i spent yesterday afternoon "hob-knobbing" with the high up management. they had a golf outing and i helped out. it was pretty cool because i really didn't care what they thought of me so i was competely myself. i made smartass comments and they thought it was great. so in a way, i did ended up impressing them by not trying to impress them. sounds strange and twisted but it is true. i met some very fun and interesting people from other groups that i would not have met any other way. let's just say with my red hair....they all remember me. by the end of the day, they were all calling me by name. don't know if that is good or bad yet. time will tell.