It’s Addison, lol

I have now been working here at Point Lepreau for 2 months, 3 weeks. As some of you know, I find this work terribly isolating, for a number of reasons. First, let me demonstrate where, physically, I am located in the plant:

2nd floor of STOIC building

Now, this is a big deal for me! I’ve had a terrible time being friendly with anyone (beyond the cheery professional friendliness), and one day the only words I said that weren’t “hello” or “goodbye” were spoken to a woman who was using the washroom at the same time as I was. It’s been difficult, because:

• I am friendly and outgoing
• I previously worked in customer service
• I previously worked a job that demanded constant interaction with my co-workers
• My most recent work-like environment was college, where socialization is a constant throughout the day

So it’s been hard! But today I seem to have discovered the key, if you will. The piece of the puzzle my brain seemed to be lacking. I found the one place which caused the most friendly interaction in the least amount of time: The bench outside.

In the ten minutes I was there, I had four people talk to me of their own accord.

“You have to go in sometime!” laughs my current supervisor, smiling.

“If you ever want to have lunch in the sunshine sometime, let me know,” says a woman from two departments over.

“Y’know what they need out here? Picnic tables!” says an older gentleman, smiling.

“Isn’t it a gorgeous day? A few degrees cooler than in Fredericton!” puffs one of the secretaries, making her way up the hill.

If I’d known sooner, I would’ve been taking my lunches out there for months!