This morning in the elevator I ran into a coworker. We'll call her Guinevere. Guinevere is responsible, in part, for upkeep of our company's database. But she has other "marketing" responsibilities. A young go getter a few years out of a private college.
Miserable as I was to be getting into the elevator to work and seeing someone I work with imediately, I was proud of myself for managing a grumbled "hello" to young Guinevere.
Guinevere says hello back and returns to her conversation (two other coworkers I do not know where in the 'vator, it appeared). Guinny and the poor souls trapped listening to her were discussing some sort of new database is being rolled out at work. They are training sessions going on, it would appear. (As a rule, any email I receive at work that says "training" gets double deleted immediately.)
In any event, Guinevere was rambling about how so and so hasn't signed up for general training yet and she can't get the specialized "break out training" unless she first takes part in general training. Just have her contact Guinevere and she'll take care of everything. "No worries" followed but that terrible, fake chuckle you only encounter at work and church.
I could not believe what I was hearing. If it was not 9 or so on Monday morning, I may have yelled what I was thinking:
"What the fuck is the matter with you? Do you realize that no one cares. NO ONE. We are all here because we have to be here. No other reason. And you're going to spend your life defining yourself based on who has and has not signed up for fucking database training. Are you kidding me?
"But the really sad thing," I would have continued, "is that you will never realize just what a pathetic piece of trash you are. Indeed, you will move from job to job, company to company, always convinced that what you are doing is v e r y important. You probably talk to your friends never endingly about your job. And if you're ever able to marry....
"Oh, that poor poor man. Will you ever realize that he doesn't care about that woman at work who you hate? He cares about the sign ups for your database less. When will it strike you that just because people are forced to listen to you, that doesn't mean they care."