Thursday – We’ve Met Before
Feb. 25th, 2010 04:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ninanevermore.
.
.
Dave and I had worked together (or at least, close to each other) for a few of weeks when it came to light that we knew each other already. On that day we had to pick up some prospective clients from the airport and drop them off at a steakhouse for a meeting with people more important than we are. We drove them in the SUVs with the company wrap, and were taking my boss’s car back to the office when we started talking about places we’d worked before. I said something about the toll road authority. Dave, who was driving gave me a sideways glance.
“You used to work at the toll road authority?”
I said yes. “Not in the booths, in the main office.”
“Yeah, I know. Over on Meadowlane, right? In Greenspoint?”
“Meadowfern. I was the records manager, in charge of all the archives there.”
“We’ve met.” He said it in a very definitive, dramatic tone. Whenever he can find the work, he’s an actor in commercials and the like, so he does dramatic pretty good. “I remember you. You told me I could drive 80 miles an hour through the EZ Tag lane.”
“We have? I did?” I tried to remember how or why I would have been advising anyone to speed through the toll tag lane.
“Yes! I was with the company that handled your microfilm, remember? I handled that account and you were my contact. You were microfilming the EZ Tag applications, I think.”
I remembered. It was 1998, and digital document imaging was still pretty expensive. When I inherited a dozen 5-drawer lateral file cabinets from the EZ Tag store I pretested that I had no place to store that much stuff in my file room (or my archive room, either, for that matter). My boss thought the best thing to do would be to microfilm it all. She was all impressed that we were getting so “modern” that I didn’t have the heart to mention to her that the technology was about 100 years old. Dave had set up my microfilm reader and showed me how to use it. When one of my images was out of order, Dave was who I complained to and made his company re-shoot all the images onto a new roll of film.
“I told you to drive 80 miles an hour through the EZ Tag lane?”
“Yes! The first time we met. They had signs on the EZ Tag lanes that said to slow down to 20, and I seemed to be the only one doing it. When I asked you if I had slow down or not, you said, Oh, no! There’s no reason to slow down. You can drive 80 miles an hour through those lanes and they’ll still read your tag.” He spoke in a falsetto when he was quoting me; I have kind of a high pitched voice, so this didn’t really offend me. Besides that, I was thinking that it sounded like something I might have said.
“I wasn’t advising you that you should drive 80 through the tag lane, I was just saying that if you did the scanner would still read the transponder. Even if it didn’t, the camera would take a picture of your tags and when the violation department checked your plates the system would show that you have a tag and debit your account.”
“Can, should, who cares? Because of what you said, I’ve been driving 80 through those lanes ever since.” Indeed, when we’d been driving on the toll road with the prospective clients a short time before and I’d been following Dave in the vehicle I was driving, he’d gone 80 through the tag lane.
“And your driving like a maniac and breaking the sound barrier on the toll roads for the last 10 plus years is all my fault?”
“Entirely. If you hadn’t told me that, I’d still be slowing down to 20.”
“Ever consider just driving the speed limit?”
“What? Are you crazy? Not when I can go 80! Thanks for the tip.”
I sighed, thinking about all the grusome accident reports I used to read when I was in charge of the toll road archives. People in Houston feel that since they pay to drive on the toll roads, they should get to drive however fast they want. When accidents happen, they can be pretty awful. “I guess you’re welcome.”
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * # * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
.
.
Dave and I had worked together (or at least, close to each other) for a few of weeks when it came to light that we knew each other already. On that day we had to pick up some prospective clients from the airport and drop them off at a steakhouse for a meeting with people more important than we are. We drove them in the SUVs with the company wrap, and were taking my boss’s car back to the office when we started talking about places we’d worked before. I said something about the toll road authority. Dave, who was driving gave me a sideways glance.
“You used to work at the toll road authority?”
I said yes. “Not in the booths, in the main office.”
“Yeah, I know. Over on Meadowlane, right? In Greenspoint?”
“Meadowfern. I was the records manager, in charge of all the archives there.”
“We’ve met.” He said it in a very definitive, dramatic tone. Whenever he can find the work, he’s an actor in commercials and the like, so he does dramatic pretty good. “I remember you. You told me I could drive 80 miles an hour through the EZ Tag lane.”
“We have? I did?” I tried to remember how or why I would have been advising anyone to speed through the toll tag lane.
“Yes! I was with the company that handled your microfilm, remember? I handled that account and you were my contact. You were microfilming the EZ Tag applications, I think.”
I remembered. It was 1998, and digital document imaging was still pretty expensive. When I inherited a dozen 5-drawer lateral file cabinets from the EZ Tag store I pretested that I had no place to store that much stuff in my file room (or my archive room, either, for that matter). My boss thought the best thing to do would be to microfilm it all. She was all impressed that we were getting so “modern” that I didn’t have the heart to mention to her that the technology was about 100 years old. Dave had set up my microfilm reader and showed me how to use it. When one of my images was out of order, Dave was who I complained to and made his company re-shoot all the images onto a new roll of film.
“I told you to drive 80 miles an hour through the EZ Tag lane?”
“Yes! The first time we met. They had signs on the EZ Tag lanes that said to slow down to 20, and I seemed to be the only one doing it. When I asked you if I had slow down or not, you said, Oh, no! There’s no reason to slow down. You can drive 80 miles an hour through those lanes and they’ll still read your tag.” He spoke in a falsetto when he was quoting me; I have kind of a high pitched voice, so this didn’t really offend me. Besides that, I was thinking that it sounded like something I might have said.
“I wasn’t advising you that you should drive 80 through the tag lane, I was just saying that if you did the scanner would still read the transponder. Even if it didn’t, the camera would take a picture of your tags and when the violation department checked your plates the system would show that you have a tag and debit your account.”
“Can, should, who cares? Because of what you said, I’ve been driving 80 through those lanes ever since.” Indeed, when we’d been driving on the toll road with the prospective clients a short time before and I’d been following Dave in the vehicle I was driving, he’d gone 80 through the tag lane.
“And your driving like a maniac and breaking the sound barrier on the toll roads for the last 10 plus years is all my fault?”
“Entirely. If you hadn’t told me that, I’d still be slowing down to 20.”
“Ever consider just driving the speed limit?”
“What? Are you crazy? Not when I can go 80! Thanks for the tip.”
I sighed, thinking about all the grusome accident reports I used to read when I was in charge of the toll road archives. People in Houston feel that since they pay to drive on the toll roads, they should get to drive however fast they want. When accidents happen, they can be pretty awful. “I guess you’re welcome.”
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no subject
Date: 2010-02-26 02:10 am (UTC)Hey, at least he never wrecked.
Isn't it odd to run into someone by accident after years who still remembers you?
You must be very memorable:)
no subject
Date: 2010-02-26 02:22 pm (UTC)Slowing down to 20, he was more likely to cause a wreck when someone plowed into him from behind, so the damage of my comment is negligible, I suppose.
no subject
Date: 2010-02-26 04:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-02-26 02:25 pm (UTC)Besides, everyone goes 80 on the toll roads around here. Slowing down to 20 was only asking for trouble. Someone was going to cream him sooner or later.
no subject
Date: 2010-02-26 03:08 pm (UTC)That's blood on your hands!!! LMAO
I am continually amazed at how fast Houstonians drive. When I go back to DC, I don't even bother to drive because if I tried to mimic these speeds, I'd surely be arrested.
no subject
Date: 2010-02-26 03:24 pm (UTC)We in Houston are amazed at how slow everyone else drives. Except for Florida people, that is. Those guys are maniacs.
no subject
Date: 2010-02-26 04:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-02-26 04:55 pm (UTC)