Gag Order

There are so many things that I'd like to tell you about the Mothership, but I can't.  Since they are a large and publicly traded company, there are lots of rules.  One specially deals with social media, so although no one reads this, I still want to be careful. 

I can tell you about my new favorite game--accent guessing...

One of my favorite parts of my job is getting to talk to people from around the world.  I think this may be unique to me because many of my colleagues find this annoying, but I think its fascinating.  I have to fight the urge to ask lots of questions when I get someone on the phone from a cool country, because we're not supposed to do that.  I'm thinking about getting a little map with pushpins so I can mark off all my countries.  I've started a game with myself, accent guessing, where I try to guess where people are from before my system brings up their address.  Some accents are easier, like Ireland.  Yesterday I had someone from County Cork who could have come directly from the set of "Darby O'Gill and the Little People."  Some are harder, like trying to tell the difference between someone from Boston and someone from Providence.*  It makes the day go faster and I can imagine what people are doing.  My last call today was from New South Wales in Australia and the guy sounded exactly like Crocodile Dundee.

My new office also has a whole cast of characters that I wish I could tell you more about.  I'm currently fascinated with Argyle Socks Guy.  Argyle Socks Guy doesn't work in my department, but he comes down to visit the guy who sits next to me during his (ASG) breaks.  He is always wearing these really thick argyle socks** like my dad used to wear, that never matched anything.  Argyle Socks Guy's socks never match either; that is, they match each other, but with no regard to any of his other clothing.  I want to ask all kinds of questions--are his feet cold, thus warranting the wearing of really thick socks in the summer?  Are argyle socks his "thing?"  How many different pairs does he have?  Does he have some kind of foot condition that they help correct? 

Sometimes there's a lot of time between calls from leprechauns and crocodile hunters, and these are things I think about. 

*I'm doing it domestically too, by region, state and city.  The Husband says its impossible to discern an exact location from anyone from the Midwest, however, I have the company name as a clue. 

**I'm also impressed with my really creative name