03/08/2002 Archived Entry: "It's OK. I'm IT."

I received a little instant-award kind of thing for my participation in an emergency project. At my current place of employment, little instant-award kinds of things are redeemable for little knick-nack prizes--pens, little radios, pocket organizers, that kind of thing. I chose for my instant-award a cool blue light-up pen, rather like the ones we had at the George job.

The pen is battery powered and emits a nifty blue glow when the top is clicked. As I was removing the pen from its packaging, the nice executive assistant lady in charge of dispensing awards told me, "There's a little cover on the batteries. You'll have to take the pen apart to get it out. Let me show you..."

As she was speaking, I noticed the tag that read "UNSCREW HERE TO REMOVE BATTERY COVER BEFORE FIRST USE." By the time she finished saying "Let me show you...", I'd popped the pen apart and was removing the battery cover. She smiled and with wide eyes, said, "Wow, you were pretty quick with that. I have to show most people how to do it."

The words bloomed large in my mind, and I ALMOST said them: "It's all right, ma'am. I'm from I.T. I'm used to reading the manual for other people, so it's not a problem when I have to do it myself."

Fortunately, I did not say this. I merely smiled and thanked her for her help.

[Previous entry: "Right!"] [Return to archive...] [Next entry: "Progress Quest"]