Category: work

Startling

But in a good way.

Had the opportunity today to go to a “town hall” with the new VP of my group.

Due to the merger with another, larger, company, things sure are changing.

The old VP (who has since left the company) was very straight laced, serious and business-head only.

This new VP, in reference to the changes we are going through and the fact that it is unpleasant said…

“It’s like that old joke…how do you eat sh*t?………very, very fast.”

We were all startled. I think it was a several moment pause before we laughed.

New guy curses a lot. He’s got that engineer sense of humor. And he seems really on top of his game. And he has a potty mouth!

Well ok! I can hang with that. To be honest, that being all serious and business-head was really hard for me to manage!

%$#*!!!

These are a few of my perturbing things

No raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens.

No, I’m all kinds of cranky today and need to, you know, just vent.

You know how it goes, you have other friends like me. You are having a perfectly nice day, then they come along and dump their misery. They feel great and you feel bad.

That’s me today.

Here we go.

I’m not cranky about anything in particular, just all the little things are wearing down my last nerve until it’s just a slick spot. I have, what The Good Man calls “bent whiskers.”

So here we go, a few of my most annoying things.

    


  • People who pour the top couple fingers of coffee out into the trash can at the local coffee place. Yes, I know they need room for cream, and there is nowhere else to deposit the excess java, but for some reason this seriously bugs me. I always think “that will melt the can liner and *can’t* be fun for the employee that has to come clean that out.” I dunno, maybe my former S’bucks friend (that’s you, Nat) can assure me this is not such a bad thing?
  • People who drive itty bitty cars and STILL can’t manage to make it between the white lines in the parking lot. Especially when they are using up a full sized space (versus a compact spot). I always want to door ding the %$#@ out of them, but refrain because…
  • …I also really hate people who door ding other cars. Are you NOT in command of your own car door?
  • Microsoft Excel. It’s totally user error, but like most folks, I choose to point the finger outward for my own personal inadequacies. : shrug :

    • 


  • That my manicure lasted less than a week. Grr. I want the heavy-duty shellac put on there! The kind they lay on thick like on a basketball court, with all the gleam. It should be super nuclear attached to my nails! One week!!?!?
  • That my frappin’ iPhone can’t seem to hold a battery charge for more than a day. Remember when mobile phones were only used for making calls? I could make a battery charge last a week on those things. Now with phone, text, email, twitter, web surfing, etc, etc, I wear out that stupid battery in the blink of an eye. Damn you Apple for bringing all of my life onto one tiny energy sucking device!!!!
  • That they only buy the cheapest possible pens at work, but will spring for $400 worth of food for a lunchtime meeting, leaving scads of leftovers. Money down the drain as I scribble with a crap pen. Whatever.
  • That I’m turning forty in a week.

Ok, that last one may be the main perturber…not sure. Either way, I’m massively cranky….

Check the signs

The government cares. No really, they do. And so with their help, I’ve taken a good look at myself today. I mean, a real good look.

How are YOU feeling? Maybe you could check in too?

Herewith:

Getting Through Tough Economic Times from the Department of Health and Human Services.

“It is important to be aware of signs that financial problems may be adversely affecting your emotional or mental well being –or that of someone you care about.”

In other words….Did Mr. Jones take all your cash? Does that tick you off?

Let’s check in, shall we?

Warning Signs

Persistent Sadness/Crying

Only when I look at my bank account.

Excessive Anxiety

Only when I look at my bank account.

Lack of Sleep/Constant Fatigue

Yes. But I can’t really blame the economy for the fact that we are having cold windy nights, and since my personal internal thermometer tends to run hot, the cat and The Good Man sleep on top of me to stay warm.

Excessive Irritability/Anger

Only at 3:00 in the morning when I’m burning up hot and can’t get fourteen pounds of cat or six feet two inches of husband off of me.

Increased drinking

Yeah, a little. The Good Man, his friend and me did have two bottles of wine on Sunday (at a bar-b-que). Did you know that Lambrusco is really tasty and drinks awfully easily? Did you know that with enough fizzy red wine in your gullet, you kinda feel a lot better about a whole lot of things in your life? Well, that and the red meat. And the smoked fish from Alaska. Damn…that was a fine dinner…..

Illicit drug use, including misuse of medications

Does Claritin count? Because with this wind, my eyes and nose are like faucets. I may be abusing the stuff…not sure.

Difficulty paying attention or staying focused

What’s that over there? I think I’m hungry. What’s the square root of 686?

Apathy – not caring about things that are usually important to you

Whatever.

Not being able to function as well at work, school or home

Let’s see…after a marathon two days of writing a presentation in which I basically justified my job to our new austere European owners, today I’m at work with nothing to do and writing on my blog.

Not sure I could be less value added if I tried. Or should that be value subtracted? Not sure how the absolute values work in relation to lazyosity.

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Hmm. Ok. So I’m not sure I can draw any conclusions from that exercise.

And I think they may have left a few off the list. My additions:

Do you check your online money accounts more than three times a day?

Do you find yourself in the lunchroom with your coworkers discussing tax rates?

Do you cut coupons where you rarely did before?

Do you and your spouse look for “free” events, samples, activities and services?

Do you calculate how much gas it would take to get to a destination as a “go/no go” decision on running an errand?

Do you watch too much CNBC and then find yourself yelling at Jim Cramer and blaming him for a lot of things that aren’t actually his fault? (this one applies to Jon Stewart only)

Do you have fantasies about how good it used to be…in 2006?

If so…seek help.

______________

Ok, ok, I kid, I kid, but the online resource is actually pretty serious.

Link thanks to Bruce Daniels over at the ABQjournal.

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“I’m certain I have no idea what you are blathering on about, human. Now feed me.

Hello?

Is this thing on?

Sorry for the silence on the line…not usually my style but it couldn’t be helped.

The sale of my company to another has been keeping us spinning.

Stay tuned…I have something fun to post today!

We’ve got sprit, yes we do!

So things have been a bit maudlin at the ol’ work place these days. Our fabulous little company is being bought and merged into a much larger company.

Change. Whatta kick.

For me, being the new kid, this is all very much “ok…what next?” I took these changes into account when I took the job, expected it, haven’t gotten too settled into the “old ways” and can only just ride along the tide.

For people who have worked here for a while, it’s a different sentiment. They’ve seen this company grow and change and expand and there is much worry about what the new owners mean.

So it’s been tough. I’m a naturally exuberant sort, so all this new change is very exciting to me.

Today, they wanted to have a day whereby everyone wears something with the company logo on it, thus to drum up morale, I think. They give away enough schwag here, this shouldn’t be a tough request.

So I complied. Put on my company logo shirt and came to work to find most of my poopy coworkers didn’t comply. They’d rather be weiners than step up and have some fun. (and I told them all as much!)

Sometimes it’s hard to be me….

This me = exuberant and they = notsomuch is one of the pitfalls of my new job. My “energy” is often commented upon, both plus and minus.

But today I found “my people”…I had a meeting in another building, so climbed onboard the shuttlebus and wound up meeting three folks from field sales. These people are out in the trenches selling our product and making this company some money.

And they have SPIRIT! Man, just a twenty minute bus ride with them and I am ALL fired up about how cool my company is and what we’re about. They complimented me on my logo shirt, asked where they could get one, said they were so happy to talk with someone at the home office and just generally made me feel like I belong, despite having only been at the company a few months.

That was pretty cool. I don’t think I have the natural exuberance of a sales person, but I feel a lot better about who I am in the context of my job today.

Unfortunately, I had to come back to poop-head central. Maybe if I keep workin’ on them, they’ll get spirit too?

Nah. I’m a one-gal spirit team and that’s ok! :)