Confessions of a Call Center Gal - By Lisa Lim Page 0,114
bummed about me moving out since she has found a new best friend in Pamela Pornero, one of the Call Center Termites who snagged the team lead position the same time she did.
Since becoming a lead, Kars now hangs out with the ‘elite’ squad. She claims it’s all a ruse, but she’s slowly warming up to the Bimbo Termites she once reviled. The very day I moved out, Pamela Pornero moved right in.
But Kars and I remain close friends. We just move around in different circles. And I never tire of teasing her about her porn star flat mate.
For shits and giggles, Kars and I once came up with porn star names for ourselves. She was Karsynn Bangs and I was Maddy Cherry Poppins.
Conveniently, I still live in the same apartment complex as the Bangs-Pornero household. Just on a different floor—the first floor. The elevator here is always out of commission and after a brutal day at work, the last thing I want to do is mount twelve flights of stairs.
I do miss Kars, but I love my new flat mate.
Mika and I are happy homebodies. Tonight, like most nights, we find ourselves unwinding in our new apartment.
“How was work?” I ask and scoot over to make room for him on the sofa.
He plops down next to me, rests his head on my lap and tells me he’s too tired to talk.
“C’mon, tell me.” I tickle him playfully as he tries to snuggle up to me.
“Well, working at Greenworth is way better than working at Lightning Speed, but I’m on my feet all day long, and it can be taxing at times.”
I trace the edge of his jaw. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” He burrows his head in my belly. “I like my job. Enough about me; how was work at the Lightning Speed call center?”
I groan with displeasure. “I wish lightning would strike that place down.”
He laughs. “Suck it up! You won’t have to work there much longer.”
“You’ve got that right! Monday is my last day,” I say with a mixture of awe and disbelief.
Momentarily, I find myself mentally revisiting the whirlwind of the past few weeks. Exactly fourteen days ago, I’d submitted my resignation after Ajon had presented me with a very enticing offer. I couldn’t believe my deaf ears when they’d said they wanted to hire me and pay me seventy-five thousand dollars a year! I was overjoyed by their offer, but I’d remained undecided. For the first time in my life, I’d found myself at a crossroads, filled with sudden trepidation.
Should I stay with Lightning Speed? Or should I go with Ajon and become a tech writer?
Or should I pull a Frost and take the road less traveled by and write my own book?
For as much as I’d wanted to accept Ajon’s offer, I was scared shitless. What if I don’t live up to their expectations? What if I’m not good enough?
I’d kept laboring over my decision.
Thankfully Mika, Kars, Ingeborg and Truong were there to offer their undying support. Even my supervisor, Douglas, was thrilled for me. He’d put things into perspective when he’d said, “If you want to write, this call center is not for you. You’ve already reached the ceiling here, and I am confident you can go a lot further.”
And I knew deep down inside that it was time for me to leave the call center. My dream was to become a writer, and I owed it to myself to pursue that dream.
Mika jolts me out of my reverie. “Let’s not talk about work anymore.” He sidles closer and I nestle comfortably into the curves of his body. Closing my eyes, I relish our cozy existence.
“Hey, babes,” he mutters. “I’ll need to work on your car this weekend. The muffler I ordered came in today.”
“Umm hmmm,” I murmur lazily.
“Babes...” he whispers.
“Mmmm?”
“My arm is numb. Can we switch positions?”
Sitting upright, we readjust ourselves on the sofa. Mika surfs the channels with one hand and musses my hair with the other. What does he think I am? An Irish Sheepdog? Lassie?
He has this habit of stroking my hair. Actually, squashing my hair would be a better way to describe it, since it looks like a steamroller just steamrolled my head.
And it doesn’t help that I have straight, flat and BLEH hair that’s completely lacking in vitality and volume. Every morning, I spend half an hour blow drying it to give it an ounce of bounce, and Mika just squashes it each time he sees me.