Over the past year I have a had some people describe me in interesting ways. When I was in Airman Leadership School we had this somewhat silly project where each person got the name of a different classmate and we had to pick some kind of object or animal that described that person. Then we had to say why. The person who got me described me as a Cadillac: sophisticated, confident, but not too flashy.

A few months later one of my airmen said that I walked like a rich person. I asked what that was supposed to mean she said, "I don't know. Look at how rich people walk. All erect and like they are on some kind of mission." I wasn't sure if that was good or bad but she assured me that it was a good thing because it "gave me authority."

The most recent description is one that I actually take as a compliment. One of the people I work with described me as a "natural ass." According to him my sarcasm and cynicism comes out in a way that could translate into me being a total ass, but something about how it comes across makes it likable and funny.

So, what made this come about? We were working on moving some items from one building to another and he made a comment about there being a s**t ton of a particular item. I looked at him and said, "That is a really dumb phrase. A s**t ton. Think about it. What is a s**t ton? What makes it different from say a feather ton? It it just more squishy? Why not just say a ton? It is like a saying 'a boat load'. What kind of boat are we talking about? A schooner? A canoe? Two very different boats that carry a different amount."

He laughed through my little diatribe and did admit that I was correct in saying that the phrase really didn't make any sense. But he did have a point too... I really am an ass sometimes...