by PenultimateManStanding » Thu 26 Jul 2007, 20:59:38
I have a ping pong story that I haven't told. When I was working in the oil services industry for a division of Schlumberger back in the 80s, I had a boss who fancied himself a ping pong guru. I would hang out in the strip bars with him and usually lose. But one day I tried a new tack, I played completely defensive. Made sure to just keep the ball in play. Slowly but surely I found that I could carefully ratchet up the offensive moves until I was kicking his ass. I told him how I thought it out and he said, with admiration, 'damn, you are so analytical'. Eventually he had to fire me in the 80s oil industry bloodbath. And now they wonder why there is such a shortage of trained workers in the oil industry.