The Killer Plant looks like it's going to be more permanent than the rest of us.
Monday: AJ called us together for the morning meeting and said he'd decided over the weekend to implement an "adaptability" policy, and James is to start off by showing me how to work the accounts. James said he didn't have time to, and I said I didn't either. (I've done accounts before and don't want to again.) AJ said OK then, how about James showing LeeAnn instead of me, and Fiona showing me the purchasing. We all said nobody had the time, but he said we'd have to start a program, as Head Office had one. Donna said how about her showing Amy some of her work, and AJ said yes that's a good start, and Donna's obviously a team player, so she'll be arranging a program for us all to become more flexible.
After he'd gone we all agreed that Donna would show Amy how the filing system works, and, when they're both happy with that, Amy'll show Donna how to put a call through the switchboard. Then I'll show James how to book a truck to stop by to pick up, Fiona'll show me what catalog she orders stationary from, and finally LeeAnn'll show us all how to put the milk in the icebox. It'll take all week but you can't rush these things - AJ'll be on to a new policy next week anyways.
Tuesday: Donna came over and said she'd lost another file this morning. I went over but it turned out it was one she'd been working on yesterday and she'd said no when asked if she wanted to save it. Could I get it back for her? I said no I couldn't so she said she'd taken a printout of it before she closed it, and could I use that to get it back with? I said no, but the printout would help - it'd make it so much easier for her to retype it. She wasn't too happy with that, so we went over it again. If she wasn't sure she should save it then she should - she's got a 12Mb disk and plenty of room on the server too. She said OK, but I think I saw it go straight over her head.
Amy started having hysterics in the ladies' washroom and Donna had to go get her out. There was a spider in there with her - Donna wouldn't touch it and LeeAnn said she couldn't either. So I covered James while he went in and caught it, then he took it down to the parking lot and let it go. Fiona said if it was a house spider it was cruel to put it out, but when James offered to catch it again if she'd take it home with her, she wouldn't.
Wednesday: AJ finally noticed the Killer Plant. He came out and asked how it'd got in there, but nobody said. He said right, it's coming out and told us to move it for him. James and I went in (with all the others watching from the doorway) and we got one either side and tried to shift it. We couldn't even make the pot wobble. AJ said here, let me do it, so he called Andy on the phone and told him to get a couple lads up from the shopfloor. Andy said they were on break and were they insured to do it, so AJ said never mind, we'll do it. So James and I tried again, but still couldn't move it, and Donna shamed Mike into joining in too. With LeeAnn on it as well we all could just about make it acknowledge our existence, but that was all. Amy pointed out then that it'd not only reached the ceiling, but the top had run along and was behind the bookcase in the corner too, and maybe it was catching on something. I got a chair and LeeAnn (who's the tallest) got up to see.
It'd split a couple of the ceiling tiles, got up into the roofspace above and found some pipes up there - it's wrapped itself around them and is heading off towards a watertank over top of Andy's office. Donna said we'd have to cut it out, but AJ said we couldn't as the plants belonged to the Company, so it'd have to stay there after all.
The big printer wasn't working after the lunchbreak again. Walked over, pulled Mike's mobile charger, plugged the printer back in.
Thursday: The second plant growing through the flat one in Andy's pot is even taller and throwing out leaves like crazy. We still don't know what it is, and Donna said she's hoping the flowers smell as good as the leaves do. You can almost see it growing now. She said she thinks it's a bean plant, and when I said oh, what sort of bean she said magic and everyone laughed. LeeAnn said in that case, who's the giant - I don't get it.
AJ told us all the new automated phone system was delayed indefinately, but Donna rang up Carly and she said it was going to be in three weeks time. We'll have to see - personally I'll go along with Carly.
Asked Elli about the bean plant thing that night - she told me what it meant and I now remember seeing people fined for it on AFP.
Weird.
Friday: We had the morning meeting as usual, and AJ wanted to know how the "adaptability" policy was going. Donna told him she'd mapped a few things out so he said good, he could tell his Big Boss it was on course and we all were broadening our skills base. Luckily he didn't want any details. Once he'd gone I went around everyone in turn and we all spent the afternoon just emailing each other - to check the system was working OK.
I'd been getting this feeling all day I'd recognised Andy's second plant - it's like when you see a black candlestick and then suddenly see it's two faces. So I stayed back until everyone else had gone home, then went in to have another look. The leaves are pointed with them jagged edges, and it smells real good.
I haven't any idea how it got in there, and I don't know what to do - tell him, pull it out, or just fire it up.
read 00/09/18-22 or read 00/10/02-06 