DAY 66 OF UNEMPLOYMENT ARCHITECTURE can often be very stressful: constant deadlines; projects in the red, and my favorite: OFFICE POLITICS. It may be 3 months since Ive had a regular pay check, but I will tell you despite money anxieties, my life is whole lot less stressful. In an office setting, one is always worried that one has to toe the line, or your ass is grass. Now the only person that Im concerned whether I am 15 minutes late coming back from lunch is myself. So many rules! Oi Vey! I remember in college being told that as an architect I would never be rich - that prediction certainly was 100% accurate, but had I been told that there would be so many rules, maybe I might have switched to something less stressful, like Law School. A few years ago, Outback Restaurant came out with the slogan :No rules, just right. I dont know what that really means in a restaurant chain that has a limited selection that rarely changes, but us Americans like those sassy Aussies who just dont seem to give a damn. One of my biggest OP stress points was signing out. If we were not at our desk for more than 15 minutes we had to put in on the Calendar. So I would prepare all week for a big presentation, work late nights, have a great deliverable, feel good about my chances, and then get an emergency phone call from the office: Gary, no one knows where you are, you did not put in on the Calendar. I would protest that yes, I forgot to put it on the Calendar, but half the office knows where I am. And then I would hear it: Gary, our rule is . . . I know the god damn rule, but what does it matter in the big scheme of things. If Im not at my desk, then by golly, Im not in. What does it matter where I am? Take a message or put them in voice mail, or have them call me on my cell, text me, send me an email, I mean, damn, Im only an Ipad away. If I got a call for someone at the office, I would call them on their extension, and if they didnt answer, Id go look for them, and if in less than a minute, I could not find them, Id pick up the phone, and say Im sorry, so and so is not here right now, Is there somebody else that can help you? There was one woman in the office who seemed to live for the times someone left the coffee burner on. And even though there is no chance that anything bad could ever happen (I checked with UL) except for the smell of burnt coffee, the entire office would get the coffee burner lecture. Or someone left the light over their desk on. Rules. You would think in a profession that is based in large part on Codes, we could just once in awhile take a deep breath, turn the light off, and not say a damn thing other than Good morning, how was your weekend?
Posted on: Mon, 31 Mar 2014 10:46:50 +0000
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