Baffled

I generally expect humans to remain fairly consistent with their behavior. At the same time, I also have come to realize that we can't possibly know everything there is to know about the public and private behavior of everyone we know. And, that humans frequently behave in private entirely differently than they do in public. In other words, you aren't likely to see me on the news one night telling the cameras that I'll never believe my neighbor "who seemed so nice" has two dozen bodies buried in his basement.

That being said, I still expect jerks to continue to be jerks, and sweeties to continue to be sweeties with only minor variations.

Today, I attended a meeting with other division managers. One of the division managers is a rather unpleasant man I once described as being a "bowling ball with appendages." I suspect he has had the same hair cut/style since he was a small child. He is loud, insulting, and I remember him most for the rather creepy pass he made at another division manager's secretary at a regional meeting.

What has me baffled is that suddenly Mr. Bowling Ball is the life of the party. He was more than civil to other division managers. He went out his way to be pleasant in his own way. He volunteered freely for tasks. I was rather taken aback by this radical change. I can only wonder what prompted it. Is he gunning for a promotion? Did he get kicked in the head and see god? Did he finally get laid? Did they finally find the right mix of medications?

I'm sure that this new persona of his is a vast improvement - but you'll have to excuse me while I wait for the punchline.