Pop Quiz

Friday night

I was sitting in my office at work when Suzanne B., the director of our department, walked in. I wasn't intimidated or afraid of her, but she's pretty high up on the food chain, and this was a rare visit. She looked around the room; the books on the shelves and pictures on the walls reflected my tastes and interests, particularly American history and rock and roll music.

Suzanne glanced down at my desk, and saw that I was working on updating a spreadsheet that listed employees' names, phone numbers and job titles. She grabbed my latest printout and decided to quiz me. She said, "Who is the assistant to (one of the managers)?" Someone overheard the question and protested, saying that it was unfair that I'd be expected to memorize all of the employees. She responded, "He's going to need to know this." I didn't know the answer, so I replied with a question of my own: "Who was the assistant to President Grant?"

*****

Suzanne is the director of our department at work, and I am working on updating the spreadsheet mentioned above. Unfortunately, I don't have an office; I'm relegated to a cramped cubicle.

I asked my wife what she thinks this dream means. This is her interpretation:

"If I can get people to acknowledge that what I have to offer is important, then I will be willing to meet them halfway to acknowledge that what the work world thinks is important is important."