I'm a little slow today. I just switched to Sanka. So...have a heart?

Thursday, July 27, 2006

What did people do...

What did people used to do at work before the Internet?

How did they pass those looong, boooring hours? Maybe writing letters longhand? Dictating things?

Searching for the McAlister file?

Whiteing things out on their IBM Selectrics?

My guess is this: Before the internet came around in 1994... I'll be people just smoked. I mean, I think you could still smoke inside in a lot of places in 1994... Not that I really remember so well, because smoking probably blended into the background, and I never was aware that there was a difference between "smoking" and "non-smoking..." but I digress.

I'll bet people smoked the shit out of a pack of cigarettes on a slow day at work. Bored? Nothing to do? Have a smoke at your desk, and stare out the window. Or go downstairs and grab a bag of UTZ Potato Chips (I miss you, Utz.) and smoke outside. Or go to a co-worker's office, and smoke and talk about...buttoning the top buttons of silk, collared shirts...and...that crazy show...Melrose Place?

I don't know. I CERTAINLY don't know what I'd do without the internet. I'd go stir crazy and be bored shitless. I mean, I COULD still smoke in my office (Really.) but I don't like smoking when I'm not drinking.

I guess my point is: Thank God we have the internet now. It's probably caused me to smoke a lot less than I otherwise would...

3 Comments:

Blogger Rootietoot said...

When I was working, it was night shift at a nursing home. I had alot of downtime and the internet would have been a godsend, or maybe not...but instead of surfing or smoking, I would do things like restocking shelves and checking on sick people to make sure they were still breathing (please...don't die on my shift!)...you know, stuff you'd want people doing if your 90 yr old grandpa was in their care.

2:59 PM

 
Blogger Mike said...

I thought I was through the worst of my phase of Internet time-wasting. Then YouTube started...

8:24 AM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I have literally been having this conversation with people non-stop lately. Since, as I type this, I am at work and completely bored! I love the internet for these reasons. I love gofugyourself and the latimes.com crossword puzzles and you tube and looking for shit I don't need on ebay and craigslist. Mostly, I spend money I don't have at online shoe stores and buying everything on overstock.com. I guess I'm being counter-productive, spending all my hard-earned money I make from working, at work.

I think people used to just read and make a lot of personal calls. I do these things IN ADDITION to stalking old friends/ex-lovers on my space. Does this make me a bad employee?

9:56 AM

 

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