Cheapskate?

When I worked for the university, I discovered that getting money from an engineering professor (to buy a gift for our secretary) was like getting blood from a stone. Still, there were a few professors who were quite generous.

After leaving academia for the world of practicing engineers, I can say that the same fiscal behavior holds true. I bought breakfast and lunch for the engineers during today's meeting, and asked for three dollars from everybody to cover my losses. At the end of lunch, several engineers hadn't paid up. It was left to the people who already had paid to make up the difference. I'm grateful for the people who showed extra generousity in making sure that I broke even.