I work for the state.

When people say that, it is a conversation stopper, unless you also work for the state. This is because the mystery of what the legions of workers actually do, in order to make the systems that serve thousands of citizens operate, may be indescribable to those not inducted into its intricacies. (Amazing "I" alliteration!). Today I had an eight hour lesson. I had two meetings, I studied the "org" chart, I tried to learn people's names and roles, I proved my citizenship, and I tried to grasp what everyone was talking about. I hope it becomes clear. I did not even turn on the computer because we ran out of time to be trained on the email system.

After that, I fought the traffic to get home, making all the wrong choices. Live and learn.