On Monday I got called to a classroom to fix a printer. I couldn't do it, and told the teacher, and said we'd get to it as soon as we could. This should have taken less than 5 minutes, but as it turned out I was there for about 20, because she kept going on and on about how crucial this printer was, and how she'd tried any number of (inane) things to get it working and moaned on about IT and the school and her gas bill (??) and so on. I finally escaped and got back to some other work.
Yesterday I finished work at about 4:30pm, signed out and went to the car park. I had just got into my car, when I saw the same teacher heading to her car. I waved, then started my engine, put the radio on, and got ready to reverse out of my parking space. I watched the rear view mirror so I could see when she walked past and then reverse safely. She didn't walk past. I figured she must have gone to a car in my blind spot, so I turn my head to look out of the window to see where she is, and ARGH! there she is right next to my car. She motions for me to wind down my window, so I turn off the radio and open the window.
"Did you fix that printer today?"
WHAT?! I am in my car! I am trying to drive home! It has gone half four and I have signed out. I am no longer working. No, my car is not an extension of my office and I have not, in fact, merely come here for a break.
There followed several minutes of conversation about this blasted printer, and how it was so important and crucial that it got fixed and now the colour one was broken too and all the students needed it for their work and had we sent off the other one that used to be in that room and could we do that as soon as possible and so on and on and on. All the while I was sat there saying "Yes, yes" and "We'll try to have a look at it tomorrow" and the like, all the time desperately trying not to just yell "IT'S TIME TO GO HOME! I DON'T CARE IF THE PRINTER IS DEALING CRACK TO THE SCANNER!"
I eventually escaped and went home.
Still, it could be worse. I told my colleagues this morning, and one of them told me that one time he'd been accosted in the car park, while heading to his car to go home, by a teacher who was having troubles with their laptop. He said that he had to go home and... the teacher offered to follow him home so that he could have a look at it there!
Good grief.
