Multiply 365 Day 206 - Welcome back

 

So it would seem I wasn't quite done with “Indiana Matt and the Curse of the Crack Whore” after all. While I did manage to get the computer up and to a functional state yesterday, I was still being plagued by an issue. It seems that most every time I would click on something on my desktop, rather than simply running it would open the “Open with” dialog box and a list of programs to choose from. It was a pain in the ass workaround, especially last night when I was busy trying to download and run the Amazon downloader so I could burn yesterday's music to CD to take to work today. What should have been a relatively easy sort of thing turned into a giant mess before I finally got the laptop to download and run the program properly.

So today when I got home I went to open Open Office to start typing this particular entry (though not this part, I hadn't planned on a second day of laptop suckage to be honest) and again I got the Open With box and decided enough was enough and went about finding a fix to my problem. Luckily I was able to come across some advice after doing a little Googling, apparently it was a registry related issue to the Crack Whore Virus I got yesterday, so I had to do a little repairing.

The good news is I am back, typing in Open Office again (it is easier to type here and copy/paste than have Multiply eat an entire entry by using their window) and we can begin the real portion of the blog. The bad news is, the real portion isn't all that good.

Friday I received a package at work, one from the Pepsi Prize Fulfillment Center. I knew it could only be one of two things, either an Ipod which was ordered a few months ago, where we let our Pepsi rep submit the paperwork, or a mini digital camcorder, a prize where I had opted to handle the paperwork myself given how slow Pepsi was in kicking up the Ipod. Not that I wanted the prizes for myself, like I have said previously I don't mind having gifts handed out to the employees who are deserving nor do I want to be seen as the guy who gets all of the free stuff that is handed out. I get enough perks, I don't need to get all of them.

So the Ipod is already going to be given away to Steve, he works as a primary on second shift some nights, other nights he gets stuck just stocking shelves or running register, but he is a good worker and has bailed us out on quite a few occasions covering for people who had called off. The digital camcorder could have been mine, I was in the office with Ed while our Pepsi rep was discussing the promotion and Ed asked me if I wanted any of the prizes. I politely declined, so he asked Dee if she wanted anything on the prize list and she picked out the camcorder. I placed the order to qualify for the prize (50 cases of Gatorade and 10 cases of Aquafina, we have already sold out of that order so it really isn't as big as it sounds, at least for the business we do) and did the subsequent paperwork myself.

And Friday one of the prizes arrived. The only question was which prize would it be? Turns out by handling things myself things got done faster and it was the camcorder. So now I am all excited, because I can be the cool guy. Dee will be back from her vacation on Monday and there will be a surprise waiting for her. So I take the camcorder out of the package and place it in the top left drawer of her desk.

Enter Monday. All is going relatively well at work, Dee gets in around 9 ish or so, I ask some general questions about her vacation (she had a good time, in case anyone was wondering) and make some small talk. She gets to the office and sits down at her desk, I am now dealing with a grocery order that is coming in, as well as a new humidor that needs to be brought in as well, so I don't get to see her in the office for a couple of hours. Finally it was around 11 or so, maybe even later, I see her in the office and ask if she found anything in her desk, she says no. So I tell her that the camcorder came in and it should be in the top left hand drawer, she opens the drawer and it isn't there. Huh?

Did I imagine the prize coming in Friday? No, the empty shipping envelope is still in my trash can? Did I misremember where I put it, maybe I put it in my own desk? No again, I did not put it in my desk. Now I am thinking, of all of the places to put the camcorder, the office would seem to be the safest. Only a few people have keys to it, and over the weekend that numbers shrinks even more. Maybe four people tops would be in the office on either Saturday or Sunday; myself, Belinda, John (if he comes in to do paperwork) and Ed (who may or may not be back from vacation by then). I can already rule myself off of the list, and I trust Belinda enough that I would highly doubt she had it, John would do paperwork Saturday morning if he came in at all and I was there and he didn't and Ed wouldn't even know what the camcorder was, let alone have the knowledge ahead of time since he was away to take it out of Dee's desk. So I am stumped. That means that whoever took it would have had to do so on Friday at some point, but again that doesn't really expand the list of names a whole lot, no one would have access to Dee's desk with managers sitting in the office all day, the only name that actually gets added to the list would be the owner Brian.

And that my friends is a good bingo. It was Brian who handed me the package originally when it came in the mail and watched me put it in Dee's desk. Dee called Brian at home today and sure enough, he had in fact taken it from her desk and kept it for himself, at least I assume he did, I doubt it is still wrapped up if he took it home. The thing is, never in my wildest dreams would I have expected Brian to do anything like that. The possibility never crossed my mind, had it I would have put it some place else entirely, or taken it home with me, but I wrongly assumed it would be safe in Dee's desk. Needless to say she was pretty disappointed the rest of the day, can't say as I blame her in that regard. Probably not the welcome back from vacation either her or I expected.