One of the downsides of working for Sony is that it is a global company. Don't worry, that is also a bonus but it means that sometimes I am up early for calls with Europe and other times I have to stay up late for calls with Japan. Yesterday I got hit with one of those rare days where I met with our Brussels Lab in Europe early in the morning. Then later in the day I received an invitation for a 9pm meeting with Japan. Don't worry, I took time out for lunch, exercise and dinner so I wasn't working that whole time but it did make for a long day.
When I received the invitation for the 9pm video conference call, it came with an apology for being so late in the day. I responded that I normally practice guitar nightly at that time but would move my schedule around to accommodate the meeting. My boss, who is Japanese but based in Los Angeles, responded that he too practices guitar daily at that time and that we should have a jam session during our meeting. I thought it was an interesting coincidence that we both practice guitar at the same time daily.
The meeting organizer thanked us for adjusting our schedules so we could join the very important meeting. My boss responded by telling him to bring drums. I thought that was a great response and it got me thinking.
Guitar players can be kind of eccentric with their long hair and wearing sunglasses even in dark rooms. I should show up for the meeting dressed like a rock star and get a few laughs before the meeting started. So my wife went and found a long-haired wig that I use for Halloween and I found a pair of cheap wayfarer sunglasses. Then I threw on a dress shirt over my Snowbird t-shirt but left it unbuttoned. Finally I set my guitar on my lap and joined the meeting.
My boss and the meeting organizer had already arrived when I logged on but didn't have their cameras turned on. They greeted me with silence and then my boss realized why I wore my costume and immediately grabbed his guitar to join me while we waited for about a half-dozen others to join. Everybody laughed and thought it funny. I pulled off the wig and sunglasses before buttoning up my shirt and we started the meeting. My boss tried to get serious and began talking but had trouble keeping a straight face for a solid 5 minutes.
At the end of the meeting we got a lot accomplished but we also had a good laugh that everyone commented on before closing. I figure if we are going to have a late meeting, we should at least have some fun. All attendees agreed.
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