Twas the Afternoon Before Year-EndTwas the Afternoon Before Year-End

A verse for communications professionals at the holidays

Twas the afternoon before year end, when all through the place
Not a video conference room was showing, not a single face.
The phone sets were nestled in their bases with care,
In hopes that the big boss would be unaware.

Their presence was "available" and yet they were gone
IMs went unanswered and phone calls rang on.
I lay on the couch, a bag of chips in my lap,
"Working from home" I had said, but really was taking a nap.

When in my home office there arose such a clatter,
A ring tone to announce a very urgent matter.
Away to my PC I flew through the house,
Put on my Bluetooth headset and clicked "Answer" with the mouse.

On my desktop my software the call subject did show
which helped me to relax as it was something I did know.
When, what to my blurry eyes should appear
But an IM from the big boss, about end of year.

She typed all in CAPS, so lively and quick
I read for a moment and felt a little bit sick.
More rapid than eagles her text how it came
Over the speaker she then whistled and called me by name!

"Now Cisco, Now Avaya or is it Now Lync?
On BlackBerries, On iPhones, On iPads, what should I think!"
"Make a clear business case, choose an option", she said,
"Otherwise the budget for UC and Collaboration may be dead!"

As memos before executive meetings start to fly,
she typed and suggested several things I could try.
So up to video we escalated and now she knew
I was working from home and in my pajamas too!

And then, with a twinkling I heard some email chimes
As my inbox showed new documents seventeen times!
As I drew in my head and was starting to read
Out from my monitor came an HD video feed.

She was dressed in business attire from her head to her toes
And her clothes were all expensively tailored goodness knows.
A pile of analyst reports she held tight in her hand
And she looked like she might make a last minute demand.

Her eyes how they twinkled! Her teeth had been whitened
Her cheeks were a little rosy, my senses were heightened.
Her droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow
Tied tight in a knot like source code in escrow.

She was thin and fit, a picture-perfect exec
And I laughed when I saw her, as I thought "what the heck".
A smile from her lips and a nod from her head
Soon gave me to know some things would remain unsaid.

She spoke a few words, and then turned with a jerk
Opened a file on her computer and said "we have some work".
Pushing a button beside of her ear
And clicking her mouse made the video window disappear.

I sprang from my chair, to my files flew like a missile,
Determined to rise to the challenge or face a dismissal.
And I heard her exclaim, as she dropped off the call,
"Do an Options Analysis if you want to implement the best UC solution for all!"

May your holidays be filled with family, friends and quiet moments of reflection.