At Least It's Friday

I had a 90-minute meeting yesterday in which approximately 80 minutes were dedicated to arguing about the definition of one word. The person running the meeting had compiled a list of definitions for that word (and some related terms) from about a dozen source documents - and failed to include the single relevant document that solved the whole problem.

A number of years ago, I worked with somebody who would frequently go to a room where a meeting was taking place, put down a tall stack of books and papers on a desk or table, hang his suit jacket on the back of a chair, and leave. Then he would write an item in our end of week report that claimed he had attended the meeting. Another colleague and I had a running joke that these items should say that his jacket attended the meeting. (By the way, he also had a remarkable talent for being out sick on Mondays and Fridays. As a rule of thumb, this suggests alcohol or drug abuse.)

I mention this because, in writing up my notes about yesterday’s brain drain, I mentioned that a particular organization was not represented. I got an email back from a colleague saying he thought he had heard someone from that organization there. But, you know who else wasn’t there? That’s right - the colleague who wrote that email.

It is 644 days until my intended retirement date. That assumes I don’t strangle anyone in the meantime.