13.
This is one that doesn’t bother me. I had a coworker with memory issues or dementia and he called me Kevin once in awhile, not my name obviously. It made me laugh and one of my coworkers started calling me Kevin and telling new employees that’s my name. This was 3 years ago and it is still going.
at the same time I told my son who thought it was hilarious, and somehow it morphed into me calling him Kevin, and my cat too. So I would yell downstairs, “Kevin, is Kevin down there?”. My son told his best friend, and they started calling each other Kevin. Now when I see my son’s friend I call him Kevin. for this story to come full circle, my son and said friend came to my office and I introduced them as my son Kevin and his friend Kevin.
also my sister now calls my son Kevin.
14.
40 years ago, when I was my final secondary school (high-school) year, I decided that I wanted to be a Civil Engineer and study Civil Engineering. My father, who probably had some doubts about my choice, arranged for me to spend a week in a civil engineering office owned my a friend of his. I spent a week there and definitely knew one thing afterwards – that I did not want to become a Civil Engineer!
So… a couple of months later, I was walking through the centre of town and met the owner of the Civil Engineering company that I had spent the week with.
He says: “Hey, 1000000CHF, how are you? Still planning on becoming a Civil Engineer?”
I’m a bit flustered (as I often was at that age) and don’t know what to say, so I say: “No, actually I’ve decided to study eh… hmm… Computer Science” (The 1st lie)
He says: “That’s great. A career for the future.”
We say good-day and go upon our separate ways.
A few weeks later, while I’m actually sitting my final school exams, he calls me and says “Hey, 1000000CHF, I’m starting a computer company, would you like to join?”
I say: “But, but… I’m about to start University to study Computer Science” (The reinforcement of the 1st lie)
He says: “Great! We’ll pay your University and you work all your spare hours for us.”
So I was trapped. Because of my lies I ended up studying Computer Science in a top University and getting a great degree and postgrad degree while earning a full income on the side (this was the 80s).
But the silver-lining was that I actually fell into a career that I absolutely love and never want to quit.
Forty years later I still get enthusiastic about interesting new technologies and have created two successful I.T. companies that are still operating. I’m actually in the process of creating another this month. Despite the management tasks, I still succeed in spending over 70% of my time doing what I love – developing modern, quality software. Clients and developers that work with me respect my opinions and are very often surprised at how I stay on top of the technology trends. But what I really derive my career satisfaction from is knowing that there are millions of people out there using software that I designed and wrote every day.
15.
One time when I was 17, I was hanging out at my then-girlfriend’s house with her and her little sister. Little sister was watching Spongebob and they jumped up to go in the other room leaving me along to watch TV. Being polite, I didn’t change the channel.
In walks mom and sees me watching Spongebob and she asks me “Hey IHABTom, you like that show?” I reply, again trying to be polite, “Yep!”
So every year since then I’ve gotten Spongebob SOMETHING from my now-wife’s parents.
I’m 33.
I hate that sponge.