Big Girl Job
For me a BGJ was a big step in independence and financial security and helped me maintain this illusion that I had my life together. Technically I work as a receptionist, but I always call it office administration. Calling myself a receptionist makes me feel like I should be blonde (in all meanings of the word), have huge boobs, and run around in little heels. Anyways, I have no desire to be affiliated with any of those things. As my legit job title is office administration, I will stick with that despite the excess explaining required and that it is rather long to say.
A Big Girl Job is the official scientific term for a job that is long term, has a salary, benefits, and no longer puts you in the category of student, summer hire, or university hire. Now it does not have to have all these qualifications but I would say that the category of employee and potential length of employment does play a key role.
On the daily I mange the till, mail, invoices, stock and order office supplies, general office tasks, assist the general managers and store manger, and whatever other odds and ends come my way. I also answer the phone, greet customers, and solve the smaller tech problems. Occasionally I organise events that range in between store BBQs or large promotional events. I love this aspect of the job, but I really I love my whole job so much.
I think the people I work with are just so lovely. There's only two other girls and all the other 40 employees are male. But everyone has something that I like about them or that I relate to them with. Granted a few of them I don't like at all, but there's only a few like that and even these people have very interesting things about them.
Fun Facts about My Coworkers
K
K is a ginger. He shaved his beard once and he looked so bad clean shaven that I almost told him. Thankfully his beard has grown back and I can talk to him again. Kevin is divorced and really hates his ex-wife. She hasn't let him see his kids in three years, but from what I've heard around the office there's fault on both sides. Poor K has been cheated on more than a few times. Now he keeps himself very busy at work and in his free time as a radio host, sports announcer, president of the Lions Club, and fund-raises. K rented out part of his house earlier this year. The lady who rented it ended up falling in love with him and now they are dating. I wonder if she still pays rent or not? If not, is this just a ploy for free housing?
D
D is very sarcastic and always has a comment. He does try to be funny but only succeeds half the time. He is very bald and if I hadn't been told about his wife I'd guess he was gay based on his voice and some of his mannerisms. I used to think David was great. He makes a lot of the same mistakes weekly that make my life more difficult. He also seems to have quite the temper (if one can judge this based on what someone says under their breath when they're frustrated). He is still a nice guy and does know how to his job, which everyone appreciates.
S
S is very much a go-getter and can definitely stand on business. She pulled a Kim K and was married for one year back in 2019 and now has three chinchilla's and I'm pretty sure a few cats too. She used to work at the bank and honestly knows a lot and can do pretty much my whole job. She states that she doesn't buy expensive things, rarely buys anything, and likes to think for a long time about her more expensive purchases. Over the past 5 months she's bought an automated window AC that can communicate with your phone, an electric vacuum cleaner (she didn't like her other one), a new cage for her chinchilla's, an push lawnmower, a gym membership, and has really gotten into collagen, protein powders, and vitamins.
D
D (different guy) is a bachelor that is really your average guy. He likes to look at soft porn on Instagram and the like while he does the deliveries. He also pays for a girlfriend who lives across the country. They meet up every 6 weeks or so and he takes her on trips and pays for her and her daughter to go to concerts. He has a tattoo on his forearm that says "never give up" in a medieval type font. I'm not sure if he is happy or not.
L
L has been married three times and now has written off marriage completely. She is the nicest person you will ever meet, is extremely intelligent, witty, and buys a muffin from Tim Hortons almost every morning. She is about to buy a new car, and has been for the entirety of the time that I've known her. She has the most gorgeous blonde hair and washes it every single day. She recently has started to get her nails done and gets the cutest floral designs.
J
J is missing a front tooth, has a great beard, and a Santa type build. Jeff is honestly fantastic. He is a little awkward but very nice and makes the most low key jokes. He's nothing crazy special, but everyone likes J and since he laughs at everyone's jokes we all laugh at his. J is a little shy, kinda quiet, and really grows on you. J says the coffee here upsets his stomach and doesn't touch it anymore, but every day J drinks at least two hot chocolate packets. He has even more in the winter.
T
T is a very round man with a big beard, who's always in a good mood. He comes and chats with me every day about his weekend, his grand-kids, and the weather. He's Christian and we talk about that occasionally too. T's middle daughter has the same name as me, so I think that's maybe why he's taken a liking to me. T rides this tiny motorcycle to work every day. Because he's so big, he looks hilarious riding it. I swear I'm going to hell. T is divorced, and I think he wanted to get his wife back for the longest time. Recently tho he's been online dating a little. He was basically glowing when he told me that over the weekend he started chatting with this lovely little lady from Ohio on whats-app. He's probably going to get scammed or cat fished one day.
D
D (another different D) used to flirt with me all the time. He's your classic big country guy. He drives a truck so big that you know half his paycheck goes to paying it off and the other half goes to gas to fuel it. Turns out, D has a longtime girlfriend who just graduated high school. I could've sworn he was in his early 20's but who knows. D dyes his moustache because it doesn't come in dark enough to see, but now it's just a little too dark and I have a little personal giggle every time I look at him. Once a week, D pulls in late. He also talks like he is the funniest guy and is used to everyone laughing.
K
I swear K is lightly miserable, but he's also just the funniest guy and everyone likes him. He's kinda old, kinda scrawny, and kinda short. K is still with his wife (it costs too much to leave her) and absolutely hates her. The first conversation I ever had with him was him telling me to be smart and to not, for any reason, get married. Since then he's given me this advice probably a dozen times. K is also a farmer, and probably should put more time into that than he does. K jokes around a lot, but at the end of the day he's pretty smart and a decent guy.
J
J (different J) is so old I swear he needs to retire already. He's so particular. He has a mini microwave and kettle in his office because there's no way you would catch him dead using the communal ones. When I first got here he tried to sell me his Jeep that was $45,000. Like do I look like that's in my new vehicle budget? I think he's so rich that he has no concept of money anymore. One time I ordered the wrong cup size and he personally reefed me out because, "they're too small, they don't fit the lids," and that I'm actually a total failure. Well he didn't quite say that but he might as well have. Jerry was happily married with kids but a few decades ago him and his wife had a pretty regular babysitter for their kids. He ended up sleeping with said babysitter, marrying her instead, and they're still together to this day. He also has a fruit basket in his office that is full of fruit that he has not eaten once in the 6 months that I've been here. I swear he just switches them out as they go bad. J leaves every day at exactly 3:58 and calls in every single Friday.
D
D is a little frustrating because I know nothing about him, which as you can tell is a bit of a feat. He keeps his personal life, personal. I could never do that. He takes every Thursday off for some mysterious reason and looks exactly like his name in the most amusing way.
My Personal Workplace Confessions
Some days I really feel like I'm absolutely unnecessary at my job. There are times when I genuinely have nothing to do and I just get paid to scroll, be on my phone, do origami, or take of my personal to do list. I just sit at this desk and answer the phone occasionally. I can procrastinate on simple tasks for days until I really feel like working. I feel like a failure because I don't really work hard. But, if I worked harder, I would have even more time when I did nothing at all. I definitely could be more efficient and get things done sooner, but I feel like there's no point when I have the next 5 hours to do a 20 minute task. There are days when I run errands and I'll go shopping or visit people on company time with the company vehicle. So that's actually unethical but everything else is just kinda gay.
More Thoughts
I wish occasionally that I had a more interesting job, a job that was not in this town, a job closer to home. But I dropped out of university and I don't think I will get another job that I like as much and has as much potential for growth or as many benefits. Is this the rest of my life? Will I always be stuck in this place with everything that comes with that? If I leave maybe I'll regret leaving this job for forever.