We recently moved into a spanking brand new office building in my work – four entire floors. Even after a few months now I’m still trying to find my way around. After the move my first concern was to orient myself to where the lunch room and kitchen are.
As was expected of a company that seems to put impressing others as more important than austerity the lunch room is not a room -it’s almost an entire floor with plush seats and tables that could beat any executive airport lounge — but maybe better with it’s 90-inch smart TV on the wall with dedicated server, and a super hi-tech thing called an “augmented reality sandbox” with a “real-time water-flow simulator”, which is really an expensive engineers’ computerized sandbox (google it to see what it really is.)
And in the kitchen — four 30-in microwaves, two coffee stations, two large sinks, a giant fridge and freezer, four panini-makers, and banks of drawers and cabinets containing color-coded dishes and kitchenware.
The best for me, however, is the fancy computerized coffee machine that could cater to any of your gourmet whims – latte, cappuccino, macchiato, mocha, Caffè Americano, and so on!
I’m always proud to say that I (yes — like any Pinoy) would rather get tucked in my own corner of the world doing my job eight hours or more instead of office-socializing that’s so Canadian. That’s why I ignore those email notices about beer Fridays and things like that.
But then the other day I discovered that the beer-fridays was really because of that part of the long cabinet at the end of the lunch hall that was actually a bar with a supply of wine and liquor and a two real draught beer dispensers! I’m not a drinker and so I thought this is too much.
That night at home my wife noticed it. What’s troubling you, she asked. Nothing, I replied but I wish our office had more Pinoys than me, Why, she asked, you need more good workers? No, I replied, we got too much wine and beer!