Eeyore was here
In my circles the co-worker known as Eeyore was first coined in 2001. It's that co-worker who is as adept at problem solving and accomplishing tasks as Eeyore is in the Winnie-the-Pooh stories. You ask them a question and their first answer is, "Oh, I don't know." They generally have big puppy dog eyes that express exactly what a blank slate they are. When you ask them a question you can see the gears clicking ever-so-slowly in their brain:
You: "What's 2+2?"
Eeyore's thought process: Oh, that person is looking at me and their mouth is moving. I think they are talking to me. Are they asking me a question? Oh, I think maybe it was a question. Maybe they want me to answer the question. I don't think I know the answer to that question, though. Wait, maybe I know the answer. 2+2. I think that's math. I think if I count my fingers then I can figure out the answer. Yes, that's what I'll do. I'll figure out the answer to the question. I can count that high. Yes, the answer is 4!"
The PR guy at the company I worked with in 2000 was an Eeyore. It was frustrating when you were trying to accomplish things in which he somehow needed to be involved, but it also created hours of office entertainment at his expense. At one point in the adventure our office relocated from crappy, cramped quarters to a nice, newly remodeled office space. We got actual cubes to work from (you know it's crappy when the cube farm is a step UP), and it was ever so exciting. My cube was the closest occupied cube to Eeyore's in the new configuration. (there were several empty cubes between us so, thankfully, I didn't have to sit next to him). The day we moved into the new office some co-workers and I had a pool going on as to how often Eeyore would ask me where a particular item in his cube belonged. If memory serves, the high guess won that pool.
It finally dawned on me today that the instigator of the Hulk yesterday is an Eeyore. It also dawned on me that the pecking order is (from most to least favored):
- Stupid person
- Eeyeore
- Stupid Eeyore
Again, ever the optimist, there was some enjoyment sprung from the day. Coming up with ways to get revenge on the Stupid Eeyore for causing pain and suffering in my life. We've got their UPS account number, so are thinking of all the nasty, heavy things we can send to them.
You: "What's 2+2?"
Eeyore's thought process: Oh, that person is looking at me and their mouth is moving. I think they are talking to me. Are they asking me a question? Oh, I think maybe it was a question. Maybe they want me to answer the question. I don't think I know the answer to that question, though. Wait, maybe I know the answer. 2+2. I think that's math. I think if I count my fingers then I can figure out the answer. Yes, that's what I'll do. I'll figure out the answer to the question. I can count that high. Yes, the answer is 4!"
The PR guy at the company I worked with in 2000 was an Eeyore. It was frustrating when you were trying to accomplish things in which he somehow needed to be involved, but it also created hours of office entertainment at his expense. At one point in the adventure our office relocated from crappy, cramped quarters to a nice, newly remodeled office space. We got actual cubes to work from (you know it's crappy when the cube farm is a step UP), and it was ever so exciting. My cube was the closest occupied cube to Eeyore's in the new configuration. (there were several empty cubes between us so, thankfully, I didn't have to sit next to him). The day we moved into the new office some co-workers and I had a pool going on as to how often Eeyore would ask me where a particular item in his cube belonged. If memory serves, the high guess won that pool.
It finally dawned on me today that the instigator of the Hulk yesterday is an Eeyore. It also dawned on me that the pecking order is (from most to least favored):
- Stupid person
- Eeyeore
- Stupid Eeyore
Again, ever the optimist, there was some enjoyment sprung from the day. Coming up with ways to get revenge on the Stupid Eeyore for causing pain and suffering in my life. We've got their UPS account number, so are thinking of all the nasty, heavy things we can send to them.
posted by Swankette at 4:39 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home