Well, the novelty of temp work is still just strong enough for me to blog it. Today I was at a pub/hotel being a chambermaid. First question: “Sorry to have to ask you this but do you know how to make a bed?” Apparently a fair few temps have never done this exercise before. Viva los duvets! I can make a bed, though I suspected my bed making was somewhat on the “can you sleep in it? Then it’s made” variety. Seems I was nearly there – to make a bed properly you just have to be slightly more anal about the whole tucking in thing. Since at this time of year most sensible people will throw all the blankets on the floor it’s just all about appearances. Though I didn’t say that. Okay?
Again, I have to be careful not to draw anything from this but for the second time I was working for a really nice person and had a good time. The head housekeeper was employing her two teenage sons over the summer and along with the other three young “perms” the atmosphere was more sarkey dinner table than workplace. A bit intense but also quite refreshing, though a bit odd to hear “Mum” called out.
The younger son was at that gangly teenage period where he hasn’t quite mastered the art of volume control or subtlety and TALKS REALLY LOUDLY making QUITE UNFUNNY JOKES. Was I like that 15 years ago? The shudder of recognition made it bearable though I had to bite my tongue a couple of times.
Cleaning hotel rooms is both tedious and fascinating. Most of the rooms were pretty dull but you get these little crosses into people’s private lives. Someone had left their teddy on the bed so I had to move it and then replace it. Sometimes you pull back the sheet to reveal pyjamas. When do you ever touch a stranger’s used pyjamas? On guy had left his porn on the bedside cabinet (along with a letter from the hotel management asking him to please not cook in his room). Please don’t get the wrong idea. I’m not excited by the idea of touching other people’s dirty clothes – the smell of stale sweat was a bit nasty truth by told. It’s just that in a world where personal privacy and space is valued quite highly it strikes me as odd that people pay other people to go into their private space when they’re not there.