AS GOOD AS OLD

Ever have anyone try to explain to you why some old worn whatever is still good? Guys can be like that in general at times with things like old favorite shirts and worn out easy chairs. But that isn’t the reference I’m thinking of for this posting.

I’m speaking more of when I’m working at City Hall. Every once and a while we get a chance to upgrade some equipment such as a copier. Now since I’m such a piker in terms of spending money on this kinds of things you can appreciate I always buy cheap.

So logically you would kind of figure employees would get all excited when I let them know that this month or year is the one for new equipment. Like I said you would assume that was the case.

However there are occasions when I’ll have some employee who will actually become so attached to a piece of equipment that they actually will get anxiety over changing it. I call it attached when you give something a pet name and talk to it like it is some kind of friend.

The problem is that I don’t always know when they feel that way. At least until we are looking to replace it. Boy do I get some interesting meetings when that happens.

I ask you what would you do if some gal was sitting in your office nearly in tears and mumbling incoherently about why we had to keep the same coffee maker or copier? Even if the thing only works part of the time and isn’t that good to start with, by golly do they panic over the thought of putting it out of its misery.

Now I do admit that it does seem a tad silly to have to deal with such things. But I don’t know, I guess I tolerate it.

In a way I think I’m still toying with ways to turn this idea into a story. Maybe a nice novel. One that would be totally bizarre and funny.

I would have to make it bizarre and funny because I seriously doubt that anybody would think it was true. And one of these days I may even figure out how to be put it in a novel form.

In the meantime I do take the time to keep little stories about my meetings in my desk. I have a wonderful collection of episodes. I have even organized them by equipment. It just seemed to make more sense that way.

The one thing I don’t do is share this detail with the employees. I mean a person that things of a coffee maker as a person isn’t that likely to appreciate the literary effort I am using to try and make it a humorous story.

So I just keep that file growing and growing. Which is about to get a new chapter. We are shopping for a new phone system. I can’t wait for the new round of meetings!