Secret Life
One of my colleagues asked me a very interesting question just a few minutes ago. It goes like this:
“Can I ask you a personal question? Do you have a place to sleep? Because I always see you work late at nights and maybe you’re secretly sleeping in the office.”
Pause.
Awkward pause.
Embarrassing awkward pause.
I seriously don’t know what to say to this. I mean I sort of guffawed at the query when he blurted it out. But now that I’ve had some time to digest it, do I really look that impoverished? Sure, the whole hippie look is going on right now and having holes on your shirts are kind of cool (not that mine do or none that I know of anyway and nor do I dress like a hippie although I wish I semi did), but I don’t know how the whole concept of me being homeless evolved. Staying late at the office does not immediately translate to homelessness. Or does it?
Honestly though, I am not offended at this, just a bit shocked – perplexed, to make it more precise. Interesting isn’t, how people think differently? Just goes to show one can never expect too much or too little of someone. And as much as this very candid encounter had brought embarrassment to myself, I quite enjoyed it mainly because I realized that at least people around here (in this office of ours) aren’t as generic thinkers as I expected them to be.
Wow, people have been really blowing off my generalizations of them and it’s refreshing and humbling at the same time. I wonder if I’ve changed people’s expectations of me, hopefully in a good way. But yes, I think people have started to realize that there’s more to what goes on in the surface.
If you want to know a little secret though, I do have a secret life – a geek. I was having a little chat with our sole IT guy and we had a lot in common. For example, downing liters (and liters and liters) of water a day, how we go about our internet habits, and how much of a techie I really am, although not as hardcore as he is. So now he sort of wants me to transfer departments and be his IT Right Hand.
IT Guy: How’re you with programming?
Me: What?
IT Guy: Okay, how’s your logic?
Me: (thinks) Better than my boss’ for sure!
IT Guy: Then I must steal you from her. Come be my minion!
Haha. Okay, maybe he didn’t really add that last bit but during our brief geeky connection, that’s what it translated to me. People have been trying to steal me from others and my boss actually stole me from the guy who asked me that perplexing question at the start of this post so I’m pretty sure IT Guy can request to have me transferred. Yes, I am actually in very high demand around here. Oh, how I wish it were partially true.
I am a layer of personalities, really. I’m only starting to rediscover them myself and I’m not complaining. I just wish there was a more solid foundation of my personality that I could grasp on. Even my being Filipino has been questioned because of my non-Filipino accent and my rather mixed race look.
