I’m No Sir

This summer I’ve been making use of Microsoft’s employee shuttle program as my primary means of getting to work.  Not only is riding this bus rather than driving myself better for the environment and convenient, I also find it much more relaxing, as I don’t have to working about constantly monving my foot between the gas and brake pedals in stop-and-go traffic.

One thing I’ve noticed is that when I board the bus oftentimes I’m greeted by the driver with the phrase “Good morning, sir.”  I’ve been informed by coworkers that even though I’m still “just an intern” by no means am I’m the bottom of the ladder as far as the Microsoft chain goes, but that last part still gets me.

“Sir.”  That’s what I call my friends’ dads, or a soccer referee, or a knight, or another old person, but never have I envisioned myself as a sir.  Now I understand that this term just comes as a part of the ritual that is chivalry but I’ve never really noticed it being used <em>towards me</em> before.  It makes me wonder what establishes me as somebody to be addressed as “sir” to other people.  Is it because I’m “old enough”, or because I’m an engineer (those guys are the ballers at tech companies, right?) or is it just because they can’t distinguish me from the rest of the sirs.

Whatever it is I’ve never felt the need to be addressed as sir.  Perhaps we should just have a corporate system for addressing each other within the workplace where each employee can pick from different titles like the ones on Pownce.  Dude, Gentleman, Chickipoo.  On Pownce I’m a dude.  I don’t know if that would suffice for the workplace, but I know I’m not a sir.  You can just call me campo.