I just realized I work with a veritable United Nations of temporary proofreaders. We have a steady rotation who come in on various days of the week, seemingly without rhyme or reason. In the grand tradition of temp proofreaders, they are all alternately weird/terrifying/fascinating in their own special ways.
#1
The tall, thin black woman who talks too much. Great temp proofreaders should be seen and not heard. She always wants to talk about fantasy football, which surprisingly, is quite annoying to me.
#2
The quiet Asian lady. I’ve never heard her speak. Literally. I guess that’s good, but compared to #1, it’s a little scary not to talk at all! Right?
#3
The middle-aged white lady. She’s actually quite nice. Pretty in a domestic way, she looks just like the Associate Creative Director we just hired, and I confuse them in my mind. That’s probably not good.
#4
The terrifying, impossibly short one. Somehow she makes proofing symbols come off as bitchy. She once explained the “i before e” rule in her notes, as opposed to just writing the mistake off as a typo.
#5
The old Irish guy. He loves football (soccer) and drinks Guiness. White hair and a thick brogue, but he doesn’t add superfulous ou’s or c’s into our words.