The newest rumor to come down is that staff are not allowed any longer to sit in the back of the cafe with their laptops and hang out. A waitress told me that the owner came in and said this could no longer happen. Well, when I hear from the waitstaff, and not from someone in authority, I feel the information is rumor and not staff policy change. The administration here are not exactly linear-minded business people. It's just never been that kind of place, and it shows.

The staff handbook says that staff may be in the cafe unless/until the table is needed for guests. I'm not here making a mess; I have only my spotless, white Mac laptop and my spotless, white coffee cup on the table. There are only two occupied tables in a cafe that easily sits 30. And that cup of coffee makes me a paying customer, not a staff interloper.

Wi-fi was one of the perks of the job, according to the information I received. Well, to get a connection, one must either sit in the field across from the staff mailroom, in the library, or in the cafe. The field is in bright sunlight, and until dusk, I can't see my screen if I go there. The connection in the library is tenuous at best, usually only 25% strength. The cafe has up to 100%, though usually 50-75% connection strength.

So here I sit, with the coffee that makes me a paying customer, listening to a waiter ask the chef a quiet question about "people with computers". I didn't hear the answer. I didn't have to. Let them jettison me.

I have a lot to say in my letter to the owners about my experience as a contractor for their business.