Campfyre Stories

I was overdressed.  Or maybe everyone else was underdressed.  Probably some combination of the two.  Either way, there I was, all dolled up, surrounded by a couple of guys in suits but mostly folks in varying degrees of business casual.  My very good friend said I wasn’t "overdressed" because I simply looked stunning.  My even better friend followed that up that I would have looked stunning no matter what I wore.  It’s a good thing I don’t rank my friends

So we had this meeting… and a pretty good dinner.  I had a minute to reconnect with an old coworker who I always really liked, but hadn’t seen in two years.  He’s coming to work for my company now and I couldn’t be more pleased about it.  I love getting the chance to catch up with people.  His reaction was "I thought it was you, but then I saw the [*indicates dress, hose, heels, makeup, etc.*] and I thought, nah, that can’t be her."  Heh.

Our manager sat down at our table and I had the whole thing all planned out…  what I was going to say, how I was going to explain about what I want to do, where I see my career going, etc, etc…  And how it actually came out was, "I want to be an IT ninja." 

"You want to what?"

Now, you have to understand, I’ve been saying this for years.  That what I really want to be is the IT ninja, and be able to skirt around processes if necessary, to do what needs to be done in the quickest way possible.  However, I have kind of revised the idea of what being an IT ninja means.  So I explained that, since I have already proven both to my company and to the company I am contracted to that I can do whatever they put in front of me (whether or not I actually have any experience doing it) , that they should utilize me as the person who can fill those roles as needed with a short learning curve.  I want to be involved in special, short term projects and I’m willing to travel, as long as I get to come back here for a little while when I’m done.

I want to be the IT ninja.  I’ll make the transitions with very little visible blood.  They’ll never see me coming and never notice that I’ve gone.

It was a good time, overall.  I wouldn’t really call it a party, but I’ve been calling it the "holiday thing", which seems pretty accurate.  The new company guy sat down and decided to get to know us, which led to him asking me "Where are you from?" and then claiming that it’s not a difficult question.  Well, I assume that’s true for most people…  it’s a one to three word answer, but for me the easiest answer is "I was raised in a VW bus by traveling street musicians."  And then I have to explain.

I gained some measure of infamy.  Apparently people talk about me (and I guess, in a good way).  In fact, I found myself sitting with people who are almost all relatively infamous within our company.  We have earned our reputations and we are acknowledged for it.  It’s nice, but a little strange.  I’m not used to it, but I think I could *get* used to it.

I am a magnet for good-natured teasing, even from the president of the company and people I have only just met.  I don’t mind, as long as they don’t mind me giving it back.  Everyone in the room learned my name and my meal choice for dinner…  in fact, when I introduced myself to a new person she said, "Oh I know who you are, [the president] pointed you out to…  well…  everyone.  Didn’t you have the salmon?"  Heh.

I think that I pulled out enough credibility and the handful of connections I already had there to bring a measure of uncertainty to some of the people that I wasn’t, actually overdressed, they hadn’t risen to the occasion.  For my part, I mostly forgot about it, except for the stiffness of my hair.  Let me just say, after having been producted into submission, the snakes are incredibly well behaved (and soft, and manageable) today.

And we stayed until the END.  If it was a bar, we would have closed it.  As it was, we were the last to leave…  and then hung around in the lobby gossiping in ways that would help the business, putting out a good word here and there for a person, trying to make that memorable impression a little bit harder to forget.  I think we succeeded.

It was good enough.  I think I’ve never felt like I mattered as a person to anyone I’ve worked for.  It’s a really nice feeling to have and, as long as they make me a ninja, I can’t imagine ever doing anything else.

I mean, really, how often can you tell your boss that you want to be a ninja and not have them question your mental health?  I would suggest that other people try it to see what happens, but I think that, for most of you, it would probably not be a very good career move.