*fidgets*

[trinityofone]

So...I am at work. BossMan and BossLady don't come in until several hours after everyone else's presence is required. I have called the person I was supposed to interview this morning, but they rescheduled for 1:30. I have twice e-mailed the other person I am supposed to interview but they have not e-mailed me back. I have also re-emailed the publicist I am supposed to speak to for another story, but no word there, either. I have revised the two short pieces I was able to write yesterday.

*twiddles thumbs* Okay, now what?

Seriously, what am I supposed to do? I want to be working. But if there's nothing to do, am I just supposed to stare at the wall? Grr.

What do you responsible, adult-type people do when work is slow? If the answer is "Screw around!" shiny examples would be appreciated!

Here's one for you guys: one of the articles I'm working on is about this art exhibit that Johnny Depp co-sponsored. Our angle is of course "OMG! Johnny Depp!" but I think the artist, a French guy named Gravleur who had never been on a plane before Johnny convinced him to come to America, is incredibly talented. You can see his work here. I especially love #38--it looks like my grandfather. Johnny has damn good taste.

Comments

[setissma.livejournal.com]

Organize file cabinets. It's oddly fun.

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

There are no file cabinets! At least none that I am allowed near. And I'd work on organizing my office space, except I'm in a borrowed office right now. *pouts*

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

But I have guilt! GUILT. Right this second, even.

[turtlespeaks.livejournal.com]

I work as a PA, which is basically the person that everyone tells to go get them whatever from where ever and could you track down this person and tell them this while you are at it, my coffee is taken with cream thanks. This usually involves short times of really quick and frantic running and working, and then long hours of watching the light above me slowly die.

Usually I end up writing (original fiction), reading LJ, and on one lovely occation, watching a TV show while I wanting for someone to tell me what to do.

If everything else fails, Solitare is a good fall back? ^^;; Bubble wrap is also fun, but hard to do quietly.

*goes back to going mailing list data entry of doom*

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

The sad thing is, I think I could think of plenty of things to entertain myself (I have the INTERNET, for God's sake)...except I feel so damn guilty about it. I'm sitting here, I'm getting paid...shouldn't I be working?

[veredus.livejournal.com]

g43 and g47 were my favorites. The work reminds me of the illustrations by Stephen Gammell who illustrated the children's horror trilogy "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark."

I don't know why since the artists' works are actually pretty different from each other, but the feeling they evoke in me: a delightful spooky tingle that makes me gasp, is the same.

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

It reminded me of that, too! And man, did those illustrations creep me out when I was little. Some of these also cross the line into stuff that would terrify me in the middle of the night if I hung it on my wall, but they're also so beautiful...

g47 was actually the one that we were considering printing in the magazine, but as some of Gravleur's work is cinema-inspired (I don't know if you noticed the portraits of Jack Nicholson and Erich von Stroheim, say) we may go with one of those instead.

[aurora]

What do you responsible, adult-type people do when work is slow?
Hah, I'm avoiding studying for my final exam, so I'm playing a lot of online games.

Also, this is cool.

Gravleur has an interesting style. Very minimalistic. *approves*

[fyrie.livejournal.com]

Oh wow on that art. Wow. That's how I only wish I could draw. So simple, but so frigging beautiful at the same time. The composition and arrangements and the tonal detail... gah. *ogles shamelessly*

[randomeliza.livejournal.com]

Dude, I'm so there. I've gone so far as to ask anyone around me if there's anything that they'd like me to do (but as I'm an intern, that's kind of what I'm supposed to do, I think?) but nobody ever has anything. I've spent so much time on www.televisionwithoutpity.com it's not even funny. Still haven't managed to get over my guilt enough to go on LJ, though. And part of me is terrified of them catching me looking at LJ at work. Go figure.

Ohh, I also read the news sites. Because it looks like I'm doing something I'm supposed to, even though I'm not.

That's what they get for not giving me enough work. And not realising how incredibly efficient I am (or realising and just not caring, or realising and just not having anything else to give me to do...)

[dar-jeeling.livejournal.com]

So...I am at work.

And you're making entries in your lj? *gasps*

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

OMG NO YOU FEED THE FLAMES OF GUILT!

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

Personally?

Besides the normal websurfing/fic reading/blogging?

I write. I ask for challenges and write short-shorts.

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

Ooh! If I worked on my reel_sga story, that would almost be like work! 'Cause it's, you know, movie-related...

That was pretty feeble. *g*

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

Ooh! I am excited over the package! Thank you!

The back issues thing is a good idea. That's part of what I did yesterday and Monday, but I suppose I could always do it more...

[tahariel.livejournal.com]

I'm doing temp work at the moment to earn money for university next year (I'm taking a break year first) and there's never enough work to keep me busy all day. So I write, I read books (though as a receptionist I can get away with this), I go on the internet, I taught myself Spider Solitaire... basically, the guilt thing isn't worth it. Firstly, everyone else is goffing off most likely, and secondly it's up to them to find you enough work to do, really, so it's their fault if they don't. All you can do is show willing and enthusiasm for whatever is slung your way and hope things pick up.

Hope this helped!

[isiscolo.livejournal.com]

Cool art - thanks for pointing!

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

My pleasure! The coolest thing about this job so far (and about other journalism jobs I've had in the past) is that sometimes you get to learn about really amazing things, even if they're only tangentially related to what you're supposed to be doing. I'm going to try to see the exhibit this weekend...I'm really looking forward to it!

[leech.livejournal.com]

I generally ask my officemate unusual questions, and then we surf wikipedia for at least an hour.

[helenish.livejournal.com]

Don't sweat it - it's your third day, so of course you don't have enough work to fill a day yet. When I first started at this job, I was SO EFFICIENT, and reorganized things and made little labels, and ..whatever. Then I got more and more and more tasks, like you do, and then you don't have time for organizing (or what have yuo.) and you don't care, because you just need a break. Soon there will be lots of lovely work.

[no-detective.livejournal.com]

You feel guilty for being at work and not having anything to do?! Heavens, I can't remember EVER being that, um, innocent. ;-)

Speaking of Johnny, did you see emelerin's latest post? If you don't have her friended, here it is:

From www.wwtdd.com :

-----

Johnny Depp says he was so intrigued by a book about homosexuality amongst pirates in the Caribbean in the 17th century, that he tried to incorporate some of those ideas into his character for the upcoming 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Mans Chest'. After reading 'Sodomy and the Pirate Tradition', Depp said:

"I liked the idea of [Jack] being ambiguous. Because women were thought to be bad luck on ships. And these pirates would go out for years at a time. So, you know, there is a possibility that one thing might lead to another. You're lonely. You have an extra ration of rum ... 'Cabin boy!'"

------

Btw, I'm at work right now. *g*

[desdema.livejournal.com]

Ack! That quote has made my day! :)

[ilexa.livejournal.com]

Alright, one entertainment editor to another - read IMDb.com. Read entertainment-y blogs. I swear! You should see my bookmarks! I actually consider bestweekever.tv necessary work-related reading. Know what everybody else is talking about.

God, somedays I just freakin' love my job.

[reedfem.livejournal.com]

Well, you could try and get an impromptu phone interview with... oh... anyone.

Or use your press powers for good and find us some really cool publicity photos that no one else has.

If all else fails, snooping through co-workers desks is great fun.


(tongue firmly in cheek here, if you couldn't tell...)

[lordelessar.livejournal.com]

HEY ANNA!

I'm gonna be in the LA area Saturday-Tuesday. We gotta hang out. Andrew's family is having a BBQ on Saturday that you're invited to. Can you come?

I'll email this to you too.

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

OMG YES! That may be the weekend I'm moving, but I REALLY want to see you, so we'll work something out! More discussion in e-mail, okay?

[sonofzeal.livejournal.com]

http://www.online-literature.com

[siria]

You could make like John and play minesweeper? (Tiny bombs on the screen! By which he means, it's good tactical practice) I'm pretty sure Rodney occasionally spaces out to (Er, gets himself into a zen mental space which is much better for thinking and coming up with groundbreaking discoveries not at all slacking off) Freecell, or gets very involved in online chess games when he's back on Earth and has net access.

Zelenka never, ever tells him that he is the anonymous player who continually kicks his ass.

Or, you could do like I did during my internship last year, and alternately reorganise all fifteen bajillion of my memories, and write fic. I am a bad employee.

Quickly, before my lunch break ends:

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

http://charlidos.livejournal.com/280163.html

[bingeling]

Those pictures are awesome and #g6 looks awfully familiar, but I don't think I know the artist. +ponders+
But this is just an example how you are informed about all this random stuff when you work for a magazine. Even though I'm only doing the layouting, I'm always 'Oh I have to go see that exhibition!' or I stop working and just read the article because it's so interesting. +g+ And so I get informed about all that stuff I'd normally miss.

When I started at my work-place and they had nothing to do for me, I read old issues of the magazine, to learn to know it better and as research and such.
But now I use every free second to surf the net or use the precious software to turn John Sheppard into a blonde and stuff like that. Heck, I even do it when I have actual work to do!
I think your attitude is better, you should keep it. ;)

[http://users.livejournal.com/_lemon_lyman_/]

When I'm supposed to be filing patients' charts I read them instead (or I look up famous names in the computer to see if there are any patient matches). It can be terribly interesting. One woman had a House worthy diagnosis process; three wrong diagnoses from several specialists and an unnecessary biopsy that got infected causing necrotizing fasciitis, all because she went to the hospital with asthma symptoms!
Sadly, the equivalent of this in your job is reading back issues and that really is work, not goofing off.

[saturnalia.livejournal.com]

Okay, now I have hospital-envy. I work in the X-Ray department of our local hospital, so the files we get are basically just x-ray films; nowhere near as interesting to read as actual patient charts. (Although I have to confess, I've tried looking up random people on our computer system too. *grin*)

[burntcopper.livejournal.com]

this is what the internet is for.

[suzy_queue]

Read. Keep magazines and books in your purse or desk. At my old job, I would read books from the children's area. So far at my new job, I've read US magazine (that my boss brought in for us to read when it's slow *g*). Reading is always acceptable. Or write, in a notebook. Heaven knows we'd all approve of that. ;)

[amalthia]

It's my 3rd week at my job, still no computer, desk, chair so at work I have to share the 1 computer with my 2 co-workers, when it's not my turn I read a book, sitting on the desk. I've also read just about every radio newspaper they had on the desk (I know more about the radio industry than I ever thought I'd know). It's better than staring vacantly into space and it prevents me acting on the urge to steal the mouse and keyboard away from the co-worker who has these super long fingernails and can barely type and it takes her FOREVER to get anything done.