Since I haven’t had to show up at an office since August, everything about my contract work at the Citizenship and Immigration Canada — where I’m helping to write software for processing refugees — seems pretty novel. Even the work area, which happens to be my first cubicle. In eight years of programming, I’ve never been assigned to a cubicle. It’s sort of neat, but that’s probably because I’m just a tourist and not a cubicle “lifer” like those around me.
Being an office of the Canadian Government, you hear a lot of Quebecois French accents. That’s because the office has to be able to serve people in both official languages. The funniest owner of a French accent is the security guard at the front desk. When I showed up for the interview, I walked up to the desk and before I could say a word, he greeted me by name.
“Ah, you are early, Mister Jo-way.”
“How’d you know my name?”
“We’re da gubber’ment, hein! We know h’everyt’ing!”
Welcome to the working week, folks.
Welcome to the Working Week
(Lyrics by Declan McManus, a.k.a. Elvis Costello)
Now that your picture’s in the paper being rhythmically admired
And you can have anyone that you have ever desired
All you gotta tell me now is why, why, why, why?
CHORUS
Welcome to the working week
Oh, I know it don’t thrill you, I hope it don’t kill you
Welcome to the working week
You gotta do it till you’re through, so you better get to it
All of your family had to kill to survive
And they’re still waitin’ for their big day to arrive
But if they knew how I felt, they’d bury me alive
(REPEAT CHORUS)
I hear you sayin’, “Hey, the city’s alright,” when you only read about it in books
Spend all your money gettin’ so convinced that you never even bother to look
Sometimes I wonder if we’re livin’ in the same land
Why d’you wanna be my friend when I feel like a juggler running out of hands?
Welcome to the working week
Oh, welcome to the working week