We do surveys for all kinds of clients at work. There are two groups of surveys on a divisive issue, one group on either side. By client request, it is arranged so that no one who works on the one group of surveys may work on the other.

This division extends to monitors as well as the goons on the phones. As an interviewer, I'd been working on my preferred side of the issue. As a monitor, I am now working on the other side. Today's lead monitor was in a terrible state, as she'd had half her people pulled, and she and the other remaining monitors were all assigned on the one side of the issue, the side I used to be assigned to, and still am on at heart. So she pulled me from the job I was monitoring and set me up with an array of people on the other job. "Anyone can do this one," she said, indicating the one that I'd been doing and she was about to take over, "but you're the only $ISSUE_SIDE person I have here tonight."

I indicated the job I'd until that moment been working on. "Neither milk nor meat, eh?" I asked, grinning.

"Huh?"

I repeated myself, a little more distinctly. She'd heard my words, but not gotten the joke. Ah well.

I was walking back from work and took the usual shortcut through the school parking lot. I saw a head I thought I recognized, and wandered over. It was, indeed, good old Professor Demland. He and I chatted for a bit before I wandered off on my merry way.

It says a lot about my blonder half's new job that he and I are being paid about the same. (As of my last paycheck. We'll see if monitors get paid more.) The archetypical Old Lady really shouldn't be teaching the bright young CIS student how to get into the new system. Demland winced with me at my graphic illustrations at just how tech-savvy the Old Lady Monitor really isn't.

It was a nice windy night, and I saw the lightning in the clouds as I walked home. The wind ripped through the hairspray and flipped my hair around. I turned on my blinky-heart to alert drivers to my presence, me in my black pants and new cool black two-layer work shirt.

Via chlaal, In Vitro Fertilization for unmarried women in Victoria, Australia