Today I began my journey into state agency contractorship. So far, so good. I do not, in fact, have to sit in a cube, which is nice. The place is, however, a cube farm. So much so that I feel I will get lost in the cube maze for months. S. told me today that you get a bonus if you find the piece of cheese.
It is amazing that anyone thinks surrounding living, breathing, once-upon-a-time creative people with gray felt walls, keeping them from natural light and air, making everything look the same and everything look like someone else ow's it, which, just in case you forget, they do, is a good idea. How can that possibly foster productivity or investment in one's work? Posters of cats hanging from their claws captioned "Is It Friday Yet?" and "Hang in There!" do not make thing better. They do not negate the monotony--they are part of it. They may as well say, "You are a cog in a machine. No one cares about you. You can and will be replaced." At least then there would be less space for that damn cat.
So far my impressions from being there all day are in keeping with my impressions from being there a few hours a week--most of most people's time is spent navigating procedure and wading through red tape. The contractors seem more on-task than the regular employees, but given the pay differential, that's not really surprising. Nobody seems to be in love with her work.
I don't mean to sound down about it--I'm not. I am actually excited about it. I am just amazed that people can be happy in that kind of environment long term. I mean, for a year or two, keeping your sense of humour, sure. But full-time forever? I have enough trouble getting up in the morning now...
I think the interaction between the agency folks and the contractor folks will be interesting to watch. I think the whole state agency budget and appropriations process is fascinating. And honestly, I think I'll enjoy the work. It's a lot of details, the kind of nit-picky stuff that most people find horribly frustrating and from which I derive sick pleasure. It's probably a good fit.
And if not, at least it gives me something to blog about.