Quotidian Things

Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

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She is usually putting the coffee machine through its paces by the time I arrive on most days, she being the lady who keeps our machine ticking along, the water fountain up to snuff and our daily fruit bowl topped up. The wait for me is usually somewhere between five and fifteen minutes, depending on how far through her routine she is when I arrive. Waiting is a no-brainer though – I barely function without my morning coffee – so make small talk and wait it is for me.

At first it was about holiday plans, in those heady late summer mornings when folk were thin on the ground . Then, with increasingly familiarity I suspect, it became more about mutual complaints about British institutions, the NHS in her case, HMPO in mine and the subtle accommodations one makes to aging – lifts not stairs, orthopedic shoes and all that. Those chats became the highlight of my morning, and the subject of an internal “bet” as to whose issues would get resolved first. It is now three months and counting, our frustrations still remain. Cue stiff upper lip and all that.

One day a week I run into a younger replacement on the afternoon shift and have a natter. The subjects vary but revolve around next steps for him. He is young, possibly in his very early twenties I would guess, and is killing time whilst waiting to decide what to do following an Engineering degree. Our campus is chock-a-block of Engineers who metaphorically have their necks on the chopping block, the result of the latest round of right-sizing. I have decided, encouraging him into my industry is not a terrible idea, what I can’t say hand on heart is that is a good idea – not with the ever increasing bouts of job cuts and we have had to face. For all I know, someday in 2045, some sentient bot from whatever replaces OpenAI might replace us all.