I am Surrounded by Idiots

Well, maybe the title is a bit too harsh. Not total idiots. But certainly people who do tend to not think very much target-oriented.

Part one: A strange mail.

I received a mail from work today.

It said something like "about the three books from before christmas you were supposed to order, please, as soon as they arrived, directly hand them to the boss, it's super duper urgent that we get them."

I said "yeah, ok, sure". I was not absolutely sure which books that was about, as I had sent out purchase orders for a whole lot of books in the weeks before christmas.

When I went to visit my colleagues to eat and chat with them during lunch break I did not think about that mail, as I am not working today and so it's not really my problem until next week, but the coworker who had sent the mail saw me and came to me, saying "did you get the mail? Cuz it's really very urgent, you know?"

Says I "yeah, I got the mail. I will make sure to remember to hand you guys over the books as soon as they arrive."

(Thinking: Yeah, and that's brand new information. I ALWAYS give you that stuff as soon as it arrives.)

Part two: Ah. So that's what it was about.

Then I went in and looked at my in-tray. Hm. Still looked the same as the last weeks. Upmost top was a piece of paper with several post-its, which I will need next week.

(I tend to put important stuff back into my in-tray, so that I will not forget to take care of them next time I am at work.)

So that meant there had been nothing new put into it during the last weeks. Or was it?

I took a closer look, and really: Under the post-it-paper, there was a slim sheet protector, containing three pieses of paper. On top of one, there was a post-it, saying "Please try to find these three books in the Berlin libraries. If you can't find them, please order them (=ask the economics library to buy them for us). It's super urgent."

The date on that thing said "Dec. 14th".

And I got fucking angry.

Why, you might wonder.

Well, let me say at first that I took those papers with me and searched the Berlin libraries for the books, and, as they were nowhere to be found, ordered them right away, so everything is properly processing now.

But I was angry.

Part three: The days before christmas.

The 14th was a wednesday.

I had been working on monday and tuesday, 12th and 13th. I would not come back during that week.

The next week was already part of the university christmas break and many people would be on vacation. As I had collected loads of overtime already, I had said that I would not come back to work before christmas. So I would be back to work in january.

However, one special colleague had said that he might need some help during that week, so in the end, we specifically decided that during the last week, each day one of us would come over for a few hours.

So did I on wednesday, the 21st. Buuut, and that is the point: I came ONLY to help that one certain colleague on a special task, and I did not even properly check my in-tray that day. I just looked there, saw the post-its being on top, so I didn't check any further.

Why would I? People were on holidays, I had done all the organizational stuff the week before so that I would be free to concentrate on one task on that day.

Part 4: Now this was actually my fault.

I came back to work on monday, the second of january. As soon as I came in (and I came two hours early to get stuff done) the secretary stormed in, giving me extra urgent tasks, then another coworker came, giving me even more urgent tasks, and time flew by. I worked two hours longer than my regular hours, and still I found no time to properly check my in-tray. So I just took a short look. Ah, the post-its on top. Still nothing new.

And I left.

Yeah, that was my fault. I should have checked it more thoroughly.

Tuesday I came to work, actually just for a celebration and cake, but even though, suddenly I had to come to the professor and we had urgent stuff to discuss. Yeah, so much for cake and goodbye.

That filled the complete amount of weekly working hours for me, and I still have loads of overtime, so I did not plan to come back before monday.

So I was kind of "lucky" to go to the office today, even if it was just for lunch. That way, I did at least find out what they wanted from me.

Part 5: Reasons why the whole thing makes me so unbelievably angry.

1. If it is so super duper urgent, fucking send me an e-mail!!!!!

2. If it is so super duper urgent, why the hell do you give that task on a wednesday to me when there are FIVE other tutors, two of them being there on wednesday, two other ones on thursday, and on friday, there were FOUR of them working!!! WHY ME? They would have been faster!

3. I would be there working on WEDNESDAY BEFORE CHRISTMAS. Who of the library book order staff do you think will be working that day??? Most of the regular staff were on christmas holidays, there were only a few student workers keeping up the service.

4. Why the hell do you think I am the only one who can be chosen for that? It is true that I am the one to send book order mails. But the task said: First of all, check whether the books are anywhere in Berlin, and that is a fucking task for EVERY SINGLE FUCKING TUTOR, it is a task that is, if urgent, given to any fucking student who is at the office now!

And if THEY didn't find the books, they could still mail me and tell me to please order the books, or they could fucking do it themselves. It's not hard. If they had done it right that wednesday or thursday 14th/15th, the order might have been out well before the christmas break.

5. If they need the books so super duper urgent --- what is there I can do about it? Up until now, the ordered books would sometimes arrive after 2-3 weeks, but usually several months after I ordered them. So when the hell do my bosses think those books will arrive? It might be well into spring, no matter that I ordered them two weeks late.

Part 6: Yes, I am angry.

It's not that I hate book ordering or book research, but it is one of the tasks that every tutor should be able to take care of. Whenever there is something, ANYTHING urgent to be done and I am at the office, they run right into me and are like "Please stop whatever you are doing, we need this done now."

So if I am like that (and during my earlier years, my co-tutors were treated like that as well), why is it, that there is another tutor at the office, but you do NOT run into that tutor and tell him to fucking do that thing right now?

I have a feeling that the person who gave me that task and sent me that mail is kind of set on the idea that the book ordering is usually my task so she will just give the stuff to me.

But fact is: If it's urgent, you give it to whoever is at the office right now.

I don't get it, I am trying to think it over from her point of view, but her point of view would have been:

Shit, this must be done ASAP. Tutor in charge is not coming back during the next 7 days and then it's christmas anyway, but there are tutors there right now. I'll give it to them so it will be out to be processed today.

In order to hide the fact that I did not order the books yet, I just did the ordering at the library now at my laptop. Took me just 15 minutes, but still.... it's 15 minutes I won't include into my time recording sheet. And now I feel bad and like I messed things up. Like I forgot to do it, like I am incapable of simple tasks, like I am not dependable.

When in fact, they just did it in the unsmartest way possible.

Part 7: Le Update

When I just checked my work mail, I had another message. This time from the boss of bosses himself, asking me when we could probably expect the book. Maybe we should try and order the book.

I have no fucking clue what he thinks where brand new books usually come from, but honey, it is NOT the book fairy. So I wrote back that I already ordered the book (didn't say when though), but that the time between order and delivery varies from weeks to months, so I don't know when it will be there.

I also said (and it's true) that I don't even know that the library employee who is responsible for buying new books has yet returned from winter holidays.

So the whole thing really is super duper urgent, huh?

Guys, if it really is that urgent, holy shit, you really messed it up.

BTW: I can be so glad that I went to university today. If I had spent the day at home, I would still not know what the hell they were talking about.

Today is just fucked up.

And just for the record: I love myself for coming up with "I have no fucking clue what he thinks where brand new books usually come from, but honey, it is NOT the book fairy."