WYSIWYG

What You See Is What You Get. This is a journal blog, an explore-blog, a bit of this and that blog. Sharing where the mood takes me. Perhaps it will take you too.

Menolyrical - Final Friday Fiction


From “The Sunlight Plane” by Damini Kane. (Sadly only available to US and Indian readers currently – obtained my copy through ‘connexions.’ ;~>)

 8 – be specific
12 – unspeakably
16 – in fact

CORE ISSUE

Paul sat watching the boss stab at the list he had on the desk before him.

‘Yah gotta be specific, mate. Y’know? Don’t waffle, use bullet points, get to the core issue, fast and slick. Y’know?’

Paul blinked and tipped his head in a somewhat non-committal way, hoping it would be taken as acknowledgement and the boss would just move along. It irked him, the use of “y’know” at the end of almost every sentence. The over-familiarity of “mate”, too. Whatever happened to the correct language? Writing customer follow-up reports for thirty-five years, Paul was finding it a challenge to deal with these young bully boys who leapfrogged him for management now. First, there had been Rocky (yes, really), then Will and now Ronno. Not Ronald, or Ronny, or just plain Ron.

Holding back a sigh, Paul said, ‘I rather thought the situation required a little more than bullet points, Ronno. The group needs to know the background to the loss of this customer; otherwise, there will be a misunderstanding as to the “core issue”.” He added stress to the last two words.

After all, it was Ronno himself who had unspeakably insulted Dilip Ranjarathekkar. How could he have even have thought it proper to bring up the subject of World Cup Cricket when they were about to close on a deal for sportswear? The very day after Australia had trounced Sri Lanka.

In fact, the “core issue” was a young Australian boss who thought himself a comedian. That was the one and only bullet point required.

Okay. So be it.

(262 words)
© Yamini Ali MacLean 2019






9 comments:

  1. Oh you must have a hidden audio chip here. We were listening to the news the other night. So many grammatical errors spoken. B used to have to 'approve' audit reports for young whippersnappers. Most times he had to re-write them.
    Hugs cecilia
    See you tomorrow with Chippie et al

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  2. A wonderful piece this month Yamini...and I wish it wasn't so true. It amazes me how being professional has gone a bit wonky in the recent years.

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    1. Hari OM
      True - yet am also acutely aware that the practices you and I call 'professional' may have seemed less to the generation before us. It is a malleable thing, I suppose. Having recently watched "The Professor and The Madman" in which we learn of the beginnings of the Oxford Dictionary, it becomes clear that to set things in stone may be foolish. I can feel another post coming on!!! Yxx

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  3. great one Yam. can't wait to see the NEW post you feel coming ON.. ha ha my boss was younger than my youngest son and she could make me crazy.. big generation gap

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  4. I'm a bit lost but am a lot these days.
    Merle.........

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  5. Lovely. Lady completely lost track that it is the last Friday of the month! On a good day she has her head screwed on lol! She says she also learned about Maude Lewis at the gallery. She did get to the Maritime Musuem on their last half day. Hope you are well.

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  6. love it!!! and I like the way you tell stories... I can see paul tipping his head LOL

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  7. You have a knack for the lingo!

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