It's been a while since I've done that. Well, since I've done it so publicly.
My telephone is ringing off the hook, now, and the passers-by are dropping in, their eyes still wild.
Yep, I kicked ass again. I even had someone else take names in the process.
It was nigh and high time for me to play THE STAR in front of more than just my team again. My reputation hadn't been waning per se, just... Softening a little, and the next few weeks are going to be ALL about political pull.
So I played the game again.
My way.
I offered a free, beneficial, controversial, and highly hard to come by, presentation for anyone who wanted to drop in.
The turnout was incredible to begin with, with people crowding the immaculate floor of the ginormous boardroom.
We called it "From Secret Writing to PKI".
I told stories of chinese men writing on silk and wrapping it in wax and swallowing it, I told stories of those evenings at G+ struggling with ssl-engine code.
I told stories, and they listened, and better yet -- I saw that they understood.
The performance was perfect.
Despite this year, rife with singing lessons, I never really expect to ever do this sort of thing on a popular stage, (regardless of my teacher's rather optimistic opinion) but...
I am certainly master of the bullshit boardroom performance area.
The white board pales beside me.
In the first five minutes -- we had well-timed giggling.
Excellent.
Six minutes -- there's a quiet hush as my main point sinks in and lights start bursting behind sets upon sets of eyes.
Seven minutes -- nodding and semi-secretive knowing grins from a good third of the audience.
Forty three minutes -- not a single drooping eyelid, and many a steadily unfurrowing brow.
Forty seven minutes -- pairs of hands raised and waving with questions. The arms of my colleagues metamorphosed into a sea of anemones rising out of a mahogany sea.
They came, they listened, they learned enough to ask just the sort of educated questions I was hoping to hear.
They challenged me, my knowledge, our internal practices. They wheedled hard and I stammared and laughed and inwardly crowed with delight.
Today I conquered the boardroom, as I had forgotten I was able to do.
Today I taught a roomful of salesmen, client reps, and even a few techies -- how to use decoder rings, talk the talk and walk the walk and scramble the message, and even encrypt their email.
Today I brought our little part of the big picture light years beyond the known universe.
And all the while, they laughed with me.
My phone is still ringing. Holy crow, my phone really is ringing with congratulations and requests.
Although I wonder what "you're too big for this place, you should be on the road with that" really means.
I think I'm heading outside for a walk, I'm starting to feel like Neil Gaiman at a book signing...
But it's all worth it. I got a message through and saw that bright light pierce through the blank expressions, and to me -- that it enough to even believe in the potential of humanity all over again.
And yes, I am speaking so arrogantly influenced by the high of performance but to be honest --
it really does feel this good to be heard.