As I may have mentioned before, afternoon meetings are the bane of my existence. I have to resort to all sorts of
interesting tactics to even stay awake, let alone be productive in them. Today's strategy started with
writing down stuff just for the sake of writing...just to appear busy and attentive. I even supplemented that
with a timely "hmmm.." or a quizzical or enlightened facial expression as I wrote. When that stopped working, I switched to writing cursive. It was pretty much all down hill at this point.
interesting tactics to even stay awake, let alone be productive in them. Today's strategy started with
writing down stuff just for the sake of writing...just to appear busy and attentive. I even supplemented that
with a timely "hmmm.." or a quizzical or enlightened facial expression as I wrote. When that stopped working, I switched to writing cursive. It was pretty much all down hill at this point.
Why? Well, because through my extended stay in the American university system, I have perfected the art of writing while falling asleep (and probably even after my eyes are closed, the pen continues...). So, this is when I excuse myself from the meeting for a "bio-break".
I didn't really need to use the bathroom. I really just wanted to splash some cold water on my face. When I
returned, refreshed (well, not really), I changed course yet again. Inspired by the common phrases that
you hear in the corporate world, I decided to write down some of the good ones.
returned, refreshed (well, not really), I changed course yet again. Inspired by the common phrases that
you hear in the corporate world, I decided to write down some of the good ones.
#3. "We've heard that request before, and will take it under advisement."
What this actually means is, damn...why won't people stop asking us about this. Maybe if we hold our
breath, and pretend we're invisible, they'll forget the question and we can move on.
What this actually means is, damn...why won't people stop asking us about this. Maybe if we hold our
breath, and pretend we're invisible, they'll forget the question and we can move on.
#2. "..that feature is not yet available, but should be in the next release of the software...Q1 of next year, most likely.."
Translation: Shit! We hadn't thought of that. But, by your matter of factness with the question, its clear
that this is a do or die type feature that you must have or you won't buy from us. We'll get right on it.
that this is a do or die type feature that you must have or you won't buy from us. We'll get right on it.
And the best one of the day...
#1. " ..it should be fairly straight-forward.."
In other words, in addition to me not really ever having completed this myself, the explanation of it is
too long and convoluted for me to get into right now so let's move on to another topic.
too long and convoluted for me to get into right now so let's move on to another topic.
Finally, I found myself starting to think about ways to better my spaghetti recipe. Hmmmmmmmm...what if I melted a hershey bar into my sauce and then simmered it with the other seasonings for about 30 minutes?
OKAY...WAIT! I was clearly very hungry at this point and promptly excused myself from the meeting, citing
that I needed to get started on the field demonstration that this customer would be observing tomorrow.
that I needed to get started on the field demonstration that this customer would be observing tomorrow.
