Shabby Shabby

Posted on 2005/12/07 14:18:11 (December 2005).

[Wednesday 7th December]
Yet another work night out, with a slightly different group of managers from the US. They wanted to go to a shabu shabu place - a Japanese style of food which basically amounts to boiled meat. So completely crap for me. That made this the third night in a row where I couldn't eat properly. I was starting to get pretty fed up with it by now, especially as I don't seem to have been able to get a decent lunch the past three days either.

I particularly wanted to avoid this outing as there were some pretty high up managers going to be there, who I hadn't met before, and I know how my temper tends to get frayed when I can't eat properly. Allow me to qualify the term pretty high up managers with a sample statement from the evening - "Well I was having dinner with Bill and his wife, and...".

So anyway, I don't think I made a particularly great impression, but still, what do you expect if you starve a guy for three nights in a row then ply him with beer...?

The day wasn't all bad though, I did have quite a fun meeting in the afternoon. I'm working on a project in conjunction with our US office and our European office at the moment, and today we had a three way tele-conference. Although originally about ten people were invited to the meeting, for one reason or another only four people could actually make it in the end. A couple of minutes into the meeting I realised something was a little odd, and then it occurred to me that every single participant in the meeting was British! The chances have to be relatively small, given that it is an American company, and actually none of the three offices involved in the tele-conference were in Britain.

Obviously, there's nothing wrong with my American or Japanese colleagues - they're all really smart people, and we get on really well and anything... but for whatever reason, being able to hear British voices is a real pleasure for me.

I smiled the whole way through the meeting, which, as it was a tele-conference, nobody else could see.

Suggest they do a video conference next time then! They surely have the technology.....

Posted by Mum at 2005/12/07 15:39:27.

Pah! I hope Bill and his wife enjoyed their "boiled Meat" I'll say it again "Pah!" Sorry, this lack of regard for others, from such a large corporation, is narking me at the moment... I wonder if there's a higher propensity of vegetarians at other developers?

Posted by Nigel at 2005/12/08 24:33:05.

Thanks for your concern Nigel!

In fairness to my company I was told prior to the event that it was going to be a shabu shabu place, and was asked by the organiser if this would be OK for me... but what could I say really? I couldn't really tell them I wanted to change the plan for everyone else just to suit me...

So I don't think it is any particular failing on the part of the company so much as the standard problem of eating out as a big group when only one person has "special dietary requirements".

Posted by John at 2005/12/08 14:36:59.

Hmmm... Ok John, I was a bit harsh, but on the tail of the previous experience you had, they ought to know by now. True, they are catering more for the special visitors than incumbant staff... Which just goes to suggest said bosses are a bunch of carnivorous dinosaurs who probably have to waste time worrying about their cholesterol levels! Phew! I'm quite annoyed, aren't I? (Feel free to remove my comment if it causes employment difficulties"!!) If I were organizing the "do" I would ensure I chose a place which offered a very varied menu - including veggie - just in case my managers had any "special requirements", thus avoiding upsetting any of them. (Especially as some appear to be quite high in the heirarchy!)Isn't that logical? Ok, I'll get off my soap-box now!!

Posted by Nigel at 2005/12/08 16:12:05.

I agree - in the UK it would be absolutely the done thing to choose a place which would accomodate some different diets when organising some kind of work outing, especially when it is semi-formal, as was the case here.

In Japan though the only way to achieve this kind of variety appears to be to go to a place which doesn't do Japanese food!

Posted by John at 2005/12/09 04:22:04.

Enjoy your site, spent three years in Tokyo, Japan( 1989-1991). i can relate to some of the comments You've made.

Posted by Paul at 2005/12/09 17:18:35.

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