-- phone call from hell

The other day Dan came home aggravated. "How many people do you think are in the Navy!" he spat. "Um, I dunno. 200,000? 300,000?" I ventured. "Right! And HOW MANY do you think handle procurement for training for ALL THOSE people?" he frothed. "umm, I have no idea." "ONE!!! One person!! One person does it all! And I have to set up training at work with that one person and it's insane!" Then he proceeded to tell me about his day. And I laughed my a$$ off. (In sympathy of course.)

Snippet of Conversation with this person, from Dan's blog. (LtCdr = Lieutenant Commander)

LtCdr. (Realizing that I'm not about to give up easily, brings out the secret weapon) Is your budget OPN or multi-year R&D?

Me: What is OPN?

LtCdr: (a direct hit!) It has to be one of those.

Me: (Extremely polite) Yes, thank you. What is OPN?

LtCdr: (Smug) It has to be OPN or Multi-year R&D.

Me: Um* this is R&D activity, and we've been doing it for years. Do you need official verification?

LtCdr: Is it OPN?

Me: I don't know. Please explain, what is OPN?

LtCdr: (Victoriously) It's what it has to be for me to take it.

Me: (Thinking that maybe this is a Turing test) Thanks. Does OPN stand for something? Is it an acronym?

LtCdr: (Let the circle be unbroken) It has to be OPN or multi-year R&D.

Me: Well, here's our Navy budget number. Does that make this clearer?

LtCdr: (Examining fingernails) No.

Me: (Frustrated, still in control of myself) The Navy gave me that number* it's the only number we've ever had to use* we are working for the Navy* you are in the navy* can you see if it is OPN or officially multi-year R&D?

LtCdr: That number means nothing to me (and that's not the only thing).

Me: What is the definition of OPN?

LtCdr: It's what we're allowed to take now.

Me: How can I tell if my budget is OPN or multi-year?

LtCdr: I don't know.

Me: Listen, I don't know OPN from OBGYN. I didn't decide to undertake this operation, nor did I write the contract. I have no idea what you're talking about.

LtCdr: Yes.

Me: (Retreat!) I'll call you back.

Read Dan's full blog post-->

*R&D= Research & Development. Anyone know what OPN is??