Self censorship…

Every now and then I manage to write a post here that strikes exactly the tone I was looking to hit. That makes it all the more troubling when you read it one last time before hitting the “publish” button and realize it’s chock full of things you can’t say out loud. I’m not confessing to kidnapping the Lindbergh baby or anything, but it was just one of those moments of clarity that screamed out that things weren’t quite ready for prime time. That wasn’t the first time I’ve had to self censor and I’m sure it won’t be the last. I share so much on here that sometimes it’s hard to remember that not everything needs said as soon as it pops into my head. Blogging is a real double edged sword like that. Things that seem like a good idea while I’m writing them, seem slightly less enchanting after they’ve gone live. I guess that’s the price we pay for instant communication.

As usual, I’ve filed my original post away in the archives and hope that it might someday see the light of day again. Unfortunately, that means for tonight you’re left with this post explaining why you’re not reading anything terribly interesting tonight. Sorry about that. Better luck tomorrow.

Slamming door…

Yes, I know I work in a different office than you do, but you need to get it through your thick skull that I’m not the enemy here and I’m not asking for information because I want to start a game of gottcha. The bottom line is I need this information to do my job. If what I’m going to discover in that data is somehow professionally embarrassing to you, while I feel bad about that, it’s not going to stop me from getting the information I need…

But go ahead and feel free to slam the door in my face, because now I get to go to my boss, who’s going to go to his boss, who’s going to walk across the hall to see your boss and explain that you are going to release the files I’m asking for. The only thing different is that instead of me having three days to do the analysis, I’m going to do it in one… and spend the other two stage-managing the inter-office war that you’ve decided to start.

Editorial Note: This part of a continuing series of posts previously available on a now defunct website. They are appearing on http://www.jeffreytharp.com for the first time. This post has been time stamped to correspond to its original publication date.