Who doesn’t love the brilliant musician’s shredding guitar solo? Or watching a snowboard athlete shredding a difficult course on a snowy mountain? Sure, that’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but you have to admit, they have talent. I could never do either one of these things, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have talent for shredding. Those are just a couple of definitions.
The dictionary defines shredding as tearing paper into small, long strips. For what, you may ask. Go ahead…ask. Okay, I’ll tell you. Some might tear paper in this manner to use as confetti to throw at celebrations. A mess to clean up to be sure, but fun in the moment. Some might shred to fill up pillows that are handmade, or to put on paper mache projects. Hmm…does anyone really do that anymore? Shredding really raises a lot of questions, don’t you think?
I’m sure we have all used a paper shredder at some time in our lives. Haven’t you? I know I have. They were fun at first, but after a while, a little tedious. And the racket! I’m sure I don’t have to tell you! But, a handy way to protect personal information for a season. Computers took care of storing information so that the public could not access it. Right? At least that is the premise. We all know nothing is perfect.
However, I have taken it to a whole new level. I think I can be considered a master at shredding without even realizing it. Bear with me for a moment. Case in point. A couple of weeks ago, I was doing some printing at work. Some things we print go to the printer in the office, but some things we have to print go to a communal printer a distance away. Why you ask? We ask too, without any real answer. It’s just how it is.
So, I needed to print a sign recently, so I hit print on the computer and made my way to the communal printer. Now this printer is in a locked room requiring a code punched in to get access to this most important printer. I’ve been using this printer for a couple of years now. It is a large printer with a counter next to it that always has papers in disarray scattered on top. Discarded printings that have not been picked up, but remain important so someone.
I gained access to the room and notice that a large stack of papers had been printed and were still sitting in the printer. I’d say an easy fifty plus, at least. I knew my one paper was in there somewhere, so I took the stack and laid it on the counter top to sort through. Next, I hear a loud whirring sound and look down to see the entire stack of somebody’s important papers feeding into a shredder. To say I was shocked would be an understatement! When in the hell did they install a shredder and remove the countertop?
I stood there staring having no idea what to do. Why would they put a shredder next to a printer? I had destroyed someone’s hard work. I don’t know how long I stood there but eventually I had to leave the room and go reprint what I needed. I passed one of the managers that had been with the company longer than I and I asked how long that shredder had been there. He stated ‘It’s been here longer than I have.’ Apparently, that was not a countertop. I just never noticed because of the papers always on top. At least that is what I keep telling myself!
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