when i first started here, i was given computer A. shortly thereafter, computer B was set up as an "intern computer". basically it was a spare, just there in case we needed someone to be able to use a computer for, say, job applications or something. sure, at one point we had an intern, but only for like two months.

then about a year and a half, maybe even two years ago, my computer, computer A, started acting up. we couldn't figure out what the heck was wrong with it, so the helpdesk took it, to wipe it and reinstall everything. in the mean time, i moved computer B over to my desk and started using that.

it ended up being nearly a month before computer A was returned to me. by that point i had already settled into computer B, installed all my software, and set up my preferences just the way i liked it. we stuck computer A on the intern desk and that is the way it stayed for the last however how long.

all was fine until we got the call from the helpdesk that my computer, computer A, was up for replacement through our computer replacement program. after 4 years our computers are replaced and it was computer A's turn. but as far as anyone could understand, i was still using computer A, even though i had been using computer B, which was more than a year newer, for quite some time. so they need to take THAT computer OVER THERE which is my OLD computer, at which point we will put THIS computer, RIGHT HERE, which is STILL ON MY DESK, can be moved over to the intern desk to be used as our spare computer, on which we can install our working software, to which we can remote desktop from home... no QUIT TRYING TO SET UP REMOTE DESKTOP TO THAT COMPUTER!!! THAT COMPUTER IS THE OLD COMPUTER!!! THAT IS THE COMPUTER THAT SHOULD GO AWAY!!! no, i understand that there will then be no computer on that desk. that's why i'm going to put THIS computer on THAT desk after you take THAT computer away! no, THAT is the old computer! yes, i KNOW you need something to remote desktop to because your vpn connection is slow. that's why i'm going to move THIS computer over there AFTER you take THAT one away!!!

i have explained this exact situation to countless people, countless times. just now, in the span of a half hour, i explained it to the same two people three times.

i'm really starting to wonder if maybe i just speak a different version of english from other people. are the words that come out of my mouth so completely foreign that nobody has a clue what i'm talking about? it isn't just my coworkers. my friends, my kickball teammates, my family, even my husband exhibit the same behavior. that behavior that says "whatever you just said, i don't understand a word of it, so i'm going to just pretend you never said it."

maybe it's the accent... maybe people in the northwest really do speak so different from people in the south that they just can't understand me through my accent. that's got to be it...