no, not in there
This is the last of my work related stories you'll be glad to hear, and this time the joke is not on me.
On 1 July 2001 I started a new job as a Benefits Appeals Officer. The date is important as it marked a change in the law from benefit appeals being heard by a panel of elected council members to a system of independent tribunals chaired by a legally qualified brain.
To help us along the way, the government sent us some useful case law on a CD.
Anxious to see what was on the disc, one of my colleagus (who shall remain nameless) volunteered to put the disc in her PC.
We all gathered around her desk not paying much attention to what she was doing.
As you can imagine, the PCs we were using back then consisted of a massive beige coloured box, huge CRT monitor and of course a keyboard and mouse.
Michelle (d'oh) was searching for the place to insert the disc into the beige box without too much success. Chancing upon a thin slot she thought that this must be the place to insert the it.
She slid it in, only to hear it drops the bottom of the box. She'd put it through a ventilation slot!
We had to call IT out to retrieve the disc. He also showed Michelle (sorry) where the CD drawer was located.
We all laughed.
A lot.
Poor Michelle.
The time I spent with that team as an appeals officer and latterly the team's manager were the happiest 12 years or so I spent in work. We were, I think, a unique blend of personalities that made going into work each day a pleasure.
I'll really miss them all.
On 1 July 2001 I started a new job as a Benefits Appeals Officer. The date is important as it marked a change in the law from benefit appeals being heard by a panel of elected council members to a system of independent tribunals chaired by a legally qualified brain.
To help us along the way, the government sent us some useful case law on a CD.
Anxious to see what was on the disc, one of my colleagus (who shall remain nameless) volunteered to put the disc in her PC.
We all gathered around her desk not paying much attention to what she was doing.
As you can imagine, the PCs we were using back then consisted of a massive beige coloured box, huge CRT monitor and of course a keyboard and mouse.
Michelle (d'oh) was searching for the place to insert the disc into the beige box without too much success. Chancing upon a thin slot she thought that this must be the place to insert the it.
She slid it in, only to hear it drops the bottom of the box. She'd put it through a ventilation slot!
We had to call IT out to retrieve the disc. He also showed Michelle (sorry) where the CD drawer was located.
We all laughed.
A lot.
Poor Michelle.
The time I spent with that team as an appeals officer and latterly the team's manager were the happiest 12 years or so I spent in work. We were, I think, a unique blend of personalities that made going into work each day a pleasure.
I'll really miss them all.
LOL Funny story (especially when it's not you!) Weren’t you lucky to have a job you loved!
ReplyDeleteKind of the same, but not ..... I was in the butcher's shop buying the week's supply of meat. Lots of meat. I started to hand my debit card over the counter to the butcher. It slipped from my grasp and in that split second that lasts forever it somersaulted into just the exact position to slip effortlessly into a slot no thicker than itself (1mm???), and it disappeared forever into the workings of the freezer unit that was under the counter. If one tried to do that, it would be impossible.
ReplyDeleteThat is one moment of IT illiteracy that I will never live down! Thanks Nick for sharing that little tale ;-). In mitigation it looked exactly like the CD slot in my car. I will never forget the look on the IT guy's face as he unscrewed the back of the box --sheer incredulity mixed with a barely concealed desire to laugh while trying very hard not offend me. But at least I can use a tape measure :-D
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