I get by on megadoses of ironic funny, which works much better with my clients on the phone (which, I suppose, is why they keep saddling me with all the pissed-off or upset people, who then go away reassured and perhaps even giggling, if I'm in particularly fine form), but fails rather interestingly with Compaq upper management, because they don't have the strength of the conviction that they have a supportable position, and thus can't stand any kind of challenge that doesn't paint them in glowing light. In fact, they seem to get miffed when you point out how impersonal your challenge is, because if it was personal they could puff and blow, but since its sort of a blanket expression, they actually have to poke holes in the argument. And, inevitably, cannot.

Its interesting to examine the vectors by which respect trickles in. I'm respected by my co-workers, who recognize a broad-spectrum technical competence and someone who'll say all the unpopular things and even use me as a conduit for voicing their own concerns of that nature, because they trust me to say, "No, that's entirely too doofy," if it is, or actually push the envelope if its not. Its the guys that have no idea what it is that I do that have the problems with me. And, of course, the entrenched sacks-o-shite who don't like being stirred around with.

Ever get the feeling that 7yrs in tech support have pretty much soured me on ... well, pretty much everything? I so need a new career.