S/O What was your most awkward professional moment?

[lime]

My most awkward moment was while briefing a large team of managers on a major potential (loss of life) failure we were having in the field. One of the managers was the guy that ran the production group and he was sitting directly to my left. 

The production floor is a grungy, dirty, nasty area. This manager had a huge pus filed wound on his right hand. Most likely it was staphylococcus. He kept picking at it.

There was a decent big of arguing during this meeting and everything was very, very tense. 

Finally Mr Germy Hands pops the festering wound and the glob of staph flies through the air and LANDS ON MY HAND. 

It took everything I had not to gag. 
 

[papie]

omg
/dies

[iamgrace]

Omg.

I'm thinking....

[TrickyBob]

Omg. I'm not sure I would have been able to hold my disgust.

[cutecloud]

Omg. Nothing like that, holy shit.

[wambam]

When I was an intern at my company right before I graduated, my boss invited me to dinner to discuss my career at the company. He told me to meet me at Bravos, an Italian restaurant. This particular week he happened to have left his phone where he lives (he commutes weekly across the state). So I go to Bravos at the specified time. Boss is not there. Whatever, he's frequently late. I can't call him because he left his phone 300 miles away.


30 minutes goes by, still no boss. I call my H in near tears because I think boss has decided this meeting is unimportant and no longer wants to hire me. I wait another 30 minutes. One of the hostesses walks around the lobby of the restaurant and looks right at me and continues on.

1 hour and 45 minutes after I arrived the hostess again walks out to the lobby and asks if I'm waiting for Boss. I say yes I am. She says he's on the phone. Boss is at BRAVA a completely different restaurant across town. Apparently boss called long ago and the hostess said "no one of that description is here." Even though she walked past me and looked right at me. I have huge boobs and fiery red hair - it's hard to miss me!

Anyways, Boss finally arrives at Bravos. He offers me a job.

Holy moley, those two hours waiting for him to show up were AWFUL.

[Deleted]

I have two one happened TO ME and one involved me.

Our CFO walked by my office just as I let out (accidently) a HUGE burp. He then said something to my boss who called me and reprimanded me for being unprofessional.

The second and all time bEST story of my life is that of when my coworker shit her pants and sent me to Kohls to get her new pants and undies. And my favorite line was that she gave me her credit card and I ran out.. just to run back in a second later and say "How much do you want to spend?" and she screamed "I DON"T GIVE A SHIT JUST GET MY SOME FUCKING PANTS AND UNDERWEAR FOR THE LOVE OF GOD" lol. BEST. Day. Ever

[lissaholly]

OMG! So gross!

I realized I was in labor while at work. My H was en route to pick me up and I had tried to give my boss a heads up but he was on the phone. I eventually made a big "pushing" motion with my hands starting level with my chest and down until my arms straightened. Followed by a hitch hiking sign saying "I am out of here." His eyes got super wide and then he gave an okay sign. Ha! So professional!

[Deleted]

I was in jail in Kyrgyzstan for two days because the company I worked for didn't give me enough local currency to pay off the admin at the airport to let me through customs. Mind you, it's not that you have to pay, it's just the way corruption works sometimes. They only fed me because I was American, otherwise you don't get food unless your family brings it for you.

[game blouses]

I was going to say the time that I cried in my principal's office when I got transferred to another school, but at least that didn't involve pus! Yuck!

[W.T.Faulkner]

Nov 11, 2013 13:30:23 GMT -5 @bettyhomewrecker33 said:

I was in jail in Kyrgyzstan for two days because the company I worked for didn't give me enough local currency to pay off the admin at the airport to let me through customs. Mind you, it's not that you have to pay, it's just the way corruption works sometimes. They only fed me because I was American, otherwise you don't get food unless your family brings it for you.

Um, holy shit. lol

[pinkpinot]

I was holding a binder and folders to my chest, about to head into a meeting. I was wearing a button down shirt and I guess the binder caused a button to come open. I had no idea until the break for lunch when I looked in the bathroom mirror and my shirt was open.

[W.T.Faulkner]

I accidentally showed an extreeeeeeemely dirty slam poem to a group of 7th graders.

[silva]

Nov 11, 2013 13:30:23 GMT -5 @bettyhomewrecker33 said:

I was in jail in Kyrgyzstan for two days because the company I worked for didn't give me enough local currency to pay off the admin at the airport to let me through customs. Mind you, it's not that you have to pay, it's just the way corruption works sometimes. They only fed me because I was American, otherwise you don't get food unless your family brings it for you.

what? on earth.

[milosh]

We hired a temp one summer, she came and was an older woman who was a bit nutso and wouldn't listen to any direction given to her. We told her temp agency that it wasn't working out, and they said ok, they had someone else that might be perfect and would send her the next day. Well, they couldn't get a hold of the nutso lady that evening so she showed up along with the replacement. It wouldn't have been so bad, but she made a huge scene while leaving. Shouting loudly and then peeling out of the parking lot.

[coribelle26]

I can't remember if I told this story here or not. Late last school year I wore white pants, and one of my coworkers informed me that there was something brown and crusty looking on my butt. I went in the bathroom and took them off to see, and apparently I had sat on one of those tree seed pod things. I got a Tide pen from someone and ran back to the bathroom, forgetting to lock the door in my haste. (It's a single bathroom that opens up onto a main school hallway.) One of my students swung the door open wide, and there I was, standing there, holding my pants. I also had a hard time finding underwear that wouldn't show through so I had settled on a pair that was WAY WAY WAY too small.

She made this face that reminded me of the gif of horrified Stephen Colbert and slammed the door shut, and I stood there screaming, "I'M SORRY!! I'M SO SO SORRY!! THERE WAS SOMETHING ON MY PANTS!!"

[averyjessup]

I was teaching a jumpboard class and went to transition them to scissor kicks and said "last set and then we're going to scissor". And then realized immediately how inappropriate that sounded. Fortunately I work at a very small studio and knew all of the clients in the class and they all just started laughing.

[Deleted]

the most awkward event i created was when i was enormously pregnant (it was the week before thanksgiving, L was born the week after thanksgiving), showed up to a deposition, opposing counsel (who hadn't seen me in awhile) is like "so, when are you due?" and i have a total brain blip and say "i'm not pregnant." and i meant it at the time! so i looked like a total ass who was fucking with him, and then had to play it off all like "whatever, hee hee just joshing you."

i am not practicing in a miniscule market, but this guy is A) a douche; and B) in my same practice area, so OF COURSE he's been opposing counsel in TWO subsequent cases.

[lime]

Nov 11, 2013 13:30:23 GMT -5 @bettyhomewrecker33 said:

I was in jail in Kyrgyzstan for two days because the company I worked for didn't give me enough local currency to pay off the admin at the airport to let me through customs. Mind you, it's not that you have to pay, it's just the way corruption works sometimes. They only fed me because I was American, otherwise you don't get food unless your family brings it for you.

WHAT !??!??!?!?

OMG OMG OMG 

[scorpion]

Wow.

I hugged an interviewer once. After my interview, he was holding out my coat for me in a weird way, and I guess I thought he was opening his arms for a hug. I thought it was weird, but went for it. He looked at me like I was crazy. And needless to say, I didn't get that job.

[Dusky]

I once had a coworker have a complete meltdown because she saw me working on something, assumed it was a different project, and was upset because I "always get the good projects." I could hear her yelling at our supervisor from my desk (which means that everybody else could hear her too). It took a good 20 minutes before our supervisor could get her calmed down enough to explain that the project I was working on was actually the one she had just passed on because it was "too boring".

[silva]

At my old job, at the height of the prospect of staffing cuts, I was in a meeting with my boss and two co-workers (Sup A and StaffB). The stress and resentment was at an all time high.

 The conversation became heated between SupA and StaffB to the point that StaffB made this little move towards SupA in his chair while arguing. Like, StaffB just adjusted his stance slightly, nothing obvious.

SupA went completely batshit crazy accusing StaffB of trying to physically attack him. "Did you just witness what StaffB did? I feel threatened! Boss, you need to write StaffB up right now! I will NOT tolerate being physically threatened!"



SupA wanted our full support ("You saw it, Silva.") and I sat there in complete shock like really?
Boss said he would do no such thing because he didn't see it that way.

Seriously, SupA was looking to get StaffB in trouble so they could justify firing him so SupA could keep his job. It was a last ditch hail mary effort to save himself.


SupA and my jobs were eventually cut.  Not due to this incident though.

[livinitup]

I have a few and have blocked them out, for the sake of my sanity.

I am NOT unsealing that door for ML's enjoyment.

[lime]

Nov 11, 2013 13:37:02 GMT -5 @booby said:

Nov 11, 2013 13:15:30 GMT -5 lime said:

My most awkward moment was while briefing a large team of managers on a major potential (loss of life) failure we were having in the field. One of the managers was the guy that ran the production group and he was sitting directly to my left. 

The production floor is a grungy, dirty, nasty area. This manager had a huge pus filed wound on his right hand. Most likely it was staphylococcus. He kept picking at it.

There was a decent big of arguing during this meeting and everything was very, very tense. 

Finally Mr Germy Hands pops the festering wound and the glob of staph flies through the air and LANDS ON MY HAND. 

It took everything I had not to gag. 
 

so, what did you do?  did he see it land on you?  did anyone else see it land on you??  i feel like you didn't finish the story.

I didn't really do anything other than try not to gag. I always had a mug of coffee with me in meetings and because I am clutzy, I always had a papertowel. So I just wiped my hand. 

I don't think anyone else noticed, simply because of the tension and the arguing. If Germy Hands noticed where it landed, he didn't say anything. 

But, really, who does that? Do that shit in the bathroom, over the sink. 

[wambam]

Nov 11, 2013 13:42:51 GMT -5 scorpion said:

Wow.

I hugged an interviewer once. After my interview, he was holding out my coat for me in a weird way, and I guess I thought he was opening his arms for a hug. I thought it was weird, but went for it. He looked at me like I was crazy. And needless to say, I didn't get that job.

Rachel Green is REAL, y'all.

[coribelle26]

Nov 11, 2013 13:42:51 GMT -5 scorpion said:

Wow.

I hugged an interviewer once. After my interview, he was holding out my coat for me in a weird way, and I guess I thought he was opening his arms for a hug. I thought it was weird, but went for it. He looked at me like I was crazy. And needless to say, I didn't get that job.

Rachel Greene!

[Deleted]

Nov 11, 2013 13:42:25 GMT -5 pagas said:

Nov 11, 2013 13:30:23 GMT -5 @bettyhomewrecker33 said:

I was in jail in Kyrgyzstan for two days because the company I worked for didn't give me enough local currency to pay off the admin at the airport to let me through customs. Mind you, it's not that you have to pay, it's just the way corruption works sometimes. They only fed me because I was American, otherwise you don't get food unless your family brings it for you.

What was it like?

I was put in a cell by myself away from everyone else. Think like a holding cell, so I don't know what the conditions were that everyone else was in. They were actually really nice to me. My boss paid basically the equivalent of $350 bucks and they sent me on my way. 

[Deleted]

Nov 11, 2013 13:55:33 GMT -5 pagas said:

Nov 11, 2013 13:55:05 GMT -5 @bettyhomewrecker33 said:

I was put in a cell by myself away from everyone else. Think like a holding cell, so I don't know what the conditions were everyone else was in. They were actually really nice to me. My boss paid basically the equivalent of $350 bucks and they sent me on my way. 

That is so crazy.

It was my first work trip, like a month and a half out of college. I wanted to die and my boss was mortified beyond belief. They gave me two extra weeks of vacation that were implemented immediately when I returned back. 

[lime]

Nov 11, 2013 13:56:49 GMT -5 @bettyhomewrecker33 said:

Nov 11, 2013 13:55:33 GMT -5 pagas said:

That is so crazy.

It was my first work trip, like a month and a half out of college. I wanted to die and my boss was mortified beyond belief. They gave me two extra weeks of vacation that were implemented immediately when I returned back. 

Thank god they at least tried to make it up to you. 

I would have billed them for the 48 hours I spent in the cell, plus per diem.  (hot) 

[milosh]

Nov 11, 2013 13:55:05 GMT -5 @bettyhomewrecker33 said:

Nov 11, 2013 13:42:25 GMT -5 pagas said:

What was it like?

I was put in a cell by myself away from everyone else. Think like a holding cell, so I don't know what the conditions were that everyone else was in. They were actually really nice to me. My boss paid basically the equivalent of $350 bucks and they sent me on my way. 

OMG! So does that mean that you have a criminal record there?