professional dress code, as well as I can to be comfortable. My shoes have memory foam insoles, but they're cute flats. My nail polish doesn't survive very long.

I read Blue Like Jazz during my lunch break sometimes. I listen to scientists and entertainers and writers talk about their passions.

I'm a food service employee, a florist, a decorator, an event planner, and a stock boy.

I like my job. It might not be what I thought I'd be doing or what I want to be doing for the rest of my working life. But that could change. It's where I am. I work at an excellent company with incredible people. I will make the most of this time.

That's what I do at work.