the happy mania

First: I have some good news with old work, but don't want to jinx it just yet. I'll be hearing more from them next week.

ETA: WTF? My paycheck didn't go through this week either! New Boss will call the fuckers on Monday, but wanted to cut me a check. Knowing how he was already pissed about previous accounting and not wanting to hear about the further mess for the whole of June, I declined. Will get full amount via personal check next week, minus taxes and such.

Second: A nostalgic BBC News article on typewriters, Why Typewriters Beat Computers. My family was definitely late to the game - our first computer (second-hand and made up of pirated parts) in 1998, and internet connection in the next year. Life before computer (BC) was spent on various dingy typewriters.

I have fond memories of banging out nonsensical stories on a badgered typewriter dating from the 1950s. This belonged to my grandfather, a man who rarely said anything, least of all why he kept the rickety thing around. Such an office equipment must have cost plenty in that era, but I didn't know that from the constant shredding of the ribbon, and the jammed e's. What I did know was the enjoyment of seeing my words appear in print, just like the newspapers. I typed gossip, often having to return and tippex the names of the accused when Mum complained. I recorded the words of my grandmother when she went on a lecture, handing the results to her so I could answer the timeless question 'What did I say, then?' When I had the brilliant idea of operating a restaurant at home, I tapped out the menu on a sheet of yellow paper and taped it to the paperboard of a Barbie doll package. The typewriter represented the various possibilities a girl like me could become.

Electronic typewriters sucked. Instead of seeing the printed words, you'd have to squint at a tiny screen to make out the pixelated characters. And the sounds it made! Completely alien to the soothing tap tap tapping of its manual forebearer. According to office equipment company Brother, around 12,000 electronic typewriters were sold in the UK last year. Mostly to OAPS, but sometimes to students who do not need the complicated applications of a computer.

I still have the jones for a typewriter of my own. There's this recurrent fantasy where I stumble across a boot sale or a charity event and find one, probably a little rusty, with rounded keys, and a black frame that only needs a little polish to gleam once more. I grab a piece of paper and slip it in behind the protesting rollers and type 'Hello Typewriter'. And my heart skips a beat when I see the inky definiteness come into view.

I like shopping just fine, but X Almighty... I do not want to repeat today's experience, EVER. Going through as many shops as it takes to snag a bargain may be a fantastic sport for some, but it just makes me grumpy. And because it's going into the hotter part of Spring, the long-sleeved dress shirts were nowhere to be seen. Instead, the fancier stores as selling ones with the puffy sleeves, with elastic bands in the cuffs. Since I have skinny arms, the shirts make me look as if I'm dressing up as Snow White for Halloween.

In the end I gave up, bought a fancy (and pricey) blazer so I could get away with wearing something more casual underneath. Surely I won't be turned away from the job expo for that piece of comfort. Bloody job hunt.

By the way, I wonder how long I should wait before deciding to move on from the job I've applied to. If someone from the hiring department doesn't respond in say, 10 days, it's pretty much over? If it sounds like it's obvious, I have to admit this will be the first time since graduating university I've applied to a job not through personal contacts. This is all very new to me.

Well, I guess I shall have to make do with catching up with the current financial news. This is the sort of thing I used to keep track of at my last job. Doesn't the dry prose make you want to fall asleep? Heehee. Once you read it in the context of millions and billions of dollars, believe me, it gets much more exciting.

The Times also has this lovely piece on what NOT to do on your first day of work. I'm guilty of this:

Eager beavers. Relax. “No one's going to expect you to perform miracles on your first day,” Maynard says. “Don't put too much pressure on yourself. It takes three months to get your head around a new company.” Miller advises letting things happen to you, rather than being desperate to show initiative, which can put your new colleagues' backs up.

The last one especially got a lot of my former co-workers thinking I was a suck-up. I can't help it! I get really excited and curious about everything in a new job. It's after the three months that I no longer care to ask any questions. Not that it's because I know everything, it's just at the point my supervisor will begin to avoid me and my questions :P