Out of the mouths of Bankers

Late 80's I'm working for this really big land developer. If you remember your history, the late 80's was a big hot mess for the banking industry. Let's just say no lessons were learned for our present situation.

When the owner was finished spending the money on...well, I don't know where the money went...the banks holding the loans were called in to sell off the remaining assets and shut us down. Our company was HUGE and the process was excruciating. The banks would send these stereotypical (almost comical) type A's with black suits, sensible pumps, and the requisite Starbucks lattes.

These were dedicated, high-strung, conservative bankers. Not what we're used to. So they would come, huddle us worker-bees around them, tell us what they wanted, and then spend the rest of the day behind mysterious closed doors. Working on their intimidating, authority voices, probably.

It took maybe half a day for us to see we definitely had different styles and certainly we were lacking in the latest lexicon buzz words du jour. Every once in a while, a drone would emerge and ask for something and then disappear again. This one lady kept coming out of her office and asking me to get stuff for her. She'd bring it back like 2 minutes later and frantically tell me this was not what she wanted.

We played this tennis game for about 3 hours and finally she comes flying around the corner, beads of sweat on her upper lip, yelling at me to get this certain document. I told her I had given it to her already. Well get it for me again!! I did. This is not what I want!!! Well, what can I do for you then? Then she says-I am NOT making this up-"I don't know what I want, but I want it NOW."

Oh yeah. For almost 20 years, this has been my go-to sentence when I'm frustrated and pissed. It has become my alternative to Fuuuucckkkkkk!!!!