[pancakes] and [progress reports]

our office hours are "officially" nine to five. during these hours we are suppose to be available to take calls and schedule meetings. it's no surprise to anyone, i'm usually slipping through the door at the last allowable second.

last week i was informed a project i have been working on, was going to start holding regular progress meetings, and i was encouraged to attend. i was thrilled! not only does this give one the chance to leave the computer screen and office behind for a bit, but meetings like this are always a great time to learn real world issues, unteachable in school.

i was informed, however, the meeting was going to be held at 7:00 a.m. at the village inn. as the words seven o'clock echoed around the office like a bad song, it sunk in, this meeting was to be held in "construction" time, which is several hours ahead of "my" time, similar to eastern and pacific. now a 7 o'clock meeting means, at the latest, i'd have to set my alarm for 6:15. i can't remember the last time i saw the other 6:15! my mind was so busy calculating shower, dressing and driving times, i almost missed the second detail of the meeting. the village inn. i was relieved, because i know what they serve at the village inn, and that is hoddles of coffee, and i was going to need one, if i wanted to pretend to be awake for this event.

morning came... barley, i awoke, showered, tried to dress professionally, car-pooled to the restaurant, walked in, greeted the construction manager, supervisor and the client, poured a cup of coffee, and was informed that everything was running smoothly.

are you kidding? i got up for this?

the only thought running through my mind besides trying to remember if village inn was the place that served the grand slam breakfast, was the fact this meeting could have been held over the phone at a more appropriate hour, like 4:15 p.m. when people are awake.

all in all, the meeting was somewhat useful. it showed everything was going as planned, and gave us a chance to walk the construction site with the client and snap some pictures of the progress.

i'm sure one day seven o'clock meeting will be the norm, but for now i'd much rather have two extra hours of sleep instead of my choice of eggs.


[notes]
- i'm not sure "hoddle" is a real word, but supposedly it's a container of coffee that can serve up to 20
- denny's serves the "grand slam" breakfast.