So Much for Being Taken Seriously

Playing with the magnetic letters on my cubicle cabinets today, I arrived at a decision.

The panicmonger is no longer to be referred to as “the panicmonger.” She is heretofore to be known as “DA OBFUSC8R.” Effective immediately.

And speaking of magnetic letters, if you have a job where you never get client visits, the last thing you need is a client stopping by to ask you a few questions.

An internal agency client of mine, who is usually safely located in Odessa, turned up in my cubicle today and introduced himself. He was just passing through.

I always think it’s great fun to meet someone I’ve only dealt with by email or over the phone, but I don’t really have the kind of workspace where people who don’t know me can safely drop in. Especially people from West Texas. “OMG!” proclaims my cabinet, “BILL GATES IS KICKING MY OS.” Below that is what really ought to be my work section’s official motto:

DATA ARE IRRELEVANT
FORMAT IS EVERYTHING

Add to this the fact that it’s Friday, which is Watering Day, and I have several incontinent plants, so the client was having a hard time finding a dry spot on my desk to spread out his papers; and that the map of Texas pinned to my wall, which he was attempting to use to point out a project location, is largely obscured by a big pop-up flower made of paper panties.

Well, I guess if he’s working from home, I don’t have to worry about him barging in unannounced anymore.