Not Really Liking The Other Person That’s Been At the Same Job As Long As You Have But Still Having to Cozy Up to Her

Women have to stick together, isn’t that what they say? Well, there’s no truer example of this needlepoint platitude than when you find yourself trapped at the same job for the exact interminable amount of time as some other broad who can’t seem to get out either. And no, this doesn’t ever seem to happen to male office workers. While the two of you may have either started out around a similar date (companies so often like to give their hiring batches the same commencement day) and disliked each other right away or allowed the dislike to grow naturally over time, when it’s just the two of you left behind from the “old days,” you’ll soon find there’s but nobody else to cozy up to for complaining solidarity.

And while eating lunch alone (read: sneaking two to four vodka sodas from a nearby bar) can have its thrill now and again, you’re inevitably going to feel the pangs of loneliness hit after enough “solitude” spent in Midtown without another soul to commiserate with. This desperation signals your gradual opening up to the other veteran you once imagined yourself to be so superior to, the one you thought you would either get promoted above or at least beat her to the punch in finding another employer. But alas, the two of you are lifers, and so must you be lifers together. Yes, misery does love company. Just not working at a company.