Life Is Easy

Cleanliness is to Godliness as Efficiency is to...?

Everything would be a lot easier if life were multiple-choice.

In our staff meeting this morning, my boss mentioned that our agency's new plan of consolidating central functions was undergoing a pilot program in my old division, along with the other divisions in my old building. They're going to consolidate all the separate IT departments into one, to support everyone in the building. I almost spit out my coffee.

"Elizabeth seems to find this amusing for some reason," remarked my boss.

Well, yes and no. I mean, I did work there, and the general impression I have of the overall cooperativeness of employees in that building is perhaps not completely consistent with an image of everyone functioning smoothly under an umbrella organization. "Inefficiency" is not necessarily a word that springs to mind, but "infighting" is. Also "rampant obsolescence." At least one IT department in that building supports software developed during the Truman administration.

"Tell us what you think the problem might be," says my boss, leaning forward with her chin in her palm. She isn't confronting me, mind you; she's actually smiling with anticipation. There are moments I suspect I was hired solely for entertainment purposes.

"Well, I don't know," I said, "my general impression was that the IT group was the least cooperative element of a generally unhelpful area. I could be wrong. I'm curious to see how it works out. Can somebody bring popcorn?"

Everybody laughed, but I meant it.

Lucky me, I am in hardly any staff meetings these days, though I'll be on the road for an educational travel conference all next week. There will be no IT people present. I guess that's for the best, though on the whole I've always gotten on quite well with nerds.

Life is wonderful, and everything is easy. As long as you have someone else to point and laugh at.