Hell hath no fury like a blue collar worker.

So I had an interesting experience at work today. Something I designed started to leak. This is always a bad thing, especially when it’s messy when it starts leaking. So I basically made a mess where someone else works, and they got pissed off. Another guy called me up and told me to come on over to the plant since politically it would be the right thing to do. I agreed, even though I knew that my part was already leaking because I had checked it out last Thursday.

So I roll on over and walk over to where the leak is. I see the guy who called me and he’s next to this grizzled old guy with fire in his eyes. I knew that much like gorillas in the wild, I needed to assert my dominance over this guy otherwise he’d eat me for lunch. I give him a good iron gripped handshake while other guy does the introductions, and he shakes back hard. I knew it was coming, but I didn’t realize what level it would be on.

“Where did you get your engineering degree?” He says
“Was it a mail order?”

Now in the jungle at that point he had just stood up and banged his fists on his grizzled chest and showed his teeth.



At that point in the jungle, I would have jumped on top of him and started beating the crap out of him, attempting to claim alpha male status.

Being that we weren’t in the jungle, and I would have gotten fired for that, I shrugged it off.

“Is there only one leak?” I say

“One leak that is going out to a customer” He says (Everything had a negative shot in it)

“But there’s only one?” I say

“Yes”

I inspect what I’ve already looked at on Thursday. Not much had changed, big red puddle, red all over, and it originates with my design.

Big gorilla continues:

“This is a crappy design, and I can’t believe you’d put your name on this and let this get out to a customer”

“The supplier pressure and heat tested it for us, and it was OK”

“Lots of things are pressure and heat tested and fail”

“I know, but we have to do our best. I’ll get on the phone with the supplier (As soon as you stop brow beating me about it), and we’ll get it straightened out. I don’t want garbage going to the customer either”

He went on growling about this and that. I don’t recall exactly what was said. Then all of a sudden he just left.

The incident really didn’t bother me. I guess I’d be pissed too if all that red shit was all over where I was working, but, like I said, we aren’t in the jungle.

Apparently the guy I was with thought it was bullshit how big grizzled treated me as well. I was chillin’ at my desk listenin’ to some music and he came up and told me it was wrong how ape man treated me, and he was going to take care of it. (He’s higher up than me and has been around about 20 more years than me). I play it cool and say it was no big deal. It wasn’t right, but I can at least understand where gorilla man is coming from.

So I guess he’s going to get a stern talking too. So now I’m not only a bad designer in his mind, but I’m also a rat, and he knows my name.

Hopefully I don’t end up where Jimmy Hoffa is after the Union takes care of me.