You’re Expected To Be Excited Even When Bored
I’m serious.
Well, my now-ex-internship people were. I was bored. I admit, bored to tears. It was my task to awaken and get ready in time for an 8 am start to be bored for the next 8 hours. Not only did I get to be bored for an 8 hour chunk of time, but I got to start really early, too!
Gah. It wasn’t the population (old folks are cool) but the work itself was…nonexistant. I walk in. We all say good morning. I get teased because I’m not awake yet (my brain doesn’t even think about turning on till about 10 am). I didn’t have a desk. Dammit, I didn’t even have a CHAIR of my own. I’d then do nothing until the staff meeting 30 minutes later. There’d be staff meeting. I’d sit there and look…well, not pretty that early in the morning. Everyone went around the table giving a short summary of what they’d be doing for the day.
I got skipped over.
Every. Single. Day.
Probably because I did nothing. Anyway, we’d go back to the office. I’d find a chair I’d staked out as my own (alas for me the mornings I walked in and found stuff piled up on it). The supervisors would remember that I was there that day and try and figure out something I could do for them.
One idea was to have me read through all the charts on the first floor to find out which ones needed social histories. Cool. I go and read the charts. I make my list. Check it twice. Wander back to the office. Present the list.
“You’re done already?”
It’d taken me an hour.
“Um, yeah.”
“That fast?”
“Um, I read fast.”
Apparently that task was supposed to take an entire day. Crud. Anyway, it went on like that. In the meantime, I got smacked with The Actual Flu and then My First Sinus Infection. Those bastards HURT. I met with my advisor. Advisor agreed that it was too easy for me. Said I shouldn’t be bored. Site visit scheduled.
Well, I’m an idiot and missed the site visit. My advisor told me later that day over the phone that they had complained that I wasn’t excited enough.
Excited enough? To do NOTHING all day?
Obviously, I’m getting another internship. But, damn. I need to stop getting bored so easily. It’s really getting to be a problem and I think it makes me an asshole.

November 5th, 2004 at 3:26 pm
dude, it doesnt make you an asshole, it merely makes you a challenge to entertain. I seem to do a good job of it, that HAS to count for something.
November 5th, 2004 at 5:02 pm
I’m sitting here at work with nothing to do except hit a button in an hour. Nearly two hours after that, I get to push a button AGAIN. And repeat.
‘course, getting $9 an hour to do that isn’t really worthy of complaints…