As much as I've always disliked having business meetings on Friday afternoons (especially during the summer when many design firms have half-day Fridays), today it really hit me how much I don't like meetings first thing in the morning on any day of the week... They may not be as bad as lunch meetings, but even so... Whenever I find myself sitting in meetings that start before 10 a.m. on any given day, inevitably the majority of people at those meetings always have a HUGE cup of HOT coffee, and the majority of those morning drinkers slurp their coffee. (ARGH!)
At my previous firm, we always started our week with an "all-hands" staff meeting Monday mornings at 9 a.m. and I'd say at least 30 of the 40 people would always bring coffee. We all stood in the room in a quasi "U" around two central tables and it was always impossible for me to find a good place to stand where there wouldn't be someone slurping their coffee/hot chocolate/tea right next to me or behind me. It got to be a point where I started standing at the very back of the U "corners" wearing earplugs just to make sure my presence was seen. If I didn't catch something during the meeting, I'd get the synopsis from someone else later in the day.
Today wasn't quite like that, but I did have a 9 a.m. project coordination meeting with about eight or so other teammates. Of course, one of my teammates sitting two people over from me kept slurping his coffee really loud, but there was no way I could discretely get away from the sound. (I was able to gently smoosh the hand of the person directly next to me when she started drumming her fingernails on the table though.) I'm always relieved when those morning meetings are finished.
On a side note... I took a side trip during lunch today to pick up yet another pair of my favorite earbuds. I've really got to stop my habit of wrapping the cord around the phone when putting things away. I know when I do that, it puts too much tension where the wire connects to the plug and wears it out way too fast. Oh well. Being a self-professed "geek," I should know better... Maybe this third pair will be the charm and will last longest of all. LOL! Live and learn I always say... ;-)
At my previous firm, we always started our week with an "all-hands" staff meeting Monday mornings at 9 a.m. and I'd say at least 30 of the 40 people would always bring coffee. We all stood in the room in a quasi "U" around two central tables and it was always impossible for me to find a good place to stand where there wouldn't be someone slurping their coffee/hot chocolate/tea right next to me or behind me. It got to be a point where I started standing at the very back of the U "corners" wearing earplugs just to make sure my presence was seen. If I didn't catch something during the meeting, I'd get the synopsis from someone else later in the day.
Today wasn't quite like that, but I did have a 9 a.m. project coordination meeting with about eight or so other teammates. Of course, one of my teammates sitting two people over from me kept slurping his coffee really loud, but there was no way I could discretely get away from the sound. (I was able to gently smoosh the hand of the person directly next to me when she started drumming her fingernails on the table though.) I'm always relieved when those morning meetings are finished.
On a side note... I took a side trip during lunch today to pick up yet another pair of my favorite earbuds. I've really got to stop my habit of wrapping the cord around the phone when putting things away. I know when I do that, it puts too much tension where the wire connects to the plug and wears it out way too fast. Oh well. Being a self-professed "geek," I should know better... Maybe this third pair will be the charm and will last longest of all. LOL! Live and learn I always say... ;-)
RSS Feed
