Getting to Know You

Meeting a new boss for the first time is a little unsettling. Sure, he interviewed you over the phone, and you've exchanged a few emails, but this is the first face-to-face meeting, and you want to make a good impression.

Basically, it's like a blind date. A forced set-up.
Especially if you find yourselves sitting at a table with low-lighting after the lunch rush of a local restaurant.

You talk about work, of course. Where the company is coming from, what the new direction is, staffing issues, budgets. At some point you have to share personal details, the things that make you seem like more than just an email address to mail complaints to.

Are you from here?
Have you ever been to this restaurant?
Do you watch Survivor?
Did you catch The Late Show last night?
How about that last mayoral election?
What's your view on global warming?
What's your shoe size, blood type, and mother's maiden name?

It's all part of getting to know you and how you interact.

But when you repeatedly feel the urge to snap your fingers and say "Hey buddy, my eyes are up here. And the last 10 women that walked by that you also mentally scored, my eyes are definitely higher and farther to the left than the parts of their anatomy you were gawking at, so pay attention and pay the bill."

Well, perhaps we know all we need to about each other already.