Work is really difficult part two

Robots… with emotions? How novel! I think I will make a t-shirt of this idea!
Someone has to make a t-shirt of an preexisting robot with emotions. Like a Roomba, or a Packbot. None of this “killer robot that looks like all the other killer robots” shit. I mean a robot that mows your lawn or something. It wouldn’t sell, but at least it would be more realistic. “Oh no, I was made to fold laundry! :'(”
I haven’t been talking a lot about this for some reason, but my summer job is amazingly boring, in that they aren’t giving me anything to do. My entire life from 9 till 5 is sitting at a desk and waiting for an email to arrive so I can do a task that takes 10 minutes – and I usually get an email like this once a week.
It’s not like I’m taking this sitting down, though. (Literally, though, yes I am.) I email my superiors once a day, asking for a new assignment. The response I get is “we’ll think about it” or “we’ll schedule a meeting so we can sit down and talk about what we’re going to do next” (but they forget to schedule it). I should be sitting here, happy that I’m making a good sum of money by doing absolutely nothing, but, uh… that’s just horrible.
It’s horrible because I want to feel like I can make a difference. It’s horrible because I want to demonstrate and improve my skills. It’s horrible because I feel really guilty about making money for nothing. It’s horrible because I’m so terribly bored that it’s almost not worth it. It’s horrible because no one wants to hear me complain about how I get paid to do nothing – supposedly people would kill for that. It’s horrible because all of this money is going toward me, while it really could be going toward something so much more meaningful. It’s horrible because there are probably millions of people just like me sitting in cubicles just like mine also doing nothing… all that money is going to waste. It’s a capitalistic failure.
So I finally went past my superiors (who I recall discussing about a week after I joined Autodesk – “well, he did what the job description asked – now what?”) and talked to my University Programs Coordinator, who manages my internship. I’ll be talking to her tomorrow about what to do about this whole thing. I hope she doesn’t fire me. 😛
Oh speaking about that, I sort of “quit” Uth TV. Nothing wrong with them, it’s just that I feel burnt out. I can’t make ProcrastiMATIONs anymore. Once I feel I’m not up to anything, there’s nothing I can do – I just have to stop. I’m even about halfway through an animation and I’ve asked people to voice act for it – but I just can’t bring myself to finish. Oh well. I might return some day when I feel up to animating some more.
I’ve been feeling pretty crappy for the past week or so. Everyone seems to be around but no one seems to be doing anything. I’d ask if anyone wants to do anything, but that doesn’t lead to much, so I think I’ll be singling people out soon and inviting them to kick it with like a play or some sort of outdoor event or just hanging out and gaming, or something. You have been warned!

19 comments

    1. Re: Why not..
      That’s probably a really good idea. I get volunteer opportunities occasionally in newsletters, and I might take ’em up for the last few weeks that I’m there. Definitely better than reloading the same sites over and over.

  1. Poke me on Xfire some time and we’ll play a game.
    I know how you feel about not having anything to do. I did that, and yes, I got fired for it too. Sure getting paid is great, but not working is JUST as bad as not getting paid.
    I feel your pain
    <3

    1. You got fired for what, exactly, saying you didn’t have anything to do? Was this while speaking to a manager, or what? Details.
      Also, Xfire sounds cool; perhaps I should download it (or is there a Trillian plugin?). All I have right now is Call of Duty 2 and FEAR Combat, though, so I dunno.

          1. Oh but you just did! When I think of sulking yuppies I think of Hot Topic.
            Anyway let’s do something exciting on Saturday how about. And if not exciting, then at least usual. Like an arcade or some other sort of trek throughout the neighborhood.

          2. I uh my parents are rich so they did another hand-me-down and I am now the owner of a 1999 Acura Integra GS. It’s an early 21st birthday present.

  2. box face sad robots are so cliche, but a sad Roomba, now you’re talking! I think it’s $15 to get something printed on a t-shirt on campus (cheaper if you bring your own shirt).
    I once had a long conversation with a police officer about what current laws might apply to self-sufficient robots chilling downdown. We concluded that like pets they should carry owner information, but since they don’t need animal protection rights its ok to let them wander around, so long as they stay on the sidewalk and don’t harrass people. He thought it was unlikely, but I think it’s a good challenge. And they should be sad, and ask for change.

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