Day Zero at the UN.

Friday was my first day working at the UN. I now have a grounds pass with a photograph of myself and a black bar reading 'Intern', access to all sorts of nifty facilities including a coffee machine that dispenses cups of hot chocolate for only thirty cents, and my very own desk in a room that I share with Bitsy (nickname), the other intern.

Since most of the department was away on a retreat, there wasn't actually any work for me to do. My computer hadn't been set up yet, and I finished all the reading material and guidelines within two hours, so I was told to explore the UN. I chose not to do that, though, since my parents both work there and I already know it off by heart.

Instead, I asked if there was anything at all I could do, and was given two sheets of numbers to cross-check, along with an apology from the lady M. (I'm using psuedo-names for the sake of some anonymity) who gave them to me for giving me her work. I got that done by lunchtime, had an hour-long lunchbreak with Bitsy, three male consultants one of which had grey eyes that looked like they should have a hint of green, and then another fifteen minute coffee break. The afternoon was spent drawing, writing a letter to Matt, and doing some typing work for my mother, for which she paid me five Euros.

In case you think I'm getting off easy, get that idea out of your head right now :P I had to sign a confidentiality agreement in the morning, promising to not give out any information I gain while working at the UN (I'm going to be editing and correcting documents on Nuclear Power, in addition to the technical work), and my department apparently meets every Monday morning at 8:30 to review what they've accomplished over the last week.

In other words, I have to stand up every Monday morning and say what I did last week. And the upcoming Monday, I have to be in by 8:15 to meet with my immediate supervisor, Mr. V. Most of the people are already there and working by 7AM, but they leave by 4:30PM. I'm not sure that I can manage getting in so early (UN regulations say that fixed-hour staff have to be in by 8:30 to 9:30), but I can try. I don't have to swipe in/out, so they can't track how many hours I spend working per day, but I'm expected to do forty hours a week, and eight hours a day.

Yesterday was just to get me settled in. My real work is going to start on Monday, and it'll start when I stand up and introduce myself, red-black faux-hawk and all.

Wish me luck, everyone. The 25th floor (and yes, my office is very high up) won't know what hit it.

Hugh Grant, Hero? + livejournal strikethrough thoughts.

No charges pressed!

I have to admit, I really love the idea of a guy defending his ex-girlfriend's privacy by throwing a can of baked beans at a reporter.

Of course, I'm also one of those people who think that celebrities and their lives aren't interesting in the least and the paparazzi should just back off already, but still, Hugh Grant managed to both amuse me and make me feel vaguely proud of him for standing up for his ex.

...Please note, throwing a baked bean can at a reporter for trying to spy on your ex-girlfriend is different to spitting on one for trying to take a photograph of you. I'm still disgusted with Avril Lavgine for the latter, but I have to admit, Hugh Grant's coming off as pretty chivalrous in my eyes right now.

I'm always weirdly pleased when people stand up for each other. If nothing else, lj strikethrough '07 was awesome because of how quickly the el-jay users banded together to coordinate things like keeping track of deleted journals/comms, spreading the word, starting up protest memes, switching userpics, etc. Newsies has a special place in my heart because it taps into the 'people really can do good together!' idea that I not-so-secretly love, especially because I think it's so unrealistic.

Oh, and a note on userpics -- I didn't change mine for the strikethrough protests, and I rarely do change mine to jump on bandwagons, but I do think that userpics are an effective way of getting a message across. Meaning that if people want to make/use icons about strikethrough '07, I think they should go right ahead.

On el-jay, they're the equivalent of someone's t-shirt to me. If I see a political icon, I react to it the same way I would if they were wearing a political t-shirt, either with a mental sigh or by making a casual comment like 'nice t-shirt' or 'icon love!', depending on the situaton.

If I had more of an interest in how societies work (or, alternatively, more time!), I'd probably spin off onto a tangent about how my flist is like a microsm of el-jay. There are the people who are still wary of Six Apart, the people who are backlashing into being anti-fandom, the people who think they're safe now and it's over, and the people who are completely indifferent to it.

I probably fall in the category of 'still wary', just because as long as I have a paid account, livejournal remains a product to me. If I buy a book, I expect it to still have all its pages, not have some ripped out for having inappropriate material. If I'm given a new book by a friend, fresh from the bookshop, and it's missing pages, then I'd complain to the bookshop or the company that printed the book (obviously not the friend's fault). If I'm given a second-hand book by someone, then fine, it's a freebie and I know it's going to be used already so no complaining about its quality.

Please note, I'm not saying that free users don't have the right to complain about changes they dislike to livejournal, but my point is that if Six Apart wants to run livejournal like a business, then they need to listen to their customers.

In this case, they're doing that a little late, but they are listening, so I'm pleased with them for that but still definitely wary. Especially because of the rumors that they're thinking about becoming an IPO.

...And wow, this entry rambled. In conclusion, have some bullet points!

1. Hugh Grant is awesome for defending his ex-girlfriend.
   
2. People are awesome when they look out for each other.
   
3. Userpics do matter.
   
4. My flist is very diverse.
   
5. Six Apart needs a better PR department, if nothing else.
   
6. Passion is ♥.
   
7. Apathy doesn't just kill. Apathy kills excruciatingly slowly.