Some inspiring words

I just got back to work after a week-long vacation in an island off of Mexico, and I was a little worried about readjusting to life on the mainland. Fortunately, my boss has been more than accommodating. For example, when I was going over my data with my boss, we recognized a little slip in my data entry. I noted that the slip didn't change the data, just misrepresented my thought-process. I think the number one concern for supervisors (at least in the life sciences) is having their underlings keep a comprehensible log of their work, mostly for posterity. We could drop dead of some strange, lab-constructed influenza, and everything would be fine as long as we neatly explained just how we constructed the virus and the precise trajectory in which we collapsed.

So, as I left his office, he offered this nice little tidbit when we came across my error (try to read it in the dryest, British voice you can muster):

Now, you know what I always say... what happens if you get hit by a bus the tomorrow? Sure, at first, we'll say, ah poor guy, what a loss. But then we'd say, ah, that fucker [sic] deserved it, he was always fucking mislabeling his [Excel spreadsheet] columns. And if he keeps doing it, I might be the one driving that bus.

I don't know what amused me more. The fact that 1) despite his claim, I'm pretty sure that was the first time he said that or 2) he maintained an absolute deadpan face throughout that little piece of wisdom.