Trivial Pursuits: Cupertino

I was at my computer Thursday afternoon, listening to a school board meeting on YouTube. Even with my headphones on and Dr. Larson talking, I could still hear the 30 mph wind and, because only one earpiece works, office talk.

I slid down my ’phones and put school board on pause when I heard my boss, Jill, say something about Cupertino. It was 86° and she wished she was there.

Cupertino: I knew that name. That place. Because Jill is in my direct line of vision from my desk, unless she closes her door, which is almost never, I could see she was looking at her iPhone. A-ha. My iPhone weather app also tells me the weather in Cupertino on occasion. Like a default setting laughing in your face.

Because I am the office poller and what Jill calls “an inquisitive little thing,” I asked, “Where’s Cupertino?”, directing my question to no one in particular, yet all four of my coworkers at the same time.

I’m also an impatient little thing. When no one chimed in with a guess or, even better, the answer, I asked Google. California. And Apple headquarters. Curiosity satisfied. Back to school board.

Just as Cupertino is the default city should you consult your iPhone after a system update, I am, by default, the office poller. While Jill frequently wonders aloud, as does our graphics designer, Erin, on occasion, I don’t utter anything that ends in a rising-pitch intonation without expecting an answer (preferably, in a falling-pitch intonation).

When Tom Petty passed away recently, I polled the office crew on their favorite Tom Petty songs. I made it extra fun by suggesting we each take turns playing ours over our computers. Bonus: I would start. Since our desks are all within 10 feet of another and audibility is no problem, and you never need much of an excuse to put on some Petty, this activity sounded like a nice, easy and interactive way to pay homage to a rock ‘n’ roll great. Turns out no one else was game – a fact I did not realize until my song ended and there was just silence.

I’m OK with being that person in the group. The nerdy one with an inappropriate amount of enthusiasm for tidbits and trivia. The gusher. The person with the left-field idea always trying a little too hard to squeeze it through and for the most part getting met with meh.

And I’m OK with my office mates passing on golden ideas, like let’s have a running quote board of funny things that accidentally come out of our mouths (not giving up on that one quite yet), or why don’t we get ice cream instead of pizza for lunch? (It’s cheaper, and why not just skip to the good stuff?) 

I’m OK with these coworkers of mine because I can be myself and not care if no one jumps on the Jamie bandwagon. It’s not every work environment where you feel comfortable enough to announce that you need to pee on your way to the facilities.

Jill, Lisa, Erin and Leland: You’re good people, and I’m grateful to you for taking me and my idiosyncrasies in stride and at least pretending to seriously consider my random questions, my burning need to know and to share.