When I was in college, one of the architect students on our floor was quite the cartoonist. He had a series of drawings on the bathroom stalls. When I was in a bar in Wilmington, NC doing a pub crawl, I spotted this and instantly thought of Arturo and his works of art.
On February 18, a few of the RTP Chapter of FOCM members gathered at the Page Road Grill in Durham to welcome May Singh to town. May was in town for a conference and it as he likes to do, Chris (that’s me) organized a dinner for May to meet fellow FOCM-ians. We were joined that night by Gayle Grandinetti and Mike Burrows.
January 29, 2014, while in town for the Outsourcing in Clinical Trials, Claudia Kunzler, Debbie McCoy and I had dinner in San Mateo at KingFish. We all ordered the special, whatever it was, I no longer remember, we had such a good time talking and laughing. While none of us are at ICON any longer, the friendships formed from that long working relationship are treasured, indeed.
Here I am networking with Marilyn Monroe:
contributed by FOCM Member Art Coppola
Yesterday I was at Sam’s Club, buying a large bag of Purina dog chow for my loyal pet, Owen , the Wonder Dog and was in the check-out line when a woman behind me asked if I had a dog.
What, did she think I had an elephant?
So, on impulse, I told her that no, I didn’t have a dog, I was starting the Purina Diet again. I added that I probably shouldn’t, because I ended up in the hospital last time, but that I’d lost 50 pounds before I awakened in an intensive care ward with tubes coming out of most of my orifices and IVs in both arms.
I told her that it was essentially a Perfect Diet and that the way that it works is, to load your pants pockets with Purina Nuggets and simply eat one or two every time you feel hungry. The food is nutritionally complete, (certified), so it works well and I was going to try it again. (I have to mention here that practically everyone in line was now enthralled with my story.) Horrified, she asked if I ended up in intensive care, because the dog food poisoned me.
I told her no, I had stopped to pee on a fire hydrant and a car hit me.
Wow, am I ever behind on publishing the meeting minutes.
On January 30, 2013 Claudia Kunzler, FOCM Member in good standing for several years, Johnny Murphy, newly inducted member, and I had dinner at TasteVin Wine and Cheese in San Carlos, CA. The owner is FOCM member in good standing of several years, Sue Simpson. You will notice that TasteVin Wine and Cheese is one of FOCM’s recommended businesses and a 10% discount is given to anyone stating they know me or showing their FOCM card.
A contribution from FOCM member Stuart Munson
So one of the things I used to do at meetings was to listen for interesting phrases which when taken out of context would sound rather funny. This all started when at a meeting probably 5 years ago, I started noticing a lot of the typical cliché business phrases and began to write them down as I heard them and then would make a tally mark next to how many times it was repeated.
So I have decided to put these in an ongoing series in this, the Humor section of the website. I will be removing the name of the person who said the phrase, I may put their function/responsibility as long as it doesn’t give away the individual. I’m sure some of you will recognize some of your own statements and those of others and I cannot stop you from commenting (actually I can) or guessing who said which.
The first one is a much more recent one, overheard at a conference while we exhibitors were packing up our booths.
“Nice box”
Had this thought this week while traveling on business.
You know this whole “1% vs 99%” topic and “income inequality” and “raise the minimum wage” debate – well I saw this quote from Pope Francis in Time Magazine, February 3 edition: “I ask you to ensure that humanity is served by wealth and not ruled by it.” That gave me the idea to leave a $5 or $10 dollar tip on the morning I check out of the hotel. I tip when I’m out at a restaurant or in a bar while on business travel. The servers are making a comparatively low hourly wage as are the housekeeping staff at the hotel. Maybe some of you already do this, I know that I may have done so only once or twice ever.
So then I thought, what if a lot of us who fit this description: work full time, travel occasionally for business or pleasure with some discretionary income (eg, kids out of college and on their own), did the same thing. Rather than having the government engage in forced redistribution of wealth, citizens would be helping citizens for the betterment of society and the economy. Lower wage earners would have additional income with which could help them buy additional food, goods, services, thereby improving the economy.
I believe it has a spiritual impact (it’s better to give than to receive). Am I naïve? Do you think this has merit economically or would it be a drop in the ocean and have no or minimal economic impact?
Seen in Readers Digest January 2014 are these true newspaper headlines:
County to Pay $250,000 to Advertise Lack of Funds
– Register-Guard (Eugene, Oregon)
4-H Training Scheduled for Shooting Instructors
– Pine City Pioneer (Minnesota)
Study Shows Frequent Sex Enhances Pregnancy Chances
– Winchester Star (Virginia)
Police: DUI Charge for Woman Celebrating End of Earlier DUI Suspension
– Chicago Tribune
Federal Agents Raid Gun Shop, Find Weapons
– Tulsa World (Oklahoma)