I go to a lot of meetings. Some are interesting, most are not. Few are productive, although all have their productive moments.
My favorite is the monthly staff meeting. It's an opportunity for all employees to think outside the box and be proactive in creating new paradigms so that our synergy can increase.
And we celebrate the month's birthdays with cake.
You may not know it, but I pay attention to everything that is said. You would not know it because I cannot do only one thing at a time. When I watch tv, I also have to read. If I'm driving, well, I have to read then too. But, if I sit through a staff meeting, I have to draw. I can't just sit there and listen.
Most of the time, my drawings are not planned out. I'll create a few lines or circles on the paper and let it flow from there. Last month, I ended up with three faces. I even made up a little story for them. It was a bank robbing team. One was in charge of bypassing electronic surveillance; he was the geeky looking guy. One guy was the planner; he was the normal looking guy. The last guy was the robber; he was the suave looking guy.
Amazing what you can do in 90 minutes.
Well, our staff meeting last week left me with a picture of a basketball referee threatening to give somebody a technical foul. Sorry, no great story line there.
A different meeting the previous week left me with a picture of my favorite painting.
I've provided a copy of the ref and the painting so you can all evaluate my artistic talent and advise me to stay where I am. Unfortunately, you'll probably also comment on the illegibility of my handwriting. Get over it.
Off topic, but related: many people in the know could regale you with stories of how Ronald Reagan would draw during Cabinet meetings (when he wasn't sleeping, that is).
I've read countless stories where Cabinet members would try to sneak policy by him thinking that he wasn't paying attention. He would look up from whatever he was doing and remind everybody in the room who was in charge.
And then eat some more jelly beans.
