Where Are All the Groupies? [When I Grow Up Challenge]

by John Perkins

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The phone rings. I force myself to pull away from the monitor and answer.

“Hello, this is John.”

The voice on the other end of the phone drones on, taking forever to get to the actual point. “I’ll be right there,” I reply in the most professional and courteous tone I can muster. Hanging up the phone, I mumble to myself knowing that it will be another 5 to 10 minutes before I get to finish the YouTube video I was just watching.

I take the stairwell down to the seventh floor so that I can tell my wife I exercised today. By the time I reach the user’s office, he figured out the secret to tech support. “I just rebooted my PC and everything seems to be working fine now.”

“Fantastic. Just let me know if you need anything else or have any more issues,” I smile as I turn to walk out of the office. I look at the stairs, pause, and take the elevator back up.

As I get back to my cubicle, I think to myself: “Why did I want to do this job again? Oh yeah, the chicks.”

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Comments

Average Reader Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

  1. Where Are All the Groupies? [When I Grow Up Challenge]

    John Perkins' Buddy Icon John Perkins

    Posted about 1 month ago

    Despite what the tone of this implies, I really do like my job. And I, uh… rarely watch YouTube videos at work. Or something.

  2. Where Are All the Groupies? [When I Grow Up Challenge]

    Jenunique's Buddy Icon Jenunique

    Posted about 1 month ago

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    I am still laughing! I love this! I was just looking for shirts to wear to work for the next week and a half (until true summer break) just for this reason. My favorite…. PEBKAC .. and of course.. needed it as soon as I walked in the door this morning. However, because it is the first question I ask, I have one on the way that states, “Have you tried turning it off and on again?” ;) Such is the life of a TS.

  3. Where Are All the Groupies? [When I Grow Up Challenge]

    Steve Fairweather's Buddy Icon Steve Fairweather

    Posted about 1 month ago

    4.0 out of 5 stars

    A good peak at the tedium of life as an IT professional. Trust us, It’s certainly not as sexy as the guidance counselor makes it sound, kids.

    I think my favorite line was “I take the stairwell down to the seventh floor so that I can tell my wife I exercised today.” This little line just adds a lot of character insight. It shows your character as perhaps insecure on some level and perfectly sets up the end where he does accept who he is… at least until tomorrow.

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