Office Pet Peeves

There have been many books and articles written about office etiquette, e-mail etiquette, and general manners. This is my attempt at letting you know my Office Pet Peeves; and let me know what bugs you.

Passing in the hallway without saying hello – we are the only two people in the hall and I say “hello”. Don’t flippin’ ignore me. At least grunt or something. Makes you look real bad and arrogant.

Coffee Pot – The Company spends money on the coffee service and even gets the deluxe model with the direct feed water supply and pre-packaged coffee. If the pot is empty or even close to empty, MAKE A NEW POT!! It isn’t that hard. Just empty the pouch and push the friggin’ “brew” button. I will give you a pass if it is after 3:00, but not making it in the morning reeks of elitism.

Walking two wide & not moving – You aren’t that skinny! Go single file when meeting people. Chances are, you won’t survive a hit from me.

Lurking while on phone – If I am on the phone, pacing back and forth will not make me finish up quicker. Leave me a note, voice mail, e-mail, or give me the “call me” signal.

Ignoring signs/mentions regarding delving into conversation while lunching, etc. – If I am eating or tell you that I have a meeting in 5 minutes, that means that I don’t have time to chat.

Follow up communication – If you send me an e-mail, don’t call and tell me that you sent me an e-mail.

“Reply All” – Think before you hit this button. If you are telling a sender that they inadvertently chose the “everyone” distribution, everyone on the distribution list does not need to know.

Elevator Pile-In – Wait for people to exit the elevator before you charge into it.

That is a start of the list. Let me hear what your office pet peeves are.

Charlie Daniels’ Volunteer Jam

“Ain’t it great to be alive and be in Tennessee!” With those words, Charlie Daniels kicked off the first Volunteer Jam I ever saw. He also kicked off every Vol Jam with those words. My first Jam (I think) was Vol Jam iX back around 1980 or so. I was talking to a co-worker a few days ago about the Volunteer Jams and it brought back great memories. For those of you from the Nashville area who are over 40 years old, you know about the Volunteer Jams. Read on for a walk down memory lane. If you haven’t a clue, read on about some great musical events that occurred several years back.

Charlie Daniels started the Volunteer Jams back in 1974. As the name suggests, it was basically a jam session where he invited all of his musical friends to stop by and play. The venue changed through the years from the War Memorial Auditorium to the Municipal Auditorium, to Starwood Amphitheater. The early Jams, including the first I attended, were truly spontaneous. Charlie didn’t know who was showing up until they were backstage. Each act would come out and play anywhere from two to five songs. Even lead singers without their bands would play with whoever was backstage. Charlie would typically open up the Jam with a set of his own. I noticed through the years that the length of his set depended upon how deep the lineup was backstage – the more people backstage, the shorter the set. It was fun between acts to try & guess who would be showing up next. Once my friend Joe & I saw a flute being brought out with the electric guitars. We immediately thought it might be Jethro Tull. Wrongo – Marshall Tucker Band. The number of acts was typically in the low teens, so the show typically ended around 2:00 a.m. The show would close with all acts (who were still around) coming back on stage to play a couple of songs together. Throughout the night, Charlie would introduce each act and come out and play with them.

The acts spanned all aspects of music and locale. There were gospel acts (Jordanaires), country (Roy Acuff), and rock (Ted Nugent). Some of the acts I have seen are: Billy Joel , Roy Acuff , Leon Russell , The Jordanaires , Jimmy Hall (Wet Willie), The Marshall Tucker Band , Molly Hatchet , Crystal Gayle , George Thorogood , Bill Monroe , Papa John Creech (90 year old fiddle player), The Outlaws, Delbert McClinton , Quarterflash, and Ted Nugent (picked up Charlie).

The latter Jams were broadcast on a radio network so they weren’t as spontaneous. However, all the Jams were great and allowed me to see a wide range of acts that I probably wouldn’t have gone to see by themselves. To answer Charlie’s question – Yes, it is good to be alive and to be in Tennessee.

Zach, a Tennessee Squire