" There were vague prospects of becoming an assistant senior clerk at some point this year. He had been pleased about that when he heard, then horrified to be pleased, because being pleased with something so boring meant that without noticing, at no particular point that he could see, he had shrunk to fit the job. He had never meant to be a telegraphist for four years. "

― Natasha Pulley , The Watchmaker of Filigree Street (The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, #1)