Sooooooooooo… I had promised more stories about my work here. I’ve actually been avoiding writing anything about work because I’d have been too negative, but I now feel quite better about it overall...
Anyways. I’m an underpaid consultant for a Vienna-headquartered UN organisation. I took that underpaid 2 months gig because
a) I wanted to see Vienna
b) I needed to go to Paris to pick up my winter clothes
c) I didn’t want to be stuck in Cairo until January and this thing came at the right time.
Overall - bad reasons to take a job. Lousy reasons, actually.
The job itself is incredibly uninteresting - and besides the ‘intellectual’ content being kinda boring, I’m wasting a decent chunk of my time designing the publications (as well as writing the content - but the design is taking too much time, especially for someone who has never used Quark Xpress before...)
My boss, in a word, is a hateful manic dickhead (ok, that’s 3 words) and his name is hilariously appropriate for that last description (can’t write it down though - potential defamation lawsuit). And the secretary is a hostile bitch. I’ll leave it to that, but overall it’s the worst possible work environment one can hope for.
Vienna is good fun though. I’ve moved downtown after 2 weeks in the suburbs, and after successfully dodging an offer to rent the living-room of a maniac who wanted a curfew at 11:30 pm, and another very cheap offer from an Indian lady who, living with her teenage son, was clearly looking for some adult conversation and a shag (for those who know me: yes, she’s THAT desperate), I’m now in the 3rd district, sharing with 2 young Austrians, a guy and a girl. Coming home from work in a suit, I really feel like their uncle or something. Aging is dreadful.
Anyhow... So I’m getting to do a lot of tourist stuff, museums - lots of museums, Christmas markets (Austrians have a weird weird tradition which requires them to go freeze their toes outdoors to drink a hot wine. Seriously, what’s the point??) are a lot of fun and I’m happily buying into this toe-freezing tradition.
I also hang out frequently - mostly - with my fellow consultants and interns who are quite the merry bunch. Nothing like the spirit we had at the European Commission, but a nice bunch nevertheless.
What else. I got to see an old Austrian friend of mine, one whom I care for greatly (which is, well, complicated).
What else. We had the Organisation’s party last Friday, and I got to chat a bit with the Director General who’s from Sierra Leone (Africa rocks!!) and quite a cool and madly dynamic guy. And we took a photo.
And he called me “the leader of the future”. Very nice for my ego.
So now, I’m less than a week away from leaving. Christmas holidays, and subsequent destination unconfirmed.
To tell you the truth -- I already miss Vienna. My lovely friend Sabrina says that I'll be back - we'll see. Will keep you posted.
2 comments:
Frozen toes and hot wine...the best tradition ever !
The point is, well I guess there's no point, it just feels right. Then you just float around with a happy smile stitched to your face forgetting you were ever cold, forgetting you will ever be cold again.
I think I've gotten to agree - I have indeed been looking forward to this! Ans you start timing when your toes freeze (somewhere halfway through your second punsch) and this is when you have to decide whether you're going to get a third one... or go home :)
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