the grind
is little plastic espresso “group”-formed cups filled with vacuum sealed robusta
for fitting in the space aged autocoffee doser
which on reflection is not so much advance on the circa ‘60s machines that
dribbled something almost but not quite entirely unlike coffee
or starbucks
both of which more or less mock espresso and obfuscate coffee.
is a dell rental desktop with a giant flat monitor on half of a pot-luck supper
fold-out table and a rolling office chair on tile seven days a week
is a networked software application that should allow a reasonably well trained
monkey to do certain things to proprietary and
privileged and confidential documents and files physically existing as electrons
on some disk a continent away but signifying anything
from the perhaps evil and devious machinations of a major corporate financial
services company bent on securing its cut of every
value transaction everywhere in perpetuity to the perhaps banal documentary
evidence of inter-corporate romances developing into
full blown state and god sanctified marriages, or forwarded internet humor /
inspirational trash, but doesn’t, because such software
is complicated, and runs on a complicated and fragile network of other
complicated and fragile hard and software, and maybe
because that particular piece of software sucks
(and maybe not – insufficient data).
is pointing.
is scrolling.
is clicking.
is waiting.
is, lately, the aforementioned in a quality control capacity, reviewing for
mistake and malfeasance certain categories of documents,
already manipulated by other variously well trained and variously competent
monkeys in significant ways, prior to delivering them to
enemy and adverse major corporate financial services companies equally bent on
getting their percentage of our transactions.
is wildly erratic management and communication.
is the constant struggle to park with confidence in physical security and
freedom from suspicious meter maid regard or censure for free.
is having too little time to spend the valuta the client through several
mediating entities is transmitting to me.
is music too, and almost enough sleep from time to time, and an hour or so of
downtime between scrabbling for meals.
i think i’m just about hitting my stride in this gig, which could continue
indefinitely or disappear overnight, though i could use a day off.
soon...
what’s the grind for you?