Reading: A Lost Art

I thought the whole point of having people like "lab assistants" and "office staff" around was to make life easier for the professionals. I'd rather just do it all myself. Without needless, oblivious staff on hand, I could have avoided numerous work-related fiascos such as lab injuries, stolen property, spoiled chemicals etc.

I get into work a few weeks back to find a package sitting on my chair. It's an immunohistochemical staining kit I ordered a month ago. Apparantly it arrived in the department on a Friday. The secretary put it on her desk and forgot about it until the following Wednesday. If it were office mail, I wouldn't care. However, this package is covered with stickers that say "Perishable. Refrigerate upon arrival." It had been sitting around for 5 days unrefrigerated next to this woman's coffee mug and silly action figures. I had to spend a week trying to determine if it was still good. Turns out it is, so heads need not roll. But that's not the point. If it had gone bad it would have cost $750 to replace and the lab runs on a very limited budget. The complete ignorance of others never ceases to amaze me.