By: Toni Thanas, Global Communications Intern
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| Toni Thanas |
Cube Life
“Did I just hear what I think I heard?”
“Yes, I believe so,” my cubicle-mate responded.
What I heard was a swear word—one so bad that it would permit a trip to the principal’s office if we were in high school. But we’re not in high school, we’re just living in a cubicle world.
The reality of a cubicle world is that everyone within a five cube radius can hear what you are saying. Even when you think you are whispering.
This is my first full-time, 9-5 internship, complete with my own computer, email, phone extension, and the coveted cubicle. My only prior cubicle experience has been through watching the movie Office Space, so I knew virtually nothing about cubicle etiquette when I started on my first day.
I went to set up my voicemail and hung up right away because it required me to record a greeting. I didn’t even want to use the name-only option. It just felt so strange talking when I knew everyone would be listening.
But as the week progressed, I realized everyone else did not share this apprehension. People are not shy about talking on the phone (or using the speaker phone option either, actually I think it is the only way people in corporate America communicate). So, although it took me a while to get used to it, I finally warmed up to using the phone.
When you are not listening in on other people’s phone conversations, the weird, eerie silence is hard to deal with. Literally the only sounds you hear are your own typing, the air conditioning, and the printer every now and then. But this was easily fixed with a subscription to Pandora and some headphones. Now I hear the Lady Antebellum station all day long, pausing it only when I leave my desk.
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| My cube. |
Which brings me to leaving my desk…quite possibly the most awkward thing to do while living in a sea of cubicles. Everyone, and I mean everyone, knows when you go to bathroom, when you take a trip to the bev station, when you leave for lunch, when you come back…you get the picture.
Similar to the phone situation, I was at first hesitant to leave my cube—but then I realized it was:
- Impossible to stay in my cube for eight hours straight.
- Everyone else was doing the same thing.
News flash: people take breaks!!!
We can’t sit and stare at computers all day long, we would go crazy! It’s only natural to get up and venture around at least once a day.
After almost six weeks of it, I’ve decided working in a cubicle is not such a bad thing. I’ve decorated mine nicely and brought in the necessities like lotion, hand sanitizer, etc. I have even made it like my room at home with a designated junk drawer!
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| My junk drawer. |
All in all, I would say cubicle life is definitely an acquired taste, but once you get used to it, it can be kinda fun!
Lab Life
Some of the other interns are getting an entirely different Starcom experience with the intern computer labs. It is exactly what it sounds like…allow me to bring you back to high school again, it’s exactly like those computer labs.
Travis Ziemke spends his days in the third floor lab. He explains it best what the experience is like.
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| Travis in the intern lab. |
3 white walls, 1 mustard-colored wall, 9 work stations, and wait for it…not a single window. This is the Intern lab on the 3rd floor. But if you were to call this room boring, you would be completely wrong.
Whether it’s taking breaks talking about how dope the DMB Caravan was, making plans for the weekend, showing off our newest free water bottle from a vendor lunch, commenting on how fast our internship is going or cranking Rebecca Black on Friday afternoons, there is always something going on. These are just some of the reasons that our lab is just one of our favorite parts of 35 west Wacker.
Some of us only work here for a couple days or weeks at a time, while others only come down for a couple hours to complete their latest project assigned from our supervisors. Not me, I have been here since day one. I had the option to sit in a cubicle and experience that side of Starcom, but I chose to make the intern lab my home and enjoy the company of the other interns. I am in the back corner just sitting, watching and enjoying the atmosphere of the lab.
Yea, I’m probably making it sound like all fun and games, but in reality we actually get a lot of work done. We use each other to bounce ideas off of, ask those stupid questions when our brains are fried, and even gossip with each other the latest news from the media world. We also get a chance to see what other interns and their teams are up to, which makes for an even better overall experience for us.
From what I hear, the cubicle life sounds fun with all the gossip and cool decorations and such, but come down and visit us in “the dungeon” and we will prove that differently.
Each and every intern has a unique experience in their time at SMG, even down to where they work.
Whether it is a cube, a lab or a pod, everyone’s experience is what they make of it. And so far mine(in my cube) has been great!
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