initiative
A long time ago (maybe 5-10 years) there was a commercial on the radio. I don't know what it was for. It might have been a PSA. I won't go into the details, but it involved a bunch of people staring at a copying machine, whining because it was out of paper again. None of them seemed to know (or want to know) what to do about that but whine, until finally one person came along and put more paper in it.
If you didn't know before, my little piece of cubicle world is in a double wide trailer. It has been for a very long time, but that's a story for another day. We have men's and ladies' rooms in this double wide, along with a small kitchen area and cubicles. The plumbing is...suspect. It works OK 99.9% of the time, but every now and again there are issues. For that reason, there is a plunger next to the toilet in the men's room. To be honest, I don't know if there's one in the ladies' room, but I'm guessing there is.
Yesterday, several of us went to a meeting. When we came back, I went to my cubicle, and someone went to the men's room. He immediately walked out complaining that the toilet was backed up. After whining for about a minute, he announced that he needed a piece of paper and something to write with, to put a note on the door so nobody would use the rest room. While he was on this challenging scavenger hunt (I mean c'mon. You're in an office environment. Paper and a pencil or pen can't hide for long.) I went into the rest room, grabbed the plunger and....viola. No need for the paper and pencil before he even got the note written.
I'm not looking for any kind of praise. It's not that big a deal. It took less effort that writing the damn note. I believe the fact that I'm not exactly Mr. Handyman has been well documented here. One of the wife's friends from Georgia actually expressed an amount of surprise when he saw my toolbox in the garage, and it actually held tools. I'm not that bad, but I'll confess I'll never be mistaken for Bob Vila, but this?? This isn't rocket science. I mean, you go in there and shove it in, pump a few times and...flush. You're a guy. This should come somewhat natural. Why, then, would someone go looking for a piece of paper to tell people not to use it instead of just fixing the issue?
Afterwards he said he just wasn't going to do that. It's not in his job description and it's the principle of the thing. Oh, and I suppose filling the copier with paper is in his job description...
If you didn't know before, my little piece of cubicle world is in a double wide trailer. It has been for a very long time, but that's a story for another day. We have men's and ladies' rooms in this double wide, along with a small kitchen area and cubicles. The plumbing is...suspect. It works OK 99.9% of the time, but every now and again there are issues. For that reason, there is a plunger next to the toilet in the men's room. To be honest, I don't know if there's one in the ladies' room, but I'm guessing there is.
Yesterday, several of us went to a meeting. When we came back, I went to my cubicle, and someone went to the men's room. He immediately walked out complaining that the toilet was backed up. After whining for about a minute, he announced that he needed a piece of paper and something to write with, to put a note on the door so nobody would use the rest room. While he was on this challenging scavenger hunt (I mean c'mon. You're in an office environment. Paper and a pencil or pen can't hide for long.) I went into the rest room, grabbed the plunger and....viola. No need for the paper and pencil before he even got the note written.
I'm not looking for any kind of praise. It's not that big a deal. It took less effort that writing the damn note. I believe the fact that I'm not exactly Mr. Handyman has been well documented here. One of the wife's friends from Georgia actually expressed an amount of surprise when he saw my toolbox in the garage, and it actually held tools. I'm not that bad, but I'll confess I'll never be mistaken for Bob Vila, but this?? This isn't rocket science. I mean, you go in there and shove it in, pump a few times and...flush. You're a guy. This should come somewhat natural. Why, then, would someone go looking for a piece of paper to tell people not to use it instead of just fixing the issue?
Afterwards he said he just wasn't going to do that. It's not in his job description and it's the principle of the thing. Oh, and I suppose filling the copier with paper is in his job description...
Labels: Whining
John put this out here at 7:01 AM
5 Comments:
you're on a roll this week, huh? Better check those biorhythms, Lumberyard.
Ya know you're right! I am on a bit of a rampage. I need to calm down a bit. Maybe some of that prozac stuff.....or just a beer.
or a glass of homemade wine! I had some last night and was ...calm as a flower on a breezeless day.
And it makes you poetic too!
and to give you credit, J...gotta admire a guy that can shove and pump... a plunger!
You do your sex proud!
:)
Yeah! *applause* Love this post. I agree and every office is full of these people who walk around saying "This is not in my job description." Way to stick it to em. I hate those people.
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