Paperclip Repairman

When a catalog page is brought to me for proofreading, all sorts of relevant information is attached to it by a paperclip. Once I turn my attention to the page, I find it impossible to get started with my proofreading duties if said paperclip is the slightest bit out of shape. I twist, pull, and bend it until it is as close to a perfect paperclip shape as it's ever going to be. I usually do pretty well, even with paperclips that are pretty mangled. I'm a little surprised that no one has commented on this yet, but it's highly likely that the graphics people don't really notice the shape of the paperclip when they attach it nor when they get it back.

The title of this post reminds me of my previous proofreading job, at Spring Hill Nursery. There I thought of myself as the stapler and copy machine repairman. I have no particular expertise in either of these areas, but for some reason I was always called upon when someone had jammed a stapler or the copy machine, and I always managed to sort it out. Those were the good ol' days.

I don't know why I'm thinking about this, and no, I'm not drunk. In reality, I just wanted to get a non-football post in here as a buffer before my next high school game recap. And, in truth, my mind has been on my job--and other jobs--lately.

Thursday is our big shipping day, and this morning I had to work in the warehouse for a few hours, pulling orders. Working in the warehouse is something that most of our office personnel seem to dread, but I actually enjoy it, for the most part. It's a nice change of pace from sitting on my ass all the time. Beyond that, it's just kind of fun to stroll through our aisles and see the vast array of DVDs we have in stock at any given time. There are so, so many that I wish I could just pull down and watch, and feature films are only a small part of that. Independent and foreign films, documentaries, histories, educational films...there's so much out there, and so much of it that I wouldn't even be aware of if I didn't work there. That's one thing I will miss when the day comes for me to finally switch jobs. I really like knowing about so much stuff that's available, and I like knowing what's coming available before it's general knowledge.

Still, changing jobs is something that I have to think about. With as expensive as gasoline has become, it would be awesome if I could find something a little closer to home (and BGSU's campus is just a few blocks from here). Aside from that, I've been wondering lately exactly what my earning potential is with my current employer. I haven't had a chance to ask for a raise, although I'm planning to do so, and I'm almost certain that they'll come up with more money for me. I just wonder how much, and I'm not thinking just about right now, but in the months and, potentially, years to come. The company is making a lot of money, as their explosion over the past five years indicates, and it seems they have a great willingness to share that wealth with at least certain of their employees. I have some concerns, however, about how much value they place on my particular position, that of the proofreader. I take great pride in my job because I feel I'm responsible not only for ensuring that all information that we publish is accurate and clear, but also for the professional image of our company as represented in our publications. Now, our publications were already highly regarded when I started working there, but I do feel I've made them even better. I know there are people within my department who appreciate this, but I don't know how far that extends into the upper echelons of the company.

Of course, no one appreciates my paperclip repair work either, but I'm not so concerned about that. After all, it's not why I'm there.

This is sort of rambly and pointless, I guess. I have plenty more to say about my job, and about work in general (I think), but I have to sort it all out for myself first. Look for it sometime next week. I'll see if I can get at least a couple of non-football posts out there for you then.