Integrated
by Kyle Sundby—Age 35—Vancouver, WA
At the coffee shop, I’m asked what I do for work. Probably because I’m here for hours, on weekdays no less. I clear my throat–I’m not prepared for interaction in daylight and it’s the first I’ve tried speaking today.
“I make integrated circuits,” I say. Before the barista asks for clarification, I continue. Remember that Intel commercial from a few years ago, with people wearing what looked like spacesuits and dancing? That’s what I do; only my dancing’s more interpretive.”
She says, “Oh.” That’s it. I never get a “sounds cool” or “must be challenging” in response. The job is too middle of the road to garner interest. What I do falls in between hard work and working with my brain. It’s just enough and not enough of both to keep it from straying too far one way or the other.
I can spend all day in the coffee shop while I’m off because I’m paid well. I’m paid well because I’m compensated for working the nightshift, where my days off are spent in coffee shops trying to adjust my sleep patterns to match the normal world. My work schedule runs over the weekend, so today’s Thursday is my lazy Sunday, and I can idle it away like everyone else will three days from now.
People recognize my as I order the usual latte, but they won’t get to know my any more than that. As they talk to each other about what they watched during prime time last night, I picture sucking down a cup of coffee and maybe a quick breakfast. They’d rehash their morning commutes if I shared my staying up late to catch a Perry Mason episode or Regis and Kelly. My relationships are limited to coworkers, and even those relationships are limited. I think many who opt to work nights aren’t those who excel in social situations. Or maybe they do, but I’m not social enough to recognize it.
The place where I work is in the high tech industry but my job occupies its lower end. Watching the machines making tiny components that will become parts of other machines, I’m aware that processes are occurring of which I’m not aware. Often I find it difficult to embrace my job for that reason. And that could be why explaining what I do has left me at the counter, order in hand, conversation concluded.
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