Cube Stakes

I've been temping for the publishing behooeymoth Houghton Mifflin for 4 days and they finally found some work for me to do. In honor of my newfound sense of purpose, let me share a few notes from my cube, the observations of a temp:

1. I liked it when the electric pencil sharpener kept trying to sharpen after the pencil was gone. A lady started freaking out.
2. I didn't like it when I had to keep borrowing someone else's ID card to use the bathroom on my first day. It was like a hall pass. Bethany's joke: "Didn't you just go an hour ago?"
3. I liked eating my lunch in the Boston Public Garden, watching the swan boats and the flowers and the people in love. I saw a little Russian girl feed bread to an ambitious squirrel, who took the food out of her hands while she squealed with delight.
4. I didn't like it when my "boss" took me around the office and introduced me to each person by saying, "This is Jesse. He's a temp, but the real temp will replace him next week." As you may imagine, this winning intro led to seductive winks from the ladies and high-fives from the dudes.
5. I liked it when Beth met me for lunch on Wednesday and Edda met me for lunch today. It gave me the sense of identity I lack here.
6. I didn't like coming back to work after my 2-hour breaks, only to find no one noticed my absence. It's like I'm not a real person. I think if the lunatic pencil sharpener sharpened me into a nubbin, they'd call maintenance to clean up my guts and get back to work. In the breakroom-
   Maureen: Did you hear? The temp got sharpened.
   Shelley: Are those new shoes?
7. I liked it this afternoon when a little baby was inexplicably crawling around the floor of the office, trying to pull apart the cubicle walls. It was like a little flower growing up through the cracks of a parking lot.
8. I didn't like my paper cut.