The Copy Machine

So, I recently started a new job. 

Being a stay-at-home mom (since my mid twenties),
     I have not worked in an office setting in a number of years.

While technology has significantly changed during that time,
     there is one thing that hasn't changed much at all -

THE COPY MACHINE.

When I say that it hasn't changed, what I really mean is the "intimidation factor" 

     that this over-sized hunk of plastic covered machinery carries with it - 

     a million buttons, messages, and codes, when all you need is one copy.

I wonder how many of those NEVER get used ?

With every copier that I have ever used, there is an introduction period, just like with any relationship.  

First, you have to get past the intimidating looks.

Once you feel comfortable enough to approach it, 

     you stand close enough to notice all of its lines, buttons, and compartments.  

Soon enough, you feel courageous enough to touch one of those buttons.

The fear, of course, is in the possibility of touching the wrong one.

For, if THAT happens, a confusing and untranslatable message is sure to pop up, 

     sending you into a state of panic.    

     "What if I break the copier, sending the entire office into a state of .................gridlock?"   

When I approached the unfamiliar copy machine at my new office, 

     I did not want to waste a lot of time getting to know one another. 

I knew what I needed, and I was just going to "go for it".    

However, there was already a strange message on the machine before I even touched any buttons.  

So, what did I do?  

What any intelligent person would do.  ASK.  

I asked the closest person that I could find, 

     and when she saw the message on the machine, she said,

     "Oh Lord!  It makes me nervous when I see a funny message on the machine."

She then showed me the buttons to push in order to get what I needed. 

     "I don't touch any of the other buttons," she said, with a suspicious look on her face.  "I don't trust them." 

It's nice to know that I am not the only one intimidated by a big hunk of plastic and metal.