A funny thing happened at lunch today.
I mentioned before that employees play ping-pong at lunch. The talent and skill are very good. I never play but I enjoy watching. There are always about 10 players waiting to rotate into the game. The table is right outside my office area. Today I was walking though the playing area and someone slammed the ball towards their opponent in play. The opposing player could not return the slam. I was watching and saw the action develop. The ping-pong ball was flying thru the air heading straight for my head (I was walking about 10 feet behind one of the players). Without breaking stride or showing any expression I calmly reached up with one hand and snagged the ball in mid-flight despite its very high rate of velocity. As I initially grabbed the ball I said to myself that people should be impressed by my skill and coordination. That was a short-lived thought because one-second later – the scenario changed. Oh, I still caught the ball but I also crushed the ball in my hand during the process.
Now there I was with the crushed ball in my hand with everyone looking at me. Yes, they were impressed with my athletic prowess but they also wanted their ball back. I panicked and quickly threw the crushed ball back to them without breaking my original stride.
When the ball landed on the table with a thud (instead of a ping) they all went “uh?” They interpreted my action as a sign of dis-satisfaction and the game quickly disbanded. Well, as of a result of their action I had to stop and apologize. I told them it was an accident and that they could keep playing. I think they understood but I guess they only had one ball – a flat one at that point.
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