Getting Up To Speed On A Contract Assignment

[James Barrow]

<hail Terry Gilliam>  They dug you a hole?!  You were lucky then. When I
started, they gave me a shovel and a pen and said 'Make with the writing,
boy, and make it neat - your new name is Dot Matrix.' ...</hail Terry
Gilliam> 

Richard's description of his work area fits several work experiences that
I've had.  At one location my cubicle - or, more accurately, my peninsula -
jutted so far out into the hallway that people bumped into the back of my
chair at least a dozen times per day.

Lunchtime was the best as a group of employees usually hovered right behind
me discussing where to eat, who should drive, and what foods caused
gastrointestinal difficulties.

Add to that the networked printer that was three feet away and the fire
extinguisher that I leaned up against - which was checked by fire department
every few weeks - and you can see that I was in the loop, so to speak.

I mention this because, although the material that I was creating was
considered to be just as important as the software itself, the developers
were coddled in an office at the end of a hallway.

Can we form a tech writer's union?

- Jim

-----Original Message-----
On Behalf Of Ned Bedinger
> 
><another python voice> A crate!? They bought you a crate?? My manager 
>pointed me to a hole and said "There's your workstation, perfect for laptop
>computing. "Alright," I sez, "I'm fine with nuffin but a hole to work in.
I'm right good >and happy with it!" ...</another python voice>

Dan Goldstein wrote:
> <monty python voice> They let you have a *chair*? When I was your age,
> we were lucky to get an old crate, with nails sticking out of the
> sides... </monty python voice> 
> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Richard Lewis
>>
>> Geezzzzz, on my current contract assignment, I spent the 
>> first month and a half without a PC or a desk -- just a 
>> chair out in the hallway and some old documentation to 
>> read.