For my last day at work in Shepparton, I sent an invitation out to all the friends I had made while on secondment. “To celebrate the end of my five months here, I’m having lunch at the golf club. You’re welcome to join me.”

On the morning of the lunch, someone suggested I pre-order so that the food would be ready when we arrived at the club at 12:30 PM. I called the golf club and arranged for them to fax me the menu.

“Just fax us the order when it’s done,” Justin the kitchen coordinator said. “I’ll attach a business card so that you have our fax number.”

When the fax arrived, I scanned and emailed the menu to everyone who accepted my invitation. By 11 AM, I had ten orders.

Like the good environmentalist that I am, I dug around in my folders until I found a piece of paper that was blank on one side. I carefully scribed out people’s orders, taking care to get the combinations of chips, salad and other sides right. I added my phone number and fax number. Then I got up and put the order through the fax machine.

The rest of the morning was very busy. There was a lot to tidy up before I left. At 12:10 PM, I stopped for a breather. Phew! My brain hurt. I thought maybe I should call the golf club to make sure they had gotten my fax.

“Hi, is Justin there? Hi, Justin. It’s Joan.”

“Joan!” he cried. Justin sounded very jolly. “Joan, how are you? It looks like you’re having a busy day!”

What?

“Uh, yeah, it has been a bit busy. How did you know?”

“Hahaha! You faxed us your ‘To do’ list!”

What!

I pulled out my lunch order and flipped it around. Sure enough, the other side was headed with 20-point font stating, JOAN’S TO DO LIST.

Justin continued laughing. “We couldn’t call you back because there was no phone number! You didn’t say what company you were from, either.”

Oh dear, how embarrassing.

I didn’t try my luck at the fax machine again. Instead, I read out the orders over the phone. Justin did a good job and had lunch ready for the group within ten minutes of our arrival. As expected, everyone at the table had a good chuckle at my expense.