Freaky Friday

July 29
Friday was a frustrating day. On Thursday, I joked that I wasn’t sure we were all communicating accurately at a meeting.

I’m supposed to be the point person on a new project. First thing in the morning, one of the senior people told me that there had been a miscommunication about the timing of the project. OK, not a big deal. Later, I had a meeting with one of the AEs whose English is very good. I had her translate the client-supplied briefing document for me and realized that more very important information had been left out of our initial briefing. I also found out that there are other meetings about the project scheduled that I am not invited to because the meetings will be in Japanese. Who’s laughing now?

Usually, before I go to the communication lunch, I use my office map to casually stalk the people that I’m having lunch with so I can see who they are. I didn’t have time on Friday, so when my lunch partners came to get me, I was unpleasantly surprised to find that I was to spend the next hour with two guys who have zero social skills. I’d love to say that they’re really nice, but they’re just weird.

At 6 pm, I told everyone how tired they looked and went home to three loads of laundry and “An American in Paris” on the STAR Channel. Move over, Carrie Bradshaw!

For my Poetic Commenters: Tanka (traditional Japanese poetry consisting in 31 syllables in 5 lines) is not dead! It is thriving in the coffeehouses of Japan and is transmitted via Vodaphone. Write on, young versifiers.