Tuesday, June 26, 2007

pros and cons of working for...

So my latest gig is working for a company, in which i will not name, based in New Jersey (per previous post). The building i am in is awesome. it's difficult to describe, but here goes: though the company logo is a predominent symbol everywhere you look, and its (the logo) color takes a predominence in each conference room and office space, there's not one area in this building that doesn't shout unique. There is money in a building that can afford to buy 12 different types of carpeting and 15 different styles of large tile (both glossy and matte finishes) and then lay them down in a quiltwork pattern, interchangeably across every floor in the building. There are 5 conference rooms down stairs, each named a different letter for an acronym that stands for one of their main "power" words for the company. There are 10 conference rooms upstairs, each with a "power" word attached to the door, such as "Innovation" or "Culture". Each of these 15 rooms has a different patter of the 12 types of carpeting. Carpetting cut into squares and triangles and rectangles and layed out with an indifference to coordination or matching. Purples next to dark blues next to red next to turquoise next to yellows. Mostly bright colors that make you a bit dizzy. Some carpetting is patterned even. There is no rhyme or reason to the wall colors, the room shape and size, the texture on the walls, or how the areas are divided. it is a maze of color and design techniques and it took me a few days before i didn't get lost finding the restrooms. If you are scheduled to meet in a conference room upstairs, you get free drinks and treats. If you are downstairs, you must purchase drinks and snacks out of vending machines, like most companies. However, there is one thing that does not deviate from the rule. All members of this company dress in business suits, each wearing the company insignia pin on the left lapel of their suit jacket and when the owner shows up for a visit, you can be sure that no one is caught snaking, drinks are put on the floor, and suit jackets are doned and buttoned. it seems military-eque to me, but it's nice to see that they take care of their workspace, they care enough about their customers to present themselves professionally and there is a true sense of respect for the work they do. They have definitely made the work week fly by with their humor and kindness.

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