I'm actually still mopey about the missing tea-strainer, by the way. Feh.

One of my cubicle neighbors just dropped in to let me know she liked a turn of phrase I used in a call. I'd called a sales representative to ask him to call a client who hadn't realized what one of the products he'd ordered did and doesn't deal well with the unexpected. The rep asked me if I'd explained what the product did and that it's generally a good thing. I told him "I tried, but he reacted like I was speaking to him in Martian. Actually, he reacted like I was cursing at him in Martian..."

(Fortunately, as per my clever plan, the customer had time to (a) calm down and (b) absorb what I'd explained by the time the sales rep called him to go over his order, and all is now likely fine. Some people just have a brief flip-out period that needs to be waited out before they can deal with new data.)

So, now whenever someone give you the "I don't understand what you are saying, but I am upset by it anyway" reaction, you can say "He thought I was cussing him out in Martian." And then you can credit me, and I will become famous, or something. And then, I dunno, a goddess or something.