Whacky Wednesday
By Jeff Moffitt
@moffittjc (121548)
Gainesville, Florida
January 17, 2018 7:40pm CST
I had the funniest thing happen today at work. We had a bid meeting to evaluate proposals for some swimming pool renovations we are going to undertake in the city. I was one of three evaluators on the review panel. The staff in our Purchasing Department gave us guidelines of how we were to conduct the bid evaluations, reminding us that the entire meeting would be recorded and available as public record. Before the meeting facilitator turned the recorder on, he gave us some brief instructions. One of them was for us to NOT say our names, but only refer to ourselves as "evaluator 1" or "evaluator 2" and so on. And then he turns the recorder on, and points to me and says, "Okay evaluator 1, you're first." Obviously, I wasn't paying much attention, because I immediately blurted out "Good afternoon, this is Jeff Moffitt, evaluator number 1." Everybody started frantically waving their arms at me and shaking their heads no, and the girl next to me quickly whispered in my ear, "Hey, you weren't supposed to say your name!" Not missing a beat, I quickly followed up with, "And for the record, this is not Jeff Moffitt speaking, I am just an anonymous evaluator! What you just heard was a figment of your imagination." The entire room burst out laughing, and the meeting facilitator immediately shut off the recorder and told us we were going to have to start again with take 2. Thankfully, my mistake in not following directions came at the beginning of the meeting, and not in the middle or toward the end. We were able to start over and the rest of the meeting went smoothly and we were able to award the bid. They call this day Whacky Wednesday for a reason, and at least I was able to give everyone a laugh on Hump Day!
Personally, I think they should have kept my comments in the recording that will become the official record of the meeting! There's just not enough humor in government work!
How was your Wednesday? Wait...before you answer, make sure that you do NOT use your name! Just refer to yourself as myLotter #1, myLotter #2, and so on! LOL
29 people like this
27 responses
@moffittjc (121548)
• Gainesville, Florida
18 Jan 18
I didn't actually see the guy erase the first recording, so maybe it still is on the recorder! I just know that he said we needed to start over again. Maybe it's still secretly there for the whole world to know.
3 people like this
@much2say (55576)
• Los Angeles, California
18 Jan 18
@moffittjc But the whole world will think it's a figment of their imagination .
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121548)
• Gainesville, Florida
19 Jan 18
@much2say Isn't the whole world just a figment of our imagination anyway? lol
2 people like this
@FayeHazel (40243)
• United States
18 Jan 18
Oh dear. That was a funny way to recover though
3 people like this
@moffittjc (121548)
• Gainesville, Florida
18 Jan 18
I'm not always so quick-witted, but every now and then my neurons in my brain are all firing in sync.
1 person likes this
@FayeHazel (40243)
• United States
18 Jan 18
@moffittjc Ha ha, sounds like me - every once in a while I have a good one liner or witty come back
1 person likes this
@dgobucks226 (35574)
•
18 Jan 18
How is it going Faye? Hope you are doing better-DB
1 person likes this
@Srbageldog (7716)
• United States
18 Jan 18
That is too funny. They should have kept your comment in the recording!
2 people like this
@Srbageldog (7716)
• United States
18 Jan 18
@moffittjc Be sure to let us know how that goes.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121548)
• Gainesville, Florida
19 Jan 18
@Srbageldog I already know what they would tell me...."don't let the door hit you in the a&& on the way out." haha
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121548)
• Gainesville, Florida
18 Jan 18
Right! They should have. I'm going to have a talk with them about that. Maybe hold the entire process hostage by telling them I won't sign off on the bid documents until they add that recording back in to the official meeting minutes.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121548)
• Gainesville, Florida
18 Jan 18
But Dianne, I AM the government! I'm pretty sure "they" can find me no matter what! Maybe I am part of the resistance. They say the best hiding place is right out in the open. They'll never find me hahahaha
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121548)
• Gainesville, Florida
19 Jan 18
@DianneN That about sums up my life!
1 person likes this
@DianneN (247186)
• United States
18 Jan 18
@moffittjc Discovery is the art and science of running the circus from the monkey cage! LOL!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121548)
• Gainesville, Florida
18 Jan 18
Judy, it's too bad you weren't the 7th responder to this comment. Because then you could have said you were secret agent 007 reporting for duty.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121548)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 Jan 18
@JudyEv Being the 8th wonder is is a bestowing title!
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (339583)
• Rockingham, Australia
18 Jan 18
@moffittjc I could have indeed - if I'd even thought of it. As it is, I was the 8th wonder!
1 person likes this
@Courtlynn (67085)
• United States
18 Jan 18
Omg .
Bad Jeff for not listening.
But good you all had a nice laugh.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121548)
• Gainesville, Florida
18 Jan 18
Am I Bad Jeff, sort of like Bad Santa?
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121548)
• Gainesville, Florida
22 Jan 18
@Courtlynn I have no idea either. I've never seen Bad Santa! lol
@ElusiveButterfly (45940)
• United States
18 Jan 18
Yeah, I would have probably done the same thing. Chalk it up to a blonde moment.
1 person likes this
@ElusiveButterfly (45940)
• United States
22 Jan 18
@moffittjc gray happens. LOL. Mine are platinum.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121548)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 Jan 18
Or, in my case, a gray moment! haha
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121548)
• Gainesville, Florida
24 Jan 18
@ElusiveButterfly Mine's more salt and pepper right now. I actually don't mind it at all. My girlfriend loves it. Thank god she does, I really don't want to dye my hair if I don't need to! lol
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160624)
• United States
18 Jan 18
This is responding myLotter # 2, but the comments will regularly shuffle, and my name will appear anyway. Let us just say that all the kids were a bit out of sorts today as we started at 10 and nothing was "normal". Our kids in the structured classroom were really out of sorts. Me too.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121548)
• Gainesville, Florida
18 Jan 18
Was that because it was Whacky Wednesday, or was there another reason?
@snowy22315 (180492)
• United States
18 Jan 18
HA HA..it would have been funny had they kept it in the recording!
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121548)
• Gainesville, Florida
18 Jan 18
Wow Patsie, you're myLotter #2! That's a pretty high-ranking number! I wonder who #1 is?
I have no idea why we were not allowed to use our names. My name is all over the paperwork that we have to submit with our rankings and scores in the bid evaluations. So it wouldn't be that hard for someone to figure out who "evaluator #1" is.
@infatuatedbby (94914)
• United States
22 Jan 18
I am myLotter responder #26.
Hahah that shows you were wishing it was Friday haha
1 person likes this
@infatuatedbby (94914)
• United States
26 Jan 18
@moffittjc It is almost Friday. :P
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121548)
• Gainesville, Florida
26 Jan 18
I'm always wishing it was Friday! lol
Hey, guess what? It's almost Friday!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121548)
• Gainesville, Florida
27 Jan 18
@infatuatedbby Friday came and went like a hooker in the night! lol. Why do weekend days have to fly by so fast?
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (471356)
• Switzerland
18 Jan 18
@moffittjc You think you were paying attention, or may be, you have too much the habit to announce yourself giving your name.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121548)
• Gainesville, Florida
18 Jan 18
The funny thing about the whole situation was that I actually was paying attention! But apparently not quite well enough to follow directions! haha
1 person likes this
@bluesa (15022)
• Johannesburg, South Africa
19 Jan 18
Lol, @moffittjc this is mylotter (for this discussion) #23 . "figment of your imagination" good one!
1 person likes this
@bluesa (15022)
• Johannesburg, South Africa
24 Jan 18
@moffittjc , you were firing on all cylinders! Ok! If it is a good dream, you really visited me, if it was not a good dream you were never there. I am waiting for a good dream!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121548)
• Gainesville, Florida
25 Jan 18
@bluesa I'm really trying hard to get there in your dreams to visit you. Sometimes it's hard to control where I go in the dream world! lol
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121548)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 Jan 18
Every now and then my brain is firing on all cylinders, and I can actually think up quick-witted responses! Oh, and if I ever show up in your dreams, and it is a good one, then that is definitely me visiting you in your sleep and not a figment of your imagination! haha
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40288)
• Laguna Woods, California
18 Jan 18
Ha ha! I would probably have done the same thing. It is such a reflex to say our names in that situation.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121548)
• Gainesville, Florida
18 Jan 18
I often make up funny names whenever I go somewhere and introduce myself, so I'm surprised I didn't come up with a fake name.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121548)
• Gainesville, Florida
19 Jan 18
@DeborahDiane Oh my goodness, that is hilarious! When my kids were little, I always kept encouraging them to stand up in class and pretend they were Forrest Gump. "Hi, my name is Forrest Gump. But you can call me Forrest Gump." bahaha
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40288)
• Laguna Woods, California
20 Jan 18
@moffittjc - Ha ha! It sounds like your kids has a comedian for a father!
1 person likes this
@xstitcher (32416)
• Petaluma, California
11 Feb 18
LOL--well I lost count, but this is myLotter number 0.0, thanking you for giving me a laugh even though it's now Sonday.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121548)
• Gainesville, Florida
26 Jan 18
Well, it did add a little excitement to an otherwise boring day at work.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121548)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 Jan 18
I agree! What would it have hurt to keep it in? I think it would have brought a smile to anyone's face who was listening to the recording!
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29413)
• Eugene, Oregon
19 Jan 18
Very funny way to start a meeting, Jeff! I'm sure that everyone except maybe "facilitator No. 1, relaxed a bit after you began.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121548)
• Gainesville, Florida
19 Jan 18
I had him laughing at the end of the meeting when the recorder was turned off. I asked him if I was allowed to contact the company and negotiate the price lower, and he told me no. I told him I was going to call them as "concerned citizen" who was fed up with high taxes and ask them to help a poor old lady out by lowering their price. He couldn't help but burst out laughing when I said "poor old lady."
@JESSY3236 (19912)
• United States
19 Jan 18
lol My Wednesday wasn't funny, but snowy. It snowed about a inch or two here. Yesterday I cleaned out my computer. Today I'm hoping to get the mail.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121548)
• Gainesville, Florida
22 Jan 18
As a Florida boy, I'm ready for this brutally cold winter to be over. We had over a week of below-freezing temperatures that finally ended yesterday. The words "below freezing" and "Florida" should never be used together in the same sentence!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121548)
• Gainesville, Florida
22 Jan 18
Well thank you for commenting #25! I'm glad I was able to make you giggle! Apparently, I'm funniest during those very moments when I'm trying not to be funny! haha