I used to work in a factory, not your normal kind of factory...no, this one was still in the dark ages. They had no idea what a computer was, jobs were jotted down on stray bits of paper and often became lost for months, when they eventually surfaced we'd still be expected to know what the job was, who it was for and what the material list was.
The boss drew his mud maps* on real mud.. (this actually happened from time to time as he would draw it out with a stick in the yard and ask me to go make it)
One of our biggest problems though was a total lack of ventilation in this huge tin shed, in an Australian Summer it was quite unbearable; we needed lots of cool water.
We actually had to threaten a strike to be graced an old secondhand fridge to keep our drinks cool… 
Each day I would cool two litres of rain water at home ready for the next day in hell, each day I took it in with me and put it in the communal fridge and each day when I needed a drink I would go to the fridge to find that someone had been drinking my water.
Now I'm not all prudish but the thought of these Neanderthals slobbering from my water bottle several times a day did not please me, in fact I would pour the water out, clean the bottle and try again. Day after day, week after week I tried everything to stop them, I put my name on the bottle, I even put half a cup of salt in it one day..
Then one day desperation kicked in and I thought to write on the bottle "I spat in this" (in fact I did, just once so some of them saw me do it)
It worked! They stopped drinking my water and at last I got to have nice cool water all day. (triumph!)
Until one morning when I went to the fridge and found two bottles with "I spat in this" written on them, my mate Jeff had taken my lead and copied the idea… My sense of humor kicked in and I headed to my toolbox to find several different colored textas.
Armed and ready I headed to the fridge..
Under Jeffs written warning I wrote 'So did I' in one color and under that I wrote 'Me too!' in another color, just to finish off I wrote 'And Me'.
An hour later I found his bottle in the bin….
My profuse apologies meant nothing to an upset Jeff…
*A mud map is a rough technical drawing
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10 comments:
Hi Tempo,
Only you would think of doing that. :)
But seriously I know it's not a laughing matter, especially in very hot conditions in those circumstances. If only everyone would of brought in their own water, but I know in some places that is a bit too logical. :)
We got around that by installing a water cooler with 18 litre bottles of mineral water in the meal room :-).
I don't understand businesses that don't try to make their workers comfortable. My grandson worked in a rock landscape place and it was very hot in the summer and freezing cold in the winter. Stupid. If you want your workers to stay - treat the right. Have air and heat.
There's my rant and now I'll tell you I loved the story of the bottles of water!
I can see why Jeff was cranky but hey--you saw the humor in the situation and were able to laugh at yourself a bit.
At my work we tried using extreme hot sauce and even contemplated kitty litter to catch a sandwich thief. That didn't work, so the powers that be have now installed a CCTV. Say hi to the camera!
@Mags, Bring their own water? That would have been too easy, Neanderthals dont think that clearly.
Hi Windsmoke, Our boss would never have spent big time like putting a water cooler in...he wouldn't even put a filter on the tap water. (Which tasted BAD)
@Belle, I agree completely but our constant complaints and suggestions fell on deaf ears. He only provided a fridge because it was a legal requirement to supply refrigeration for foodstuffs. Some bosses never learn.
Hi Sarah, Hot sauce...wish I'd thought of that at the time...LOL Kitty litter sandwiches..OH thats so funny!
Tempo dri-inks spi-it!
Tempo dri-inks spi-it!
Yukky!
Hi Symdaddy, Only my own mate...and only the once...and it was worth it to get all that lovely cool water to myself. Ahhh! (burp!)
Wonder what's worse, cold spit or warm spit?
When I worked in a factory (They DID have computers, we made computer discs!) my fags were always being stolen from my locker. Never the whole pack, just one or two at a time, until I wrote a little note on the pack one day informing the thief that I had rubbed each and every one of the ciggies on me arse! :¬)
Hey Jules, The worst is someone elses spit! The thought of those grubby, smelly neanderthals swilling from my bottle was enough to make me retch..
Hey Map, Thats a great idea, and well worth the few fags just to straighten out the slate. It makes me wonder about the mentality of the people who would constantly rip off a fellow worker.
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