I've got no dog in this hunt
I was listening to National Public Radio on the way home from work yesterday and there was an interview with Obama. At the end, they asked him, "Lakers or Celtics?" (basketball teams, I think) and he replied, " The truth is that I've got no dog in this hunt. I'm a Bulls fan." The question, coming at the end of an interview full of weighty topics, gave me a chuckle as did the answer. It's a phrase I've heard many a time, but not one I've ever used myself. And then it struck me that it was the perfect phrase to use anytime I felt embroiled in the midst of some supervisor call at work. Because the truth is, I've got no dog in that hunt - it's between the customer and ISP "X". It really doesn't have anything to do with me at all. Now this may be perfectly obvious to most people, but when I work for a company, I work as if it's *my* reputation on the line, *my* dollars that are being wasted or *my* customers that are unhappy. But it's not my company and not only is it not my company, they don't know who I am or even give a shit about me. Since we are third-party providers, ISP "X" doesn't even know I exist unless I screw something up so bad that my name makes it's way up their corporate ladder. At which point I would be fired in a heartbeat. And so I thought, what a handy phrase and perhaps I should repeat it to myself when I'm at work to remind me that, in fact, I don't have a dog in this hunt. I tried it today and it seemed to help, though only time will tell if it's the stress reduction bullet I've been looking for while I wait for that better job to come my way.