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May 27, 2005
Fax Wars
A long time ago, in an engineering office not nearly far enough away…
a Kelly girl sent out thirty-seven letters and twenty-four faxes for ONE engineer—-in one morning.
The fun started on Wednesday, when the fax machine began ominously spouting one fax after another, at about two-minute intervals, all from a single office, all addressed to that one engineer in our office. They were liberally sprinkled with phrases like “please advise” and “pursuant to.” I thought it was funny until I realized what it meant. All those letters generated an equal number of letters in response, sent out by yours truly, each beginning, “I am in receipt of your letter of 25 May…” Of course, each letter was also copied to five other people, so that the entire galaxy could witness the refined verbiage of these two professionals. The letters were fanned across my desk in an imaginative pattern when I came in yesterday morning, waiting to be proofed, copied, faxed, mailed and logged.
I imagine my counter-part in that other office, both of us standing at our fax machines like two outlaws in a shoot-out. We are killing each other with pieces of paper and legalese.
Days like this suck all the kind juices right out of me. Sluuuuurrrp. They’re gone. The other evening, our pastor’s kid came to mow our lawn, as he does once a week. His mom or dad has to drive him because he’s only thirteen. That night, I sat on my sofa feeling crabby and inhospitable while the pastor’s wife sat in her van outside our house waiting for Josh to finish mowing. Usually I go out and insist that she come inside, have something to drink, etc. But that night, I just let her sit in her car. The house was a mess, *I* was a mess. I watched out the window as she went to get Josh when he was done, waved, then got in the van and drove off. I couldn’t believe it. She actually saw me sitting on the couch, not inviting her in, and she waved to me.
The point is that I don’t want to be like this. I don’t want to feel so sucked dry that I can’t be hospitable or even civilized. Is money for our bleed-us-dry health insurance or credit card debt worth being like this? I don’t think it is.
Can I call a truce or drop out of this war altogether?
Posted by Lisa at May 27, 2005 09:11 AM
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