The Database Prophecy

Today was my first day back in the office. While I worked over the break, I was able to sit lay in my bed and work in my pajamas. In fact, I even gave up shaving for a week. It was quite nice.

Well, when I arrived at work, I pulled into my usual parking lot and approached my usual door to enter. I pulled my badge up to the door sensor, and hear the usual beep. When I pulled on the handle, the door was still locked.

Thinking that it was a fluke, I tried again. I got the same result.

I thought it must be the door. The guy who just went through it in front of me must have messed with it. But that wasn't the case. I tried another door, and got the same result. The sensor kept turning red, either trying to tell me to go away, or mocking my fingers that were reddening from the cold.

I called up a co-worker and asked her to come let me in. She gave me a hard time, but let me in without having to offer any promises of goodies or favors. I told her that my badge wasn't working, and then asked the question that was on my mind—Is there something I should know?

I know that my contract expires at the beginning of next month, but I didn't expect that I would be banished from the building a month early as a strange form of hazing. It turns out that I was right.

I went and checked with my supervisor, and he informed me to go talk to the security office. After waiting in line for about 15 minutes, I handed my badge to the nice lady sitting behind the desk. She started looking up my information, and then asked me if I had another badge (which I don't). Then she asked who my supervisor was, and started a little investigation of her own.

It turns out that the database ate me. My picture was gone, major parts of my information was gone, and I had been given another badge as part of it. The lady turned my badge back on, and then told me that she turned the other one off. I feel bad for whoever has the other badge, because they are going to have to go through the same process as I did tomorrow when they try to come in and find that the light is red. I hope they aren't late to their meeting.

After all this tomfoolery, I started to wonder if this was a sign of things to come. Was this the company's way of saying, "You're not wanted?" Does this mean that I am not destined to work here? Does this mean that I am going to get one of these two jobs that I am applying for?

I hope that the answer to the last question is yes.

On a completely unrelated note, today I received my 1,000th visitor. If I knew who you were, I might give you a prize. But since I don't, you'll just have to have the satisfaction that on January 4th, 2011, you might have been my 1,000th visitor.