Today, he is a good listener. He sat through lunch listening to a colleague whimper about a cheating wife. He nodded at the right places and thumped the colleague’s back when he was done. He dropped in a few appropriate phrases that he couldn’t believe came out sounding sincere. There was the age old “This too shall pass” and then there was “you’ll pull through” Neither of which he could provide a guarantee for but since today he was a good listener, he said it anyway.
Some days, he is a funny man. He makes incessant jokes about everything and people tell him what a hoot he is. He is full of good natured jibes and harmless sarcasm. He pulls out one-liners that he’s heard elsewhere but they never fail to impress. In tense situations, he makes people laugh and they look over at him gratefully. He drives back at night, wondering if people could see the dead pan expression in his eyes.
Last week, he was the conscientious one. He checked for punctuation and made sure that the pages were aligned when he punched holes through them while filing. He replied to each of his mails and then said, “It just bothers me to leave unread mails in my inbox” while people looked on with a milder variant of awe. He washed out his coffee mug and he made sure all calls were returned. He had his coffee without sugar and took the stairs instead of the elevator.
And then there are days when he tries to be everything all at once. He laughs and makes impeccable presentations. He makes a visit to a sick subordinate and then makes sure to take some flowers along. He walks home to burn a few extra calories. He stays up at night to finish off a task he took on because it would be challenging.
Even in his own space, he is unsure of who he should be. He wonders what he should do with the ten free minutes. He falls asleep over his laptop, his back bending at a painful angle. He wakes up with a cramp in his neck but he powers on anyway because today he has to be an interesting person and he needs to prepare for that.
Some days, he is a funny man. He makes incessant jokes about everything and people tell him what a hoot he is. He is full of good natured jibes and harmless sarcasm. He pulls out one-liners that he’s heard elsewhere but they never fail to impress. In tense situations, he makes people laugh and they look over at him gratefully. He drives back at night, wondering if people could see the dead pan expression in his eyes.
Last week, he was the conscientious one. He checked for punctuation and made sure that the pages were aligned when he punched holes through them while filing. He replied to each of his mails and then said, “It just bothers me to leave unread mails in my inbox” while people looked on with a milder variant of awe. He washed out his coffee mug and he made sure all calls were returned. He had his coffee without sugar and took the stairs instead of the elevator.
And then there are days when he tries to be everything all at once. He laughs and makes impeccable presentations. He makes a visit to a sick subordinate and then makes sure to take some flowers along. He walks home to burn a few extra calories. He stays up at night to finish off a task he took on because it would be challenging.
Even in his own space, he is unsure of who he should be. He wonders what he should do with the ten free minutes. He falls asleep over his laptop, his back bending at a painful angle. He wakes up with a cramp in his neck but he powers on anyway because today he has to be an interesting person and he needs to prepare for that.
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