Love, As Always, Pete

The Weekly Letters, by A. Pedersen Wood

January 4, 1991

Dear Everyone:

I got back to work last Monday, thinking:  Take an easy day.  Just do a little bit of paperwork and kick off early.  After all, it’s New Year’s Eve; best to get home before dark, before all the drunks get out on the road. 

Then I saw my In box, with its 2-3 foot stack of mail.  And the other stack on my desk.  I guess someone was afraid they’d break the In Box if they put any more in/on it.  Not that I could ask anyone, since I was the only person there.  Everyone else was either still on 1990 vacation, had just started 1991 vacation, or was out sick. 

“Ken” showed up Monday morning to ask, “How do I get out of DOS?” 

DOS is a personal computer system.  It’s like a Magic forest.  If you don’t know how to get out of it, don’t go into it.  In between helping “Ken” with the PC and handling phone calls, I got through a lot of Destruction Approval work. 

That was Monday. 

Tuesday being a holiday, “Jeannie” and I slept late after toasting the New Year the night before. 

Wednesday, “Alma” was still on vacation, but “working at home”.  “Carla” was out sick, but “taking it as a vacation day”.  “Melanie” was out sick, but decided to take it as a sick day.  “Rowena” was working in Dublin.  “Kevin” was on his way back from New Orleans.  I don’t know what became of “Ashley”.  But I do know that I was completely on my own. 

Had the whole place to myself.  No distractions.  Able to get through a mountain of work in a single bound. 

Except for the phones.  Everyone had put their phones on forward to Voice Mail, referring callers to someone else.  If someone called “Alma”, they got a message to call “Melanie”.  So they call “Melanie’s” number and they get a message to call me.  Or, if they called “Rowena”, they got a message to leave a message, which “Rowena” would then copy to me to handle, since she was in Dublin.  Ultimately, all calls came to me.  I wound up spending nearly all day Wednesday and Thursday holding down the fort, with the phone in my hand. 

Now it’s Friday and half of everybody has finally shown up for work only no one’s working.  Instead we’ve been sitting around exchanging leftover Christmas candy and Xmas horror stories. 

Next week, it’s back to “normal”. 

Ashland Update… 

The tickets have arrived, all except Americans Abroad for which we’ve been placed on the waiting list.  The dates are 7/30-8/1/91.Hands, how many have already written at least one check with January 1, 1990 instead of 1991?  I know I have.

 

Love, as always 

 

Pete

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