A Room With(out) a View

To anyone who reads this before their first full-time job: the real world of work isn’t as daunting as you might think.

8-5 is a pretty serious shift to work everyday, so my sleeping habits have had to adjust (read: become increasingly geriatric), but it’s not the hard-knock life I envisioned. Marc, Carrie, and Marques are all really cool and were great companions for the first week. Tom, Katie, and Greg join us today, and Sam is coming in at some point to shadow a tour! I will litter this first blog with secret tidbits of advice on the off chance that anyone ever reads it: if you ever call the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at William and Mary, make sure your question isn’t really crazy. We are working the phones all day down in the dungeon, and we will record your absurd inquiry in a notable place on our bulletin board. For example, the College’s official colors are green and gold, but forgive my arrogance in assuming that it is probably permissible just to consider them green and yellow instead of special-ordering GOLD M&M’s for your son or daughter’s high school graduation party. Words to live by.

Aside from answering phones, we’ve been filling out data entry cards for prospective students. When I get weary of the repetition or scared of carpal tunnel, I put in my iPod earphones and try to type to the beat to give myself something to think about other than peoples’ personal information, or how the compression of the median nerve in my wrist while I’m typing fits impeccably with Wikipedia’s list of carpal tunnel causes. I recently re-watched the “Safety Training” episode of The Office where they learn about the health concerns associated with office jobs, so I have carpal tunnel on the brain. It does get a little drafty down in the interviewer dungeon, so a light cardigan or a space heater is advisable.  I also heard computers can explode so I usually keep a hard hat and goggles under my seat. Real world, I am ready for any office dangers you throw at me.