Twas the Night Before Christmas-Property Control Style, December 2022

Couple weeks before Christmas, down in Property Control,
The employees were trying to meet all their goals.
Computers were put up for auction with care,
In hopes that some bidders soon would be there.

The scanners were on chargers ‘cuz they were dead,
Numbers from asset tags filled up Delia’s head;
And Karl in his sweater, with Pam in her room,
Were talking about those OKR’s of doom,

When out in the hall there arose such a clatter,
I rose from my desk to see what was the matter.
Away to the hallway I walked with a wobble,
Opened the door, pondered, “was it a squabble?”

The hallway was dim since the lights were not on,
Still wondering what the heck was going on,
When, what did my computer strained eyes find here,
But a short-statured man, with a box full of gear,

This wee little dude, was loud but quite handy,
I knew in a moment, “oh, that is just Randy.”
Pushing a cart filled with a load of old stuff,
He wheeled into Surplus with a huff and a puff.

He had laptops and desktops, some with keyboards,
Bookcases and tables were part of his hoard.
Stacked it up neatly, on the shelf by the wall,
With hopes to repurpose or sell the whole haul.

Then sirens went off, our phones they did ring,
Bad weather was coming, prepare for this thing!
Some folks heeded warnings while listening to thunder,
Some stood close to windows, “is that smart?”, we did wonder.

And then silence! Oh, what a scary feeling.
Then rain pounded down, would it come through the ceiling?!
As I pulled up the weather, to see if I’d drown,
Down the hallway came Randy, our dear office clown.

Happy to talk ‘bout the thunder and lightning,
He wanted to ask if we’d found it frightening.
Delia just shrugged, nothing ever scared her,
Mighty and fierce, no tornado amateur.

Pam in her office, still typing away,
To her, the same as any other weekday.
Karl telling jokes, as he is wont to do,
Asking us all if we had red sparkly shoes.

I returned to my office and spinning chair,
To process any reqs still awaiting me there.
Some ordered laptops, a training manikin,
Another a cabinet to hold all bad fumes in.

The sirens had stopped, alerts were all clear,
Seems the weather had spared HSC this year.
But the tornado hadn’t been kind to all,
It had ripped up some roofs and knocked down some walls.

This December, though the wind was so hateful,
Remember, my friends, to please remain grateful.
Our work-mates are family, we joke and we laugh,
Sharing our lunches and knowledge on graphs.

So, from Karl, Pam, Randy, Delia and Julene too,
Here is our wish, we’d like to share it with you,
We wish you happy times and a restful break,
Let’s hope 2023 doesn’t start with earthquakes!

Happy Holidays and Best Wishes for a Peaceful and Prosperous New Year
From the Property Control Team at UNTHSC