In Need of a Better Mouse Trap

Most days, my job is pretty routine. It is usually the same types of problems popping up over and over again. I call the same short list of people to get things resolved, and we move on. But every now and then, something wacky comes up. This week was one of those.

Imagine, if you will, a metal bookcase about the size of a standard door. Each shelf of that bookcase is occupied by vertical cards and some blank spaces. The cards slot into plugs in the back of the case, and the shelves are connected together with fiber optic cables. This unit is then powered up, and additional cables connect it to our network. My job is to manage the installation of several boxes at a time and the integration, which is getting all of the newly installed boxes talking to each other. I am just about done with one route, but it has come to a screeching halt this week.

After installing the box and the cards, a mouse decided that one of the small empty spaces was a *great* place to build a new house. Of course, it made a big mess (the nest was mostly made of random papers from around the office), but they initially thought that was the end of it. Then we discovered that said mouse had also decided that some of the internal fibers of the cards looked yummy and literally chewed through several fibers on two of the cards. I personally don't think plastic and glass would be very yummy, but what do I know? Thanks to a mouse with the munchies, my entire project may be late.

I love my job.

Currently feeling: unamused