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      I made funny with a Japanese man.  After a long day, that ended with an after-work-hours conference call to the West Coast sister team, I was feeling a little groggy.  I hung up my headset that I have used for the passed two hours, got up, and proceeded to the restroom.  It was there that I saw the manager of the Japanese Fuji Xerox team for the project, Mr. Sato.  Nice guy.  I figured, hey, while he is just standing there, mind as well make some sort of conversation.

As I pass him, we do the proverbial man-to-man head nod, and I pass up the first couple of urinals in search of my resting spot.  Let it be known -- It is bad karma to stand next to or close to another man while in an empty restroom:  There needs to be a balance.  Anyhow,  I walk pass a couple of the stations and I notice that Xerox Janitorial Services has in place colored cleaner disks in the base of the urinals; mini version of the tidy bowl cleaners.  This is totally a new concept and to my amazement, a vast improvement, especially in comparison to all the costs that this company saves on.  I pass the first one and I note to him, “Hey, this one is blue.”  I pass another one and to my surprise, “Hey, this one is green.”  Imagine that, not only has Xerox gone and installed these new cleaners, but they have invested in the multi-colored versions too:  From previous experience, I thought that assorted colors is better than just the plain blue, and probably a little more costly.  And, motivation behind this is probably due to increasing employee satisfaction.  Well, needless to say, I am casting my vote in favor of Xerox this year, and all due to the multi-colored assorted mini urinal tidy-bowl cleaners.

Finally, I approached my destined station, and I stood there.  I noted, “Hey, this one is blue too.”  Mr. Sato just smiled to me.  Okay, here was the point where I started feeling a little bit weird.  As I stood there, I looked down, then looked over to the next urinal, and down again.   I noted, this time, with a new discovery and a little uncertainty, “Umm, well, this one is green now too.”

Mr. Sato giggled for a little bit.

 
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