I'm Going Outside...
In 1989 I was given a one-year rotational assignment as an operations manager in AT&T's equipment business in the Chicago Loop. It was supposedly a rounding experience. Coming from the long distance services side of AT&T, this nuts and bolts world of installing and maintaining telephone equipment inside a customer's business was a culture shock. I was in the middle of an IBEW union shop where everyone (1) came from Chicago's south side and (2) had to have a first name that ended in "y" or "ie." My boss was Eddie. I worked with Mikey, Jimmy, Randy, Denny, Tommy, etc. For the first and only time in my life I became Stevie for a year. You wouldn't find any of these extra letters on our business cards, but their use in conversation, both in second and third person, were constant. More importantly, I learned about a place called "Outside." When I was a kid, my Mom would send us outside when we were too rowdy to be inside....