Sunday, February 10, 2008 Gil: First day changes By Sandy Gil Sunday Dunes
WHEN my entire clan left Davao last January second after four days and three nights of holiday revelry, and I was left alone to decompress and sort life out in my head, the shift was extremely agonizing and excruciating.
For the past days, I had been events organizer, mathematician, yogi, tour guide, form-filler, wino, lifeguard and convention coordinator -- all rolled into one! Then, I was expected to be at work and act as division head immediately the following day! Is that really possible?
No fair, I murmured to myself. But as always, I will take things one day at a time. I drank enough red wine to lull me into deep and dreamless slumber.
***
The next day, my alarm clock woke me to a sunny morning, with birds chirping. I am division head today, I reminded myself as I turned on my coffee brewer. I picked up my mobile phone to ask two colleagues if work really started that morning. I was informed that work had officially started the day before. Oh dear.
Both colleagues however were not reporting for work. One had a bad case of cough and fever. The other had just flown in from Manila late the night before.
I inquired if it was okay for me not to report either that day. They replied with smiley faces.
And as division head, the first thing I did was not to report for work on that day! Ha!
***
But then alas, on the first Friday of January -- January 4 -- I had no longer much choice but to report for work. And one of the saddest things I had to do was to transfer all my belongings -- books, documents, office supplies, and so on -- from the staff room to the office of the division head.
I had spent such great, hilarious and relaxing times at the staff room which I shared with some fifteen other crazy and wild staff members. We had exchanged what we believed were brilliant ideas in that room. We planned to conquer the world in that room. We had convinced ourselves that we were all geniuses in that room. And now I was leaving them all. I was going to be their division head -- and my office was way down the corridor -- far from them.
Sigh. And all I could leave behind was my empty table.
***
And so, with deep sadness, I moved into my new room -- the office of the division head. And as in all bureaucratic offices, the desk of the head was located far, far beyond the office's front door. There were many obstacles (secretarial and administrative staff as well as desks) to hurdle to get to my new office. It was as if no one was allowed to talk, relate and mingle with me. At first I wondered whether I had a communicable disease... or maybe bad breath.... worse yet, bad odor. Then it occurred to me that the saner feeling was that I felt totally isolated.
How the heck does a division head operate an office division if he or she is cut off from the rest of the world? I made a mental note to remove the wall that threatened to separate me from humanity.
***
Funny that wall between me and my staff! It of course had a door. And one of the first things the office assistant did was to give me the key to the door. I thought that the very existence of a key to my door was absolutely preposterous -- for there was this huge gap between the ceiling and the wall. It would be effortless for anyone to climb over the wall.
In fact, that wall was so brainless since it did not allow the air conditioning from the staff area to enter my office. So my office had an electric fan that went with it. Duh?
I was told that the wall served to provide the division head some privacy. Privacy from what? Bad enough that I live alone in my house; I refuse to work alone in an office... lest I begin to talk to myself along the office corridors! Not a good sign at all!
***
This weekend, I was told that carpenters had been hired to remove the wall. I look forward to buying moveable dividers for the office. Gosh. Is this what being division head is all about, I wonder?
