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Oct 10A (Non) WTF Classic: Print or Fish
by in Feature Articles on 2010-11-25It's Thanksgiving Day here in the States, so instead of a normal tale of incompetence, failure, or disaster, here's a fun story that's kind of the opposite of that. "Print or Fish" was originally published on 2005-11-22, and never seems to grow old...
By the time he was twenty-one, Roy had already earned the title "drop out." College just wasn't his thing: he attended three different universities -- one after another -- and didn't even come close to earning a degree. His "drop out" title was only solidified when he started work as a roll-machine operator at the local paper factory. Worse yet, the factory was by the docks, which meant that Roy had to pass through the outdoor fish-market every day on his way to work. Talk about a great way to start the day. But Roy wasn't fazed; he became inspired.
By day, Jeff is an IT Administrator and, by night, a volunteer fire fighter. Both positions occasionally involve fighting fires, but Jeff’s duties and the training he receives while at the fire station are a complete 180 from what he does for a living and, in fact, is exactly why he enjoys it so much. However, on occasion, both worlds collide, especially when the fire department needs some IT expertise – such as when the doors and locks were to be upgraded to use keycards for access.
It was Friday afternoon, and Mike was 78% of the way out the door and into the parking lot when he heard the pitter-patter of footsteps behind him. Don't look, don't look… he thought, intent on getting out the door and starting his weekend. 
Katie’s start at Ace Software Solutions was fairly unremarkable. Hired as a technical “Jane of all trades,” she helped users by fielding MS Office questions, setting up hardware, upgrading drivers, uninstalling malware, and any other problems as they arose. Overall, the users at Ace were pleasant to work with and her manager Jennifer was a great person to work under. During busy times, she was willing and able to get her hands dirty, as she called it, in the daily support work as well.