After a long night of sleep last night, I got up bright and early and made it into work well before 9. Chipper and upbeat, I was heading into the building when I ran into a woman who works in another department. She is fairly new, but we've shared a few friendly exchanges--although she did steal a cab from me once which I thought was rather rude.
She was standing in front of the door, looking at the race applications hung outside, so I sidestepped her to get into the building. Immediately, she turned to me and briskly said, "You can't come in. We don't open until 8:30. The doors are locked."
Um, it was 8:39. The door was open--and I had a key. So I looked at her and smiled: "Well, I work here."
She stared at me, blankly. Without hesitation, she shot back, "Which department?" As though I was lying about working here just to get in to what--an empty lobby with smelly bathrooms?
I stopped smiling. I answered her and made my way in. As she trailed me up the stairs, she gave me some spheal about how people tend to line up outside the door on some mornings and you have to beat them away with a stick. Or some nonsense like that. I didn't really hear her. I was fuming, aggravated that some people are just so ignorant--and power trippy---that they automatically assume that they are in a position of control with anyone they don't recognize.
After a few other incidents, I'm beginning to think this is a place where, unlike the Cheers bar, nobody knows your (or maybe just my) name. And I know it's not really a big deal, just a tiny exchange between two sleepy people, but I think it's a sign.
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