Plug in the Droomvlucht

Flipping back and forth on my desk chair, I google how much it costs to print a poster. I intern at a communications consulting firm. A colleague walks in and greets everyone as always with ‘hello kittens!’, after which she meows. This is considered so normal that I dare not ask.

One of my colleagues approaches me with feedback on a LinkedIn message. I wrote it earlier this week for a project revolving around making inland shipping more sustainable. She says she likes the listing of concrete project goals in the message, but I keep putting the emojis at the end of the sentence. It looks nicer when I use them as bullet points.

Just before lunch, employees are called together for the weekly team meeting. I roll my chair toward the center of the office and join the circle with the rest of my colleagues, all women. One by one, they talk about the projects they are working on and indicate their moods with a color. Some choose yellow, meaning a little overwhelmed, and some choose orange, meaning a little very overwhelmed. When it is my turn I say: “Just green.”

We reflect on the departure of an employee who worked at the company for quite a long time. Because she is very fond of special beers, she receives a personalized beer menu. For this, like all the other colleagues, I have to choose a beer for the menu and describe why I recommend it. After lunch, I draft an email for the initiator. I attach a picture of a can of the Dommelsch beer brand and write: “I recommend you Dommelsch. Deliciously gross and dirt cheap!”

A week later, the beer menu is handed out. Dommelsch is not on it. During the lunch break, we walk to the supermarket. On the way, a colleague tells me that she noticed that the magic of the Efteling has worn off on her, because the last time she was in the Droomvlucht she saw a plug. Once back, while enjoying a frikandelbroodje, I notice that the absence of my beer bothers me. I tell a colleague about what I had written for the parting gift and that I sent it well in advance. She says she understands why my contribution was not added: “The description of the beer had to say something about her too.”