Two Hundred and ThirtyTwo

Justin called me this morning.  He said he called all the contacts I found for him, but none of them called him back—and when he calls them, the call goes to voice mail—so he asked me to call them again.

The contacts were all willing to speak with me—even those who were on vacation, as most Europeans are now—and they all got back to me within a day.  But Justin says it’s been a week since he called them, and not one of them has called him back.  I reminded him that they’re government officials, and must be busy, but I can’t help wondering why they called me back within a day, but not him.  I wonder what he says to them.

Justin doesn’t do well with people—especially foreigners, if his relations with his co-workers at AC are any indication.  I’m beginning to wonder if he says things to them that antagonize them.  He says things to me that would antagonize me, if I cared.

I wonder if Justin uses the same kind of racist xenophobic slurs when speaking to them that Mike used when he spoke to our overseas customers.  Mike said them in a joking way, and apparently the customers took them as jokes (or perhaps his boorishness was what they expected from an American), but I doubt Justin can insult anyone in a joking way.  He’s too earnest.