title: Someone Destroyed My Rocket Ship: and other havoc I've witnessed at the office (How To Be Ferociously Happy) (Volume 6)
author:  Dushka Zapata 
description: After more than 20 years in the communications industry I noticed a theme. It is very difficult to articulate who you are and what you do. This holds true for both companies and for individuals. For companies, this is an impediment to the development of an identity, a reputation, a brand. It makes it hard for your customers to see how you are different from your competitors. For individuals, in a new world order of personal brands, it makes it hard to develop one that feels real. This is what I do. I help companies and people put into simple terms who they are, what they do, and where to go next. My work comes to life through message development, presentation training, media training and personal brand development. It comes to life through executive coaching, workshops and public speaking. It comes to life through what I write. I've written four other books, How To Be Ferociously Happy, Amateur, A Spectacular Catastrophe and Other Things I Recommend, and Your Seat Cushion Is a Flotation Device. I live in San Francisco with Boyfriend, who snores like a cartoon bear.
zlib_text: [Back](0671319965__15.htm) | [Next](0671319965__17.htm)  
  [Contents](0671319965_toc.htm)
  
  # **Chapter 16**
  
  A few minutes later, the first flare went off. Her face pressed against one of
  the viewing slits in the shield, Antonina scanned the dark sea looking for any
  sign of the approaching Malwa suicide ship.
  
  She didn't have very long to spot anything. When the flare erupted, about
  three hundred feet above the sea, it cast a very satisfactory light over a
  large area. But the parachute failed to deploy, and the spent rocket plunged
  into the water after providing only a short moment of illumination.
  
  "Damn the thing!" She turned her head and glared at Eusebius. "What went
  wrong?"
  
  Eusebius didn't seem greatly perturbed. "What usually happens." He
  straightened up from his own viewing slit and shrugged. "Those flare rockets
  are pretty crude, Antonina. Not much more sophisticated, except for the
  venturi, than the simplest Malwa rockets. Well over half the time, the
  propellant fires too unev