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Murphy's Law and the First Day on the Job -- Writer's Poke #163

For Writers:

I arrived to an empty office -- no desk, no chair, no phone, no computer. They knew for two weeks that I was starting today, but no one had bothered to prepare. And for that matter, it was rather lucky I got there at all.

My car was packed with books and office decorations, and when I exited the interstate, the tower of boxes in the passenger's side seat toppled onto me. This distraction caused me to turn right instead of left, but since I had only made the drive to work once, on the day of my interview, it didn't register that I was going in the wrong direction.

Ten miles down the road I thought, "I should be there by now. This doesn't look right." So I turned off onto a narrow South Carolina state road. The road had drainage ditches on both sides, and after driving down this road for a while, I decided I had better turn around. But as I tried to use one of the driveway bridges that crossed the drainage ditch, I backed up a bit too much, and my back wheels ended up hanging off the side of the bridge.

I didn't have a cell phone, and didn't have any idea how I would get my car back on the bridge. Fortunately for me, a prison bus was driving by in the opposite direction and saw what had happened. The prison guard stopped the bus, and soon ten big African Americans in orange jump suits had surrounded my car. They easily righted my car onto the bridge, and I was on my way. To an empty office.

After one week, my boss decided to move me to an office that was properly equipped. Apparently it was easier to move me than to move a computer and desk and phone and chair.

What was your oddest or most memorable first day on the job experience?

"The best way to appreciate your job is to imagine yourself without one." -- Oscar Wilde

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