Yeah yeah, optimism shmoptimism. You just can't be cheerful in a place like this. Why??
 
Example #1; It's pouring rain so I took the bus to work. The traffic was heavy because of the rain, and I was 10 mins late. I arrive to find one boss, J, opening up and I ask where everyone is. He says, "The question is, where were YOU?" Well I wasn't driving a sports car in, that's for sure, J. I was standing in the pouring rain. Then standing, dripping wet, on a bus. Then walking some more in the rain. Where were you, and your set of keys? Because frankly, I'm quite relieved I DIDN'T arrive in time, and have to stand on the step in the downpour by myself. Jerk.
 
Example #2; Also J, actually. He arrived in yesterday - in his spiffy sports car - and announced he had generously purchased some doughnuts for everyone. Seeing as he's a millionaire, I think he made more out of the gesture than he needed to, but yeah it was nice. I didn't get one, I'd already eaten. However, K went to get one, and then came back in a cranky mood and told me he had bought 5 - one for him, one for the other boss, one each for the 2 service managers, and one for a client with the other boss. NICE. He didn't SAY that's who they were for, but neither of us was going to claim one and leave the boss without. Then, after my vacuuming (I'll get to that), I popped my head around his door just to tell him I wasn't going to do the offices as well, and he said, "Did you get a doughnut?" I told him no, I ate one for breakfast because I always buy a doughnut and cocoa in a shop on my walk to work. He made this face, like, "what a selfish bitch!" Um.. hello? I'm the only one who buys sweets EVERY Friday for the office, I walk down to the shops to pick up his lunch even if I'm not going to the shops, I stand in queues at the post office to do errands like "renew my dog licence" or "weigh this, wrap it nicely, write a birthday card to my niece and post it all". Ass.
 
Example #3; The cleaner has failed to show up this week, and because there's construction work going on outside, everyone is dragging dirt all over the expensive carpets and tiled floors and mashing it in with big clunky boots. So I took out the hoover and set to work doing the lobby, halls, stairs, and upstairs corridor. When I was done - after the doughnut offer - he says, "Well that was pointless if you won't do the offices, we'll just track dirt everywhere again." Yes, the other phrase people often use is THANK YOU. I know I offered, but it's still not very nice to whinge about what I *didn't* do instead of thanking me for giving a shit about the floors and actually bothering my arse to clean them.
 
Example #4; Probably the worst thing about this place. Everyone's MEAN. They're all loaded, but they're stingy feckers. One example of stinginess is that M (the guy who owns the business) dropped a letter on my desk the other day, a donation to a children's charity. How kind of him, I thought. K wandered over to see what it was, made a horrified face and asked, "Why do THEY deserve this and I don't deserve a raise?? What a waste of money." Um.... que?? Then J comes past, asks what she's looking at and she tells him. He's like, "Christ, doesn't he have better things to do with his money?"
 
Like, WTF?! Better things like... buy a sports car? Maybe buy 5 doughnuts? Go on ANOTHER vacation - the third this year so far? These are all more worthy of someone's time than needy children?
 
It is very hard to be sunny and cheerful around people like that.