Confusing Conversation
Jun. 25th, 2009 11:12 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
deird_ljI just spent fifteen very frustrating minutes trying to get an answer to a very simple question.
Our train and tram contracts have just been renewed (this morning), with two different companies.
And I wanted to know if the people who had been running the trams would still be running the trams.
...and it all gets a bit confusing, so I thought I'd explain by using teddy bears.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
A Teddy Bear Themed Explanation
There are two toy companies.
One is called J.B. Goode & Sons. The other is called Magic & Mischief.
Both companies mainly sell teddy bears.
J.B. Goode & Sons get their teddies from a teddy bear maker called Fur, Fluff, & Other Stuff.
Magic & Mischief get their teddies from a teddy bear maker called Ted's Teddies.
These teddy bear makers only sell their teddies to their toy companies. No-one else. Effectively, they are almost part of the toy companies.
So, pretty much, if J.B. Goode & Sons gets the contract, so does Fur, Fluff, & Other Stuff. And vice versa.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What I wanted to find out was whether Fur, Fluff, & Other Stuff were still going to be our state's main teddy bear supplier.
So, the contracts were announced.
I have no idea which toy company is which, really. So I went over to talk to someone else in my office, and asked "Did Fur, Fluff, & Other Stuff get the contract?"
The answer? "No, they weren't after the contract."
"I know that! But did the Fur, Fluff, & Other Stuff toy company get the contract, or was it the other guys?"
"No, it doesn't work like that. You see, Fur, Fluff, & Other Stuff is a teddy bear maker. There were two toy companies going after the contract."
"Yes, I know. But... was Fur, Fluff, & Other Stuff going to be happy with who got the contract?"
"No, no, Fur, Fluff, & Other Stuff weren't after the contract."
"Yes! I know that! I do! Look... Fur, Fluff, & Other Stuff wanted one of the two toy companies to win, right?"
"Well, obviously one of them was going to win. There were only two companies applying."
"BUT... Which one of those companies is the one that means Fur, Fluff, & Other Stuff gets the contract?"
"No, you see, they didn't want the contract. The two companies were J.B. Goode & Sons and Magic & Mischief. They wanted the contract."
"YES, BUT WHICH ONE USES FUR, FLUFF, & OTHER STUFF?!"
"Actually, Fur, Fluff, & Other Stuff is a teddy bear maker."
...and on, and on, and on.
After ten minutes of that, I wanted to scream.
Our train and tram contracts have just been renewed (this morning), with two different companies.
And I wanted to know if the people who had been running the trams would still be running the trams.
...and it all gets a bit confusing, so I thought I'd explain by using teddy bears.
A Teddy Bear Themed Explanation
There are two toy companies.
One is called J.B. Goode & Sons. The other is called Magic & Mischief.
Both companies mainly sell teddy bears.
J.B. Goode & Sons get their teddies from a teddy bear maker called Fur, Fluff, & Other Stuff.
Magic & Mischief get their teddies from a teddy bear maker called Ted's Teddies.
These teddy bear makers only sell their teddies to their toy companies. No-one else. Effectively, they are almost part of the toy companies.
So, pretty much, if J.B. Goode & Sons gets the contract, so does Fur, Fluff, & Other Stuff. And vice versa.
What I wanted to find out was whether Fur, Fluff, & Other Stuff were still going to be our state's main teddy bear supplier.
So, the contracts were announced.
I have no idea which toy company is which, really. So I went over to talk to someone else in my office, and asked "Did Fur, Fluff, & Other Stuff get the contract?"
The answer? "No, they weren't after the contract."
"I know that! But did the Fur, Fluff, & Other Stuff toy company get the contract, or was it the other guys?"
"No, it doesn't work like that. You see, Fur, Fluff, & Other Stuff is a teddy bear maker. There were two toy companies going after the contract."
"Yes, I know. But... was Fur, Fluff, & Other Stuff going to be happy with who got the contract?"
"No, no, Fur, Fluff, & Other Stuff weren't after the contract."
"Yes! I know that! I do! Look... Fur, Fluff, & Other Stuff wanted one of the two toy companies to win, right?"
"Well, obviously one of them was going to win. There were only two companies applying."
"BUT... Which one of those companies is the one that means Fur, Fluff, & Other Stuff gets the contract?"
"No, you see, they didn't want the contract. The two companies were J.B. Goode & Sons and Magic & Mischief. They wanted the contract."
"YES, BUT WHICH ONE USES FUR, FLUFF, & OTHER STUFF?!"
"Actually, Fur, Fluff, & Other Stuff is a teddy bear maker."
...and on, and on, and on.
After ten minutes of that, I wanted to scream.
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no subject
Date: 2009-06-25 02:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-25 04:12 am (UTC)*sighs, and beats up couch cushions*
no subject
Date: 2009-06-25 03:36 am (UTC)What was the answer? FF&OF or TTs? I want to know!
no subject
Date: 2009-06-25 04:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-25 04:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-25 04:10 am (UTC)ride around the city oner... to hug and cuddle, and so forth.no subject
Date: 2009-06-25 08:37 am (UTC)control freakspeople will insist on deliberately misunderstanding until you phrase it exactly the way they would. They should be stalked by giant teddy bears.More or less untranslatable joke:
"Yesterday, I shot a rabbit with a rifle at a hundred metres."
"That's one long rifle you've got."
"Obviously, I meant that I used a normal rifle to shoot a rabbit at a hundred metres."
"I never knew rabbits grew that big."
"Oh for fuck's sake. Listen. Yesterday, being the day before today, from a distance of one hundred metres, I shot and killed a perfectly ordinary rabbit. With a rifle."
"A rabbit with a rifle? You're lucky you shot first!"
And on and on and...
no subject
Date: 2009-06-25 11:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-25 09:13 pm (UTC)STUPID PEOPLE WHO DON'T LISTEN. O.o' *twitch*
Blah. *hug*
no subject
Date: 2009-06-26 12:09 am (UTC)*hugs*