RL ramble

[floatingleaf]

I think I love my workplace. We had another holiday lunch today, and then they let us go home, while still putting a full eight-hour day on our timesheets. The same thing (four hours work with pay for eight) will happen on Christmas Eve, and then on New Year's Eve. Not many companies do that - not here in the States, anyway. It is also the most relaxed, comfortable office I have ever worked in. There is no rush, no stress factor, no confusion about duties or responsibilities. Everyone knows exactly what they're supposed to do, and they do it in their own sweet time.:) Chatting among ourselves and socializing in the break room is a prominent feature of everyday routine. The occasional parties are really fun - as opposed to the snobbish, stuffy affairs I remember from when I used to work at the mortgage company. Here I actually like spending time with my coworkers, and I do find intriguing topics for discussion with some of them - probably due to the fact that they are a varied ethnic mix, with different backgrounds and experiences, yet mostly open-minded and curious about other cultures. I don't feel as much an outsider among them... which is really noteworthy, since I'm pretty much used to feeling like an outsider in any given social setting (except for fellow slashers on LJ, of course ;). It's a completely new experience for me, to be honest: actually having any kind of valid connection with people I met through work - not because they are fellow members of some secret society (like, for example, the gay community, a fandom, or a psychotherapy group... lol). In other words, with people who don't know any of my dirty secrets.;P And, strangely enough, I don't feel nervous about the possibility of those dirty secrets being accidentally revealed. Which, in itself, is a completely new experience, too. I wonder what made me so non-self-conscious all of a sudden. Is it them, or is it me?... *ponders*