Thursday, May 27, 2010

Australia is Awesome

First thing this morning, my boss (M) and I got an urgent request to review a model. The requestor (L) came to discuss what he needed and M and I got to work. For hours we sat poring over cell after cell in a 100 gig spreadsheet looking for errors. Six hours into working without a break, L started to call. M decided to ignore it and keep working. Every 20 minutes the phone rang with the same number and then at 4:00 PM an e-mail came through from L:

Just wanted to see if you had a chance to review the model yet. I need the updated version ASAP.

Thanks,
L


M's response?

Sorry just got back from lunch. Got a little delayed with some extra rounds of beer. Opening model now.


L's response? Silence, confusion and a little bewilderment

L's not Australian, nor is he from a part of the world familiar with sarcasm. L was grateful to receive the updated model but he was not grateful enough to buy us a real round of beer or a much delayed lunch. As global as the world gets these days, some cultures still don't understand that I mean the obvious conclusion when I say the exact opposite.

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