I usually recognize an alarm situation as just that. People running around in a panic because something is not working and others are affected. For an example. A class room of students get 45 minutes to listen to a historical program. The video connection is good when the teacher tests the connection fifteen minutes before the demonstration. Five minutes into the demonstration the connection dies. Panic time.
Before calmly trying to troubleshoot the problem somebody jumps on the horn and in a hysterical voice alarms the other party. The other party catches the panic in the caller's voice and they begin to panic. 26 students are sitting there looking at a dead screen. The school district has paid for a bus to take them to another location to view this video and time's a-wastin'! The other party puts the phone down and while running to the office next door alarms their co-worker sitting at the next desk. What? What are we going to do? Students sitting there with nothing to do! The co-worker jumps on the horn to their manager and the alarm begins as a rigmarole spreading from one person to another like some kind of wild fire out of control.
Again, usually I recognize this for what it is and I try to calmly contact the person closest to the failing equipment. I try to get them to "calmly" reboot the unit and try connecting again. No shortcuts because the kids are getting restless. A shortcut was taken and more time is wasted. The unit is slowly re-setting. It seems to take forever when time is a-wastin'. In this day and age of lightning speed Internet access, we are befuddled by the slow-booting older machines. It takes minutes instead of seconds. Nerves are frayed.
Oh, and the icing on the cake? When an alarmist comes to my office for help, she notices dark red painted toenails sticking up from underneath my co-workers desk. She gives me a quizzical look. I shrug my shoulders. Yes, my bizarre co-worker is laying on a neck brace underneath her desk because of her endless pain episodes. She is on her back and her legs are on her chair.
She has used up all of her sick days and has even borrowed some so this is what she is reduced to. Laying on the office floor sucking on her "FOR CANCER PATIENTS ONLY" pain sticks. Mumbling about how long it is before she can slap another pain patch on herself. Given half the chance and a gun, I'll put her out of her misery. And the reason she doesn't go home on her "lunch hour" to perform this rather personal deed? The pain medication makes her woozy and she is afraid to drive too much. Feel safe on the roads, do you?
Before calmly trying to troubleshoot the problem somebody jumps on the horn and in a hysterical voice alarms the other party. The other party catches the panic in the caller's voice and they begin to panic. 26 students are sitting there looking at a dead screen. The school district has paid for a bus to take them to another location to view this video and time's a-wastin'! The other party puts the phone down and while running to the office next door alarms their co-worker sitting at the next desk. What? What are we going to do? Students sitting there with nothing to do! The co-worker jumps on the horn to their manager and the alarm begins as a rigmarole spreading from one person to another like some kind of wild fire out of control.
Again, usually I recognize this for what it is and I try to calmly contact the person closest to the failing equipment. I try to get them to "calmly" reboot the unit and try connecting again. No shortcuts because the kids are getting restless. A shortcut was taken and more time is wasted. The unit is slowly re-setting. It seems to take forever when time is a-wastin'. In this day and age of lightning speed Internet access, we are befuddled by the slow-booting older machines. It takes minutes instead of seconds. Nerves are frayed.
Oh, and the icing on the cake? When an alarmist comes to my office for help, she notices dark red painted toenails sticking up from underneath my co-workers desk. She gives me a quizzical look. I shrug my shoulders. Yes, my bizarre co-worker is laying on a neck brace underneath her desk because of her endless pain episodes. She is on her back and her legs are on her chair.
She has used up all of her sick days and has even borrowed some so this is what she is reduced to. Laying on the office floor sucking on her "FOR CANCER PATIENTS ONLY" pain sticks. Mumbling about how long it is before she can slap another pain patch on herself. Given half the chance and a gun, I'll put her out of her misery. And the reason she doesn't go home on her "lunch hour" to perform this rather personal deed? The pain medication makes her woozy and she is afraid to drive too much. Feel safe on the roads, do you?
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