One for minnehaha B.

The clinic where I work two days a week refuses to give me login privileges to their network. Their rationale: I'm a contractor. Only employees may access the network, for security reasons. Okay.

We're not talking electronic patient charts. But I need to be able to check my e-mail from the clinic, and use the shared clinic computers to write up reports. Big signs over each computer require employees to log off when they're done. So without a login, I can't even access MS Word.

"You'll have to get someone to log in for you each time," the clinic director told me. Okay. So that's what I do.

The other day, one of the clinic employees came by as I was typing away and asked me, "Are you still using the computer as me?"

"No," I said. "I have to get someone to log me in each time."

"Well, I don't mind if you want to be me."

"I can't just log in as you," I explained. "I would need to know your password."

So she told it to me.

"Your password is the same as your login?" I asked.

"Yeah." She seemed surprised that I was surprised. "I think just about everybody's is."

So far I've confirmed that for the two other employees I've checked. This is the system, remember, where allowing official access to a contractor of three years' duration would be an unacceptable security breach. I believe that this is what's known as straining at a security gnat and swallowing a security camel.

Helllloooo, second trimester.

Wow, I really do feel light-years better. Wow. Big changes this week.
( pregnancy notes )