Ode to coworkers

Inspiration is a ridiculous thing to even attempt to discuss. It works in ways so convoluted and odd that it doesn't seem appropriate to announce inspiration when it does strike, as it is often the case that the person struck is the only one who sees the connection between the inspiring object, and whatever was produced by said inspiration. (Can you tell I work for lawyers now?) What I'm trying to say is that I feel like a dork when I start to write things like "I'm inspired by the colors outside today." The expression of inspired-ness often turns into a cliche because there are few ways to express the value of being inspired.

That being said, inspiration is a fact of daily life. There are triggers which inspire us to create physical objects, form ideas, start relationships, strike up conversations, and make humorous remarks. The crazy thing is that these triggers are everywhere, and often lying around unlooked-for in places buried under uninspiring and mundane facades.

To put something concrete to these ramblings, one of the things that inspires me lately is my coworkers at my retail job. (I have two jobs--one in customer service at a clothing store, one at a law office as a typist/intern.) Don't get me wrong--my coworkers often drive me crazy. In an environment in which the tone of your entire day's interactions is often set by the moods of everyone around you, it is hard not to get caught up in useless irritation sometimes. But the fact of the matter is, I am often in awe of them.

Being a writer, I am nosy as all hell. (This may seem like a non sequitur. It's not. You're welcome for the clarification.) I also tend to think I am very clever. (I am.) Through those two traits, I have cobbled together the basic pictures (some more detailed than others) of each of my colleagues' various insecurities, ambitions, histories, and daily lives. Creepy statement. But relevant, I promise.

Not wanting to be all that specific for fear of overstepping my bounds (or getting even creepier), here is what I have to say:

Working together, you can learn a lot about people. Their issues. Their tics. Their weird fantasies. Their obsessions. The things they think make them look good. The things they think make them ugly. The things YOU think make them look good or ugly. You wonder how much they've figured out about you. You wonder if they know stuff about you that you haven't figured out yet, like you're pretty sure you do about some of them. (SO MANY PRONOUNS.) You work toward a common goal but you learn about everyone's personal goals. You figure out what they do in their outside lives that affects their attitudes in the workplace. (Ew, "attitudes in the workplace"...I sound like an employee handbook. Enough of that.)

You sympathize, commiserate, and share cookies, pizza and bagels. And at the end of the day, you realize that you spend half of your life with people who are something like family, something like friends, and something like inmates. (Okay, I had to infer that last one. I haven't actually been in prison. Well, I was in one once. It was for a tour senior year of high school.)

The point is, when you work with people and pay attention you inevitably learn a bunch of crap about them.
 
And sometimes the things you learn can teach you about respect. About boundaries. About having kids. About being strong. About owning up to your bullshit. About not apologizing for the person you are and the way you choose to live, because hell, that's who you are. Sometimes the things you learn can keep you up until 11:11 (MAKE A WISH) thinking about how much you've changed for the better (and definitely for the thicker-skinned) since you descended into the scummy pit of doom that is customer relations. (It's getting late. I'm getting moody. Abort! Abort!)

Anyway, I've decided that I'm pretty lucky. I've found a place where I can be a total smart-ass and get away with it, in company with others highly skilled in the arts of smart-assery. (It's a thing. Look it up.) And I also get to be totally nosy, eat free pizza, and feel like I'm at least learning a bit about human nature (capitalism, greed, the rich, the poor, the identification of self with personal style...oh, it goes on. I think a lot.). Okay, I'm losing focus here. I just wanted to pay homage to these humans with whom I spend 20-30 hours per week in the best way I know how--rambling on paper (okay, a screen, but you get the idea). Even if none of them ever reads this (Please, God, don't let any of them ever read this. They'll think I like them or something.) I want to admit that I admire them for just showing up every day and trying really hard to do whatever they have to do to stay awesome, whatever their definition of awesome is.

I know that's a really vague description in a lot of ways, but there will be a lot more details about all of them when they show up as random fictional characters in my future novels. 

So, coworker-creatures. If you're actually reading this, stay awesome. And thanks.