Rock-tober 22, 2018

I work with a guy from Nepal who's a constant source of entertainment.

He recently picked up a promotion that meant more face time with senior management. I was giving him advice on stepping up his wardrobe and giving him a list of men's shops where he could get a good deal on dress jackets. "If you catch these places at the right time, you can score a 'buy one get one free' offer or even a 'buy one get two'. You can flesh out your wardrobe without breaking the bank." I had to toss in a classic rock reference, "Bonus - you'll impress your wife. The 'ladies are crazy for a sharp dressed man.'" He dismissed this with a wave of his hand, "She married me. She's already impressed."

I was exceedingly annoyed on so many levels. First, my ZZ Top allusion went completely over his head. Second..."What did you say?" He started laughing, and I couldn't tell if he was serious. I just shook my head, "Dude....if your wife hears you say that, you're in a world of hurt...most likely in the form of a cast iron skillet. And if you keep thinking that way, then 'you ain't seen nothing yet.'"

Another time I was giving him directions to an off site meeting. "Go north on Rockville Pike until you get to..."
"Is that left or right?"
"What?"
"Which way is north?"
"What!? How can you not know north from south? You just walk out any building and look for Wisconsin Avenue. South takes you into DC and north goes into Rockville. How are you not able to navigate that?" Another dismissive wave of his hand.

"Pfft. You and your roads. Back in my country, you walk out of any building in any city and look for the Himalayas. That's north." I had to concede that one. The "roof of the world" definitely trumps a traffic infested highway riddled with stop lights as a navigational aid.

Bachman-Turner Overdrive was tasked by Ford Motor Company to come up with a jingle for a planned ad campaign. The thought of a vintage Mustang cruising down a highway with BTO playing in the background sounds like a fantastic idea. Unfortunately, none of BTO's offerings was picked up by Ford. Undeterred, the Bachman brothers reworked one of the tunes and it became the massively successful "Roll On Down the Highway" that rose to the 14 spot on the Hot 100 in 1975.

Sadly, my Nepali coworker doesn't know who BTO is. While I may not be able to convince him of the merits of my fashion advice or even my driving directions, I'm definitely going to educate him on old school rock and especially picking up on classic rock references.