Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Sorry to interrupt...

"We interrupt this program for this late-breaking news bulletin."
"Pardon me, but can you help me with..."
"Can I jump in for a second..."

Don't you hate being interrupted? It's one of the most annoying things I can think of. You're in the middle of a conversation and someone jumps in. Or you're alone, thinking of something and someone interrupts your train of thought.

I find it amazing how there's an inverse relationship between the cause of the interruption and what's being interrupted. The more important the conversation you're having, the less important the reason is for the interruption:

"...so we have to somehow re-finance our home while protecting our RSP, but hey, I think I have an idea that might -- "
*tap* *tap*
"Excuse me, but does bottled water have to be in a bottle?"

Speaking of water, that's one of the most awkward times to be interrupted -- while drinking something. You're busy chugging away and someone wanders by asking you a question or tries to strike up a conversation. You desperately try to signal with your free hand while you continue chugging away and try to avoid saying something while swallowing. Of course, there's that 1% failure rate where you choke and spew liquid all over the person talking to you. It's one of those Kodak moments that everyone loves.

But what's more awkward for me is the washroom-urinal interruption. For you women out there, I don't know how often this happens in the washroom, but us guys have to contend with having to aim while in the peeing. And like driving while talking on your cellphone, aiming and talking to the guy next to you is...risky. There's that natural inclination to turn and face the person you're talking to -- not a good thing while you're...aiming.

I notice, though, that not all guys talk while at the urinal. I've noticed that executives seem to do it (or at least guys in suits and ties), but not the non-executives. Maybe this is one of the criteria to become an executive?

"What do you think of promoting Brian?"
"Well he's definitely got the smarts, and I like what he did with the Bellham Project."
"True, but can he pee and talk at the same time?"
"Good point."

Even worse than that is --

Sorry, forgot what I was thinking. Had a phonecall. Something about bottled water.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

hahahaha that's funny. Love the part about drinking water. ;)

I can't say I've ever had the urinal problem. lol.

Girls don't really talk while they are in the stall unless they were already talking when they came in and then go in seperate stalls but mostly there is a pause until each person is done and the conversation starts again when they hit the taps. That's what I've noticed