opabinia

I had a meeting at 3pm. I walked in at 3:04, and the room was already full. In fact, notepads were out, and meaningful discussions were already underway. This is in a company where a 3pm meeting usually means "show up around 3:10." It was so strange, I actually had to ask if I was at the right place, interrupting the meeting. The room fell silent.

I took a seat at the head of the enormous table, which was my only option. I quietly asked the Head of Somethingoranother, seated right next to me, for the time. She said it was just after three. The awkward silence sort of persisted. I had to break it. I called out across the table:

"What are you doing here? You've all turned German and Japanese on me, showing up on time like that."

You could hear a pin drop, and now everyone was looking at me. As long as the noose was 'round my neck, I figured I'd jump off the horse:

"I'm on Puerto Rican time, here. You guys always leave the Puerto Ricans out."

I am sooo glad everyone laughed hard.

Two minutes later, my boss's boss walked in and took the only remaining seat, at the opposite end of the table (the "other" head of the table), so we were facing each other from across the room. As she sat down, everyone giggled.