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Overheard in D.C.: Mean Streets Between Cubicle Walls

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Temp work is more than just a last resort to keep from having to beg your parents for money after getting fired for youthful indiscretions at your previous job. It can be a valuable learning experience. Not only can you discover that it really is possible to be even more expendable than an intern, but you can find your way to parts of office life you might never have considered before. There's the ever-popular data entry position, which can allow you to work somewhere for months on end without anyone in the office ever even learning your name. Or the living hell of the reception desk, where you quickly learn why there's particularly high turnover for reception staff. But if there's one thing to always keep in mind, it's that there is no tougher bunch than the seasoned veterans of the mail room. And if you cross them, they will cut you.

Quote of the Week

In the halls of a D.C. law firm:

An office services employee on his cell phone while delivering mail: "Look, I'm not going to get into who pulled a knife on who first..."


After the jump, the sound of one hand typing, the Red line extension, and unlikely road trips.

This being August, we know you're really only pretending to work. Take a break from Minesweeper for a little while and go find some conversations to listen to. Send what you hear to overheardindc (at) gmail (dot) com.

Photo by zenfrisbee.

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Are you sure you dialed the right number?

A tech support call center in the D.C. suburbs:

Customer on the phone: "It sure is hard typing with one hand"

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Who says it's always the tourists who get it wrong?

Yellow line to Huntington:

Mid 20s local to older tourist: "So you're going to the airport?"
Tourist: "Yes. Isn't it the next stop?"
Local: "Depends; are you going to Reagan or Dulles?"
Tourist: "Reagan, I guess."
Local: "Yeah, this train wouldn't get you to Dulles anyway. Dulles is on the red line."

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Traffic in the Caribbean Tunnel is awful this time of year.

Blue line train to Franconia:

Late 20s female: "Did I tell you I'm going to the Bahamas with my dad and brother in November?"
Late 20s male: "No, you didn't. So are you flying or driving?"
Female: "Flying."

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True romance.

At the pool table:

Guy to his friend: "Looks ain't everything. You gotta be able to tolerate her."

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Time for the cattle prods.

On the Orange line somewhere between Metro Center and Dunn Loring during the 2+ hour commute home, on a train that was already overpacked, because of all the delays:

Man on platform trying to get on the train: "Can everyone please move to the middle of the car so we can get on?" [clearly there was nowhere to move]
Man in the car: "What do you think we're doing on here — playing bocce ball?"

Contact the author of this article or email tips@dcist.com with further questions, comments or tips.
By Ian Buckwalter in on August 10, 2007 1:59 PM

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