*Not going to use co-workers names anymore. For reasons that don’t need explanation.*

I don’t consider myself a computer expert by any means. I know enough to get myself around and what I don’t know I can usually find answers for online. I’m also surrounded by peolpe who DO know a lot about computers and I think that’s what keeps me so grounded.

That being said, we have the stupidest IT person ever to walk the face of the earth at work. Either that, or he is the laziest person ever known to man.

Reason #1: Work, Day 1.
I like short cuts to everything. By the end of the first day I had a shortcut on my desktop to my directory on the server where we all keep our individual files, shortcuts to the most used programs as well as to my online email accouts.

My co-worker, C, saw this and thought it was great and proceeded to call IT Boy and he remote accessed her computer to create her a few shortcuts. She proceeded to call him about 6 times in the next two days to have him make more shortcuts and to organize them into foldres similar to the way I have mine.

Finally I told her, ‘C, Right click>Send To>Desktop.’ Her eyes lit up, her smile widend and she went on a shortcut creating spree like none I’ve seen before as I sat there and wondered why IT Boy didn’t just tell her how to do it herself after the FIFTH phone call.

Reason #2: Work, Day 5.
I’d noticed throughout the week that a lot of the girls wear headphones to listen to CD’s while working. I thought this funny because they all had portable CD players sitting on their desks that were taking up valuable paperwork space when they have computers with CD players sitting UNDER the desks OUT OF THE WAY. AND! The computer can play MP3’s. That takes the CD capacity from 20 songs to over 120!!

To do the proper thing I ask Boss Man if it’s okay to just use the computer’s CD player and he says sure. As long as I’m able to use the computer to work, I can listen to all the music I want. SWEEEEET.

Friday I bring in a bunch of CD’s I had in my car. I go to install WinAmp. Won’t install. Error’s three times in a row. IT Boy happens to walk by a while later and I ask if there’s any particular reason WinAmp won’t install. He spews something about restricted access BS and that nobody is able to use WinAmp.

WOOHOO!! A challenge! I run the install again, this time I change the directory from ‘program files’ to ‘temp’ and it installs without a hitch. I had to mess around with the volume settings to get it to work through the headphones but 30 minutes later IT Boy walks by and I’m grooving to the Eagles and he has the most irritated look on his face.

Reason #3: Work, Day 13.
There are four girls on my team at work. One has been out on sick leave since I started so I’ve never met her. We all share a printer. One of the big ‘ol four tray bastards. Anyway, when C and K print a nice little page comes out first with their name printed on it nice a big so that it’s easy to see which papers belong to which person. Mine don’t.

This is a pain inthe ass because my papers look like they belong to the person who printed before me and and so they are always getting lost in the mix. This could become and even WORSE problem when L gets back and even MORE is being regularly printed out.

Today I decided I had had enough. I noticed there are two different printers installed on my computer. Both have basically the same name (PXXX and PXXX_B) and point to the same physical printer. I call up IT Boy and ask him how to get my documents to print out with the cover letter.

Sit down. His answer is going to blow your mind.

He says to me, ‘I don’t know. I didn’t know there was a way to enable or disable it. I’ve been trying to figure out how to get my printer to STOP doing it since I started here so if you can figure it out let me know!’

I sit down to my computer in utter disbelief. UTTER DISBEFUCKINGLEIF! I highlight PXXX and look at the description. I highlight PXXX_B and look at the description and all be damned if it didn’t have the line:

Comment: Batch page setup.

DING DING DING. I set printer B as the default printer and hit prind and LOW AND BEHOLD IT HAD A COVER SHEET!! Ilet C call him and tell him how to fix it.

It can’t possibly get any worse…

Here it is folks!! All the facts!

I work for Major University Patient Services. We do all the billing for all the Major University doctors but NOT the hospital. Thank God. I could only imagine the amount of work they have to do.

It’s a pretty big operation spanning about a block in four different buildings all connected by a suspended indoor walkway. I havn’t used the walkway yet because each building has it’s own mail room that will run papers that have to go to another building for you… and I’m lazy. My job is part of the Credit Balance Team. What we do is… any patient or insurance company that gets a refund or wants a refund goes through us. So far what I’ve been doing is getting all the checks that have been sent back to us becuase of a bad address, person is deceased, insurance needs more information, etc. and trying to figure out how to get them to thier owner.

It’s amazing the amount of money that gets sent back to us unclaimed. Amazing. Most of them get sent to the state where they keep it until you ask about it. I highly suggest to all of you to check with the state you live in to see if you have any money being held. Most of these checks are sent out without the patient knowing about it.

So anyway, my team consists of four people total. AvonLady, who has been there for over 20 years. CrazyGirl, who has been there for 10 years. LT, been there for about six years. The girl I replaced was there for about 15. She retired. It’s a good job. LOTS of paperwork. LOTS. But it’s busy work and the time passes quickly. I like the girls, especially AvonLady. She’s a hoot.

So, I’m officially only a temp and my boss actually interviewed over 10 people for the position and narrowed it down to two people that he called back for second interviews. Yesterday he approached me about being hired for the position but because he has to be fair (the two girls he called back for interviews were referrals from ohter workers) he said that I need to go through the same application process.

I’m pretty confident I’ll be hired on full time. I’ve already impressed him quite a bit and he seems absolutley delighted that I’ve picked up on everythign so qickly. And hiring me would save AvonLady the hassle of having to train somebody else. She and my boss have mentioned more than once how amazingly fast I’ve managed to pick this stuff up. He’s going to be out of the office tomorrow and all of next week so that gives me time to get even BETTER at the job. I’m just gonna work my ass off and impress the hell out of him and I’ll get it.

I know I haven’t been posting much I’M SORRY!

Work is going great. It’s a lot to learn and BUSY BUSY BUSY and I’ll go into all the details of exactly what I do soon, I swear. One thing that’s great (and not so great) about it is that most of the people get there at 6:00 and leave 2:30 to avoid traffic. I’ve been going in at 7:00, so now you know why I haven’t been posting much. I was exhausted. Tomorrow I’m going to try going in at 6 because if I can get on the schedual and FORCE myself to get there by that time I can leave in time to get Cassidy from school and we will save $400 a month when school starts because we won’t have to pay daycare.

More about work tommorow I promise. I have an idea to spruce up my cubicle. I have my own cubicle and my own ELECTRIC STAPLER. It’s my first time having both. Anyway, everybody has all kind of cool decorations all around there cube’s and I have a SINGLE picture of Cassidy sitting on my desk… so I’m asking all of you to send something (don’t spend money.. drawings, pictures, postcards whatever) so that I can have some love too!! IF you want my address email me and I’ll give it to you. At the end of a month I’ll snap some pictues and let you all see how pretty it is. Be creative!!

And the princess you ask… She is doing better today. They are spoiling the crap out of her and she sounded happy on the phone. She has a follow up appointement tomorrow so I’ll let you all know how she is when I hear from Mary.

Job. I need one. Bad.

Had a pre-interview type thing today. Don’t want to jinx it so I’ll leave the details till I get another REAL interview with them. Everybody cross your fingers for me. I really want this job.

So umm, yeah… Work is kicking my ass. I used to run cross country for Christ’s sake. After eight hour on my feet I’m ready to pass out and die. I need to start using the gym here at the apartement complex. Some of that might have to do with the fact that I’m getting sick. I can barely breathe through my nose, my head POUNDED all day. But hey, I sold a crap load of ink today! HA!