It was late Friday afternoon at work and nothing was getting done. I had been sitting in my office attempting to visit a few of my favorite internet sites but unfortunately found that our new IT guy had done a reprehensibly good job at blocking access to anything even remotely interesting. Finally giving up, I vowed to improve my hacking skills and try again another day.
In the meantime, however, I was bored and in need of a suitable diversion to while away the remainder of the day. I considered the pile of paperwork on my desk for a moment, dismissed it as work and proceeded to examine the contents of my pen holder with great interest. Finally, after several minutes in which I decided that I would definitely have to use the blue pen with the medium point the next time I signed something, a suitable diversion came to mind. Liz!
Liz, you see, is our Director of Corporate Communications and is what you might call a neoconservative, which is to say that she's a Baby Boomer who grooved on sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll in the 60's and 70's, lived by the motto "greed is good" in the 80's, and then in the 90's found religion when she realized the Grim Reaper was moving into her neighborhood.
Liz also happens to be a lot of fun to argue with.
To get her going only took the slightest provocation. Even simple statements would set her off, things like, "The Baby Boomers are the most pathetic excuse for a generation this world has ever seen! They are a bunch draft dodging, drug using, sex addicted, obese, self righteous, oil guzzling money sluts who don't care about anyone or anything beyond their own self gratification. And the only proof you need of that is to look at the first two Presidents their generation has produced: Bill Clinton and George Bush! One dodged the draft, smoked pot, ate McDonald's everyday, and got blow jobs under the desk at work. The other dodged the draft, snorted alcohol, drank cocaine and invaded an oil rich nation because, he claims, God told him to!"
Sometimes Liz would get so mad I'd swear she really was going to stab me with that miniature samurai sword letter opener she kept on her desk. Today, however, I felt like getting her really worked up.
"Hey, Liz," I said, casually walking up to her by the coffee machine, "I have a couple of friends back East who are getting married next month and have no idea what to get them. Any suggestions?"
"Well, what interests do they have in common?"
"Well, I know they both like antique furniture. Of course, Judy likes Amish style while Sarah likes ..."
Liz interrupted, "Sarah and Judy?"
"Yeah, Sarah and Judy."
"They're both women?"