| who's up for a game of harry? 06.04.03 |
| Random fact: before the year 1200, the pronoun �she� was not even in existence. The word �heo� (he+o) was used (pronounced �hay-o�). In the year 2001, the American Dialect Society named �she� was the Word of the Millennium. Power to anything chick related! I�ve spent my whole morning here at work doing pretty much anything BUT work-related activities. No, that�s not exactly true. After about 45 minutes of filing away old issues of industry-related magazines, the three new assistant editors (aka Charlie�s Angels) sat around the �library� area, reading through issues of Copy Editor, discussing words, analyzing the Harry Potter series, and again, talking about how little work we had to do and how hungry we were. One of them, C., was talking about how content she is to have a red pen in hand and copy to mark up (preferably a really horrible one). No matter how nerdy it sounds, I totally agree�and that�s something that I have a hard time relating to other people. No one really gets it because, to others, it�s not a big deal. Who cares whether anyone is consistent when using % or percent? Who cares if you always use one or two spaces after a period? Who cares whether a person�s title is capitalized in one instance and not in another? I do! We talk about attending copy editor conferences and wanting to do that full-time. We talk about reading books on grammar and style�for fun. We talk about how we love to get the new, updated versions of the AP style guide. We snicker over proofreading/word-related cartoons. Nerd alert! Nerd alert! Before I started this job, I was kind of dreading it. What would it be like? Would I find it interesting? But now that I�m back in it, I�m enjoying it a lot. Sure, the topic still bores me, and I find it a huge challenge to even get through a complete issue of the mag, but I still choose to be here. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to reverse the situation and go to Shape�but with the chance presented to me, I realized just how content I am here, for the time being. I have a great set of co-workers and I could enjoy the work once I get more of it. I admit. I like coming to work. I don�t dread it. I dread waking up early and sleeping early, but once I�m here, it�s not bad at all. I look forward to our lunchtime games of Harry (as in Potter, our version of Horse) at the b-ball hoop outside; I look forward to out coffee breaks to play with the high-tech coffee machines; I look forward to our quick, dorky e-mail exchanges; and, oh yes, we can�t forget how much I look forward to learning more about the new pre-filled syringes out on the market or the recent FDA-proposed bar coding requirement. Who knew work could be so fun? |
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