What did you do with it?
Dec. 31st, 2008 01:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mbarkerJust a memory. Hope you enjoy it.
What did you do with it?
by Mike Barker
It was bright under the fluorescent lights somewhere in the middle of the RCA building that morning in 1983 when Mike Sullivan, my boss, bustled up to my desk. There were no windows nearby to confuse us with the real weather, but it was always bright under the fluorescent lights. His mustache bristled as he smiled at me.
"Got a surprise for you." He waved at the man behind him, pushing a cart with a new computer terminal on it.
"You're not really senior enough, but I got you a terminal. I know you're always arguing that we should have them on our desks instead of using the computer room."
I pushed papers aside, and the union mover made short work of picking up the Z19 terminal and setting it on my desk. I looked at it, then smiled at Mike.
"Thanks. I think I know exactly how to use it."
Mike nodded. "I thought you would. If you need any help, let me know. Got to go now, but I'll drop by this afternoon and see how you are doing."
He walked off, with a final wave of his hand. I looked at the terminal for a long moment, sighed, and set to work.
##
After lunch, Mike turned up again. He was several steps away from the desk when I saw him, and he was shaking his head as he stared at my desktop covered in papers but lacking a terminal. He slowly walked up to stand in front of my desk.
"Okay, what did you do with it?"
I smiled at him. "What would you guess?"
"It's sitting with your programmers, isn't it? But it was supposed to be for you. I mean, you know that my boss has a terminal on his desk . . . "
"That he doesn't know how to use."
"Well, yes, but it shows that he's important to the company. And you having one on your desk was . . ."
"Ridiculous, as long as the programmers have to use the terminal room. So I put the terminal where they can use it, and I'll go use the terminal room when I need to."
He blinked, rubbed his jaw, and stared into space for a moment. Then he looked at me again. "It's really important to you, isn't it?"
"I'm not the person who needs the terminal the most. So yes, it's important to me that my team have the tools they need. Don't worry, when there are enough of them, I'll get one, but right now, they need it more than I do. So that's where I want it."
Mike grinned at me. "Okay, well, we'll do it that way, then."
And indeed, every member of my programming team had a terminal before I got one on my desk to use. But I still think that's the right order.
The End
What did you do with it?
by Mike Barker
It was bright under the fluorescent lights somewhere in the middle of the RCA building that morning in 1983 when Mike Sullivan, my boss, bustled up to my desk. There were no windows nearby to confuse us with the real weather, but it was always bright under the fluorescent lights. His mustache bristled as he smiled at me.
"Got a surprise for you." He waved at the man behind him, pushing a cart with a new computer terminal on it.
"You're not really senior enough, but I got you a terminal. I know you're always arguing that we should have them on our desks instead of using the computer room."
I pushed papers aside, and the union mover made short work of picking up the Z19 terminal and setting it on my desk. I looked at it, then smiled at Mike.
"Thanks. I think I know exactly how to use it."
Mike nodded. "I thought you would. If you need any help, let me know. Got to go now, but I'll drop by this afternoon and see how you are doing."
He walked off, with a final wave of his hand. I looked at the terminal for a long moment, sighed, and set to work.
##
After lunch, Mike turned up again. He was several steps away from the desk when I saw him, and he was shaking his head as he stared at my desktop covered in papers but lacking a terminal. He slowly walked up to stand in front of my desk.
"Okay, what did you do with it?"
I smiled at him. "What would you guess?"
"It's sitting with your programmers, isn't it? But it was supposed to be for you. I mean, you know that my boss has a terminal on his desk . . . "
"That he doesn't know how to use."
"Well, yes, but it shows that he's important to the company. And you having one on your desk was . . ."
"Ridiculous, as long as the programmers have to use the terminal room. So I put the terminal where they can use it, and I'll go use the terminal room when I need to."
He blinked, rubbed his jaw, and stared into space for a moment. Then he looked at me again. "It's really important to you, isn't it?"
"I'm not the person who needs the terminal the most. So yes, it's important to me that my team have the tools they need. Don't worry, when there are enough of them, I'll get one, but right now, they need it more than I do. So that's where I want it."
Mike grinned at me. "Okay, well, we'll do it that way, then."
And indeed, every member of my programming team had a terminal before I got one on my desk to use. But I still think that's the right order.
The End
