Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad

First, there was becoming a "world class expert". Then there was becoming an offensive threat...hockey-wise, that is. Today, while attending the second part of a technical conference, I was told that yesterday, someone had named me as a reference in their presentation.

I...have arrived!

Mark was chairing the sessions today and during a break, informed me of this. To say I was stunned was an understatement. Li'l ol' me...a reference for someone's technical presentation! I wonder if I can put that on a resume? I must be smart.

He continued on, telling me that the person who had included my name in their presentation was actually the co-chair of today's sessions and was in the back of the room. With that, he went to go introduce me to him.

I recognized the speaker as the person handing out the feedback cards to people as they came in. These cards were meant as peer reviews in which you could judge each person's presentation. I always felt bad rating these presentations, particularly when many of these speakers did not use English as their first language. It hardly seemed fair to rate those who obviously struggled with standing up in front of a room attempting to communicate highly technical issues in a language not their own.

As I greeted the co-chair, I noticed the confused look on his face as he shook my hand.

"Did you work at Breed Technologies?" he asked me.
"Um...no, " I replied. "I can't say that I ever did."
"Oh," he said. "The person I referenced used to work there and now works at DaimlerChrysler. Obviously you guys share the same name. Did I give you one of these rating cards?"

Bubble inflated...then violently popped.

Oh well. It was good for my ego while it lasted.