Andrea Kay » Blog

Orthopedist whose hand

andrea — Mon, 17 May 2010 17:08:07 +0000

…didn’t move from the door knob once he entered the room of his patient. He never sat down; just stood there gripping the door knob so he could make a fast exit and get on to the next door knob.

Nurse who didn’t want to be a nurse anymore

andrea — Sun, 02 May 2010 22:29:26 +0000

…and set out at age 50 to do what she always wanted–to work in the national Park Service as a geologist and interpreter. That was 6 years ago. This week she was on an airplane bound for Alaska to start her new job in Katmai National Park and Preserve. If you think you can’t change careers, hear Nina’s story. It might change your mind: http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20100430/NEWS05/4300317/1064

A fast-talking woman

andrea — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 14:02:22 +0000

…who ends most of her sentences with, “Right?” as if I am supposed to know that whatever she is saying is indeed right and then nod my head in agreement. She’ll say, “The sky is yellow and the flowers are black, right?…so the trees have to be purple, right?” No, not necessarily, I want to say.

Captain of a boat

Andrea Kay — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 20:25:24 +0000

…who has been taking people up and down the river three times a day for 35 years so they can see the birds and fish and turtles. He called it, “A nice rut.”

Weird receptionist at a company

andrea — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 22:41:28 +0000

…whom I asked: “Excuse me, can you tell me how to enter this office where I have a meeting?” She replied, “You’re not allowed to interrupt us.” “Pardon?” I asked, to which she explained that I’m not allowed to talk to her until she acknowledges me. Bad, bad customer was I.

Man at a meeting who was trying to impress us

andrea — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 12:52:30 +0000

… with what he could do. He said things like “I can improve your actionable branding, your critical initiatives and expectation clarification…” and he made me fall asleep.

Film editor

andrea — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 17:22:20 +0000

…who had recorded a live speech by author, inventor and futurist Buckminster Fuller, only to discover later that day, that the audio was no good and Fuller’s speech was lost. “We will go anywhere in the country where you’re giving your next talk,” the film editor’s company told Fuller, to record him again. The next day Fuller died.

Musician

andrea — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 22:54:41 +0000

…who said he grew up with a mother who “was all scattered. I’d miss the school bus and she’d be driving me to school with breakfast on her lap, putting on lipstick. This was normal.” Today, he says, that’s why he loves change, “getting things done with no plan and making it by the seat of my pants.”

Man who joined the military in his 50′s

andrea — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 10:53:34 +0000

…to become an army historian. “This is a piece of history and I want to document it,” he said. And so he sits, day after day, in fox holes in Afghanistan interviewing soldiers to make sure their stories are told.

Former Navy pilot

andrea — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 22:30:48 +0000

…and long-time airline employee from Melbourne, Florida, who in response to my column on airplane control tower operators and the intensity of their jobs, said: “Pilots depend on tower operators to guide them in the final stages of their flights when everybody holds their breath…”