Dreaming

Date: 24 June 2008 09:31:41

My work, when I'm not day-dreaming, mostly involves sitting in an office doing complicated calculations to design little structures to help migratory fish (like the tasty salmon I ate last night) get upstream, and then giving a few sketches to one of the CAD technicians in the office to turn into a nice drawing that I can then give to an engineering contractor to build. When everyone in the chain is doing their bit, everyone is happy. When one link in the chain fails, the remaining ‘everyone' gets seriously stressed.

Unfortunately for me, Slacker-Tech has, in theory, been drawing up my designs for the past two weeks. The work should have taken him approximately 3 days. The contractor needed the drawings last Friday. I gave my sketches to Slacker-Tech the week before last and then spent most of last week trying to press upon him the importance of getting them finished. Sometimes I think Slacker-Tech has selective hearing... or maybe it's more ‘selective understanding' given his ‘flexible' approach to his specified working hours and holiday allowance, and his strange ability to take off time-in-lieu without ever being in the office to do any extra work.

Of course, only half of the required drawings were done by Friday. I sent that half to the contractor with the promise that he'd have the rest at the start of this week. Yesterday the slightly-stressed-contractor phoned to ask where the remaining drawings were. I assured him he'd have them today.

I know things are getting bad when I spend most of the night waking up periodically having had dreams about Slacker-Tech and his lack of work. I told Mr Standard this morning that I'd had nightmares. But it turns out that actually they were prophetic dreams. This morning I get into the office to find a message from Slacker-Tech. He is ill, recons it's ‘summer flu' or something. Slacker-flu, more like... it's another nice day in sunny South Wales, he'll have gone out fishing for sure. I am not happy.

Just needed to share. Sorry.