Ups and Downs

Mostly down this week. The ABR exam (part 1 of 3) is coming up in less than a month, and at this point my studying should kick into overdrive. But instead of doubling my efforts, it seems like my brain has shifted into neutral and now the clutch won't work. This has been the worst week of the summer. I feel tired, drained, and disoriented. If this is what it feels like one month out, I am really not looking forward to the next four weeks. Apparently, I'm not handling the stress all that well. But anyway... enough about that. I've noticed another "Dilberty" thing going on at work and that should be more fun to talk about than test prep or the lack thereof.

They started a new employee health initiative a few weeks back and I think the concept needs a little work. I have no idea who “they” are – probably the same group responsible for the “Weekly Thoughtful Reminders”. Some flyers appeared on bulletin boards around our building that suggest we use the stairs instead of the elevator if we are going up or down only one or two floors. There is a catchy little slogan on the posters, and I have even seen the slogan on little ribbons attached to a few co-workers’ ID badges. Taking the stairs is a fine idea and something I do anyhow, mostly because the elevators are slow and I am impatient. There are just a few problems with this being an "official program" or whatever.

First, the stairwells in our building are almost impossible to find, unless you already know where they are. Most of them are not right next to the elevators. They tend to be tucked into strange little cubbyholes or located in the middle of a random hallway, far removed from the nearest lift. In the event of a fire, a lot of us would never find them. You would think that concurrent with the start of the "use the stairs" campaign, they might have taken the time to highlight the locations of said stairs.

The second problem is the one that I find perversely funny. On many of the stairwell doors, there is a bright red sign that states "WARNING: Alarm Will Sound If Door Is Opened." Doesn't exactly give you a warm and fuzzy feeling about trying those stairs, eh? And downright discouraging to anyone who doesn't regularly use the stairs, and who is presumably the target audience for the "use the stairs" campaign. The alarm doesn’t actually sound, of course, and those of us who are regular stair-climbers know this. I'm guessing whoever came up with the whole "use the stairs" idea doesn't ever use the stairs, or they might have had the foresight to have the scary signs removed so that the stairways look all nice and friendly.

Maybe the slogan should have been “Don’t Be Alarmed, It’s OK To Use The Stairs If You Can Find Them!” I don’t recall the real slogan, because my brain is fried (see first paragraph).