Worry Wench

Had a bad day yesterday due to lack of sleep.  Normally, I can function pretty well on about 6 hours  with only a few minor mood swings which I perceive as being tolerable by others, but when the sleep is reduced to 4 hours.... WATCH OUT WORLD...PISSED WOMAN APPROACHING!

Reason for deprivation? I woke up at 4:15 naturally and fully intended to go back to sleep (until the time when my alarm would inform me of the impending doom of a new workday) but instead my brain decided to hijack my peace.  The dominant thought... "Did I screw up the budget yesterday?"

In the room where I am 'cubed' at work there are a few people who generally come to me for advice for voucher claims and for budget transfers from month to month and expense code to expense code.  Generally I am all good about helping them out of their predicaments and it is rather eazy-peezy.  But this time, due to the jet lag (although I will deny that I am affected by it as badly as others are) and trying to get my brain out of vacation mode, I was in the midst of a 4:00 AM worryfest concerning if I had royally screwed up budget requests for 2 people due to an overseen technicality.

I would tell myself, "Its fine, you can reverse what you did yesterday and make it all better today when you go in.  Just call accounting and have them fix it IF there is a problem with the budget month." 

Then the 'Worry Wench" residing in the evil depths of my cranium would respond with "Oh no, you weren't careful enough yesterday and they can't reverse the problem because the system is strict.  You just lost $3,000 budget."

I return again to address the wench "Regardless of if you are right or not, I can't do anything about it at 4 in the morning!"

She would then smartly reply "True, you can't do anything now, but imagine every detail of the crap you have to go through explaining to those people you helped... who TRUSTED you to advise them....that you screwed it all up for them!"

I thus lay there in a stressed out stoop imagining the pending doom at work IF IF IF there is a problem that I wasn't able to foresee.  Two hours pass by and no sleep, just closed eyes and a noticeably dismal facial expression imprinted on my face to add that much more joy to the day.

BEEP BEEP BEEP.... the alarm goes off....

Slugging to get ready and go to work, arrival and immediate 8AM call to accounting to confirm that NO, there is no problem and the budget requests done yesterday were all correctly done.

Great to hear.   Now the only thing I get out of my lack of sleep is a crappy attitude and a hope that my coworkers don't wring my neck for being short tempered with them over the next 8 hours.

Better believe I slept like a dead woman that night ... after pigging out on a grilled cheese sandwich and chocolate ice cream.


I love sleep. My life has the tendency to fall apart when I'm awake, you know? ~Ernest Hemingway

Rectal intrusion diverted

Do you sometimes feel that someone, somewhere, always has their finger up your 'boo-tay' and is attempting to control your every move like a finger puppet?

(FYI, drawing that little hand image there was quite an enjoyable task in MS PowerPoint.  Give it a try sometime, but be forewarned that if you are not so artistically inclined, lock the gun up before starting...)

This delightful day consisted of a series of unfortunate decisions made by those who like to think of themselves as people in 'control' of our business operations.  Between those ludicrous decisions also occurred a gamut of other imbecilic situations such as a team building exercise gone wrong, a testosterone filled 'my thing is bigger than your thing' fight, and a bra strap mishap.  The typical day.... in other words....

So back to the finger prodding....

The people attempting to explore my end-trails are HR, Accounting, and Operation Support.  Between those three groups and all their rules inflicted upon us innocent employees, this company could no doubt serve as the next world renowned rectal 'We'll do you deep and right' clinic. They want you to use a certain format for an open text field (why make it open text if its so controlled??), they want 4 approvals for a trip claim when you got approval to go on the stinking trip before you purchased the ticket,  and they want to assume what people like with the hopes that they are themselves 'in touch' with employee needs rather than just ask them what they like, and the list goes on and on.

What did I do to resolve the problems?   In a nutshell I told my boss he needed to say 'do it' to them so they would ignore their regulations (just this once....), I told HR that I will wash my hands clean of my volunteer work to pick up their slack until they start putting the employees as their true priority, and the rest I decided to separate myself from to let them feel the pain of self reliance.

In the end... when they started to insert the pointer finger, they were met by something too tight to breach.

On the other events....A puma fixed my twisted bra strap....and the testosterone spat dude got out with only a broken collar bone and losing his job.  I suppose that's a win, win, win for him (crazy men folk .... : )

"Could you write a note for my wife to say that my head it not up there?" ~ Rectal exam patient's request to doctor

Anyone, Anytime

Anything can happen at any time to anyone.  Read that again...

ANYTHING.... can happen at   ANYTIME... to ANYONE.

Let it sink in your mind and heart... Anyone (including you).

Today a coworker of mine called and said he would be out for the rest of day day as his wife and children were in a side impact car accident.  They were making a left turn at a green light and a car impacted them from the opposite lane.  The children were crying, everyone's backs and necks were hurting, the wife shaken and worried for her family and feeling guilty for she was behind the wheel.  Husband in shock as his family could have been no more....

The person driving the other vehicle did not stop, but rather sped away to escape the scene of the accident.  In an act of mercy and heroism, the car behind the one struck chased after the perpetrator at full speed with the intent to stop him or at least get the license plate information.  The perpetrator never stopped, but partial tag information was retrieved.  The police showed up, documented everything, and the family returned home to rest and contemplate seeking medical review.

It happened to her.  It happened to him.  It happened to his neighbor. It happened to her brother.  It happened to his uncle.  It happened to her daughter.  Things happen that harm or kill someone every day and it is only a matter of time until something... SOMETHING... will happen to you or to the ones who are dear to you.  It is absolutely unavoidable that harm will befall you at some point in your life.  In preparation for the inevitable, one should do the following:

1) Follow and ACT upon the inclinations of the heart and spirit
2) Maintain the best relations with your family and friends
3) Turn any grudges into acts of kindness
4) Ask for forgiveness from those whom you have wronged
5) Tell the ones you love that you love and are thankful for them
6) Do your best efforts always so you have no regrets
7) Be there for those in need so you are cared for when in need
8) Have your will updated yearly

The point I am trying to make is to not try to PREVENT a harm from befalling you (it will happen anyway), but to advise you to be sure you are LIVING a life that at its end you are content and pleased with how you utilized it.

My best wishes and kindest thoughts go out to the families of those who are struggling.

On no soul does God place a burden greater than it can bear. ~God


PS: I had a dream in the early morning about being in a car accident.  It was with someone I worked with. I need to heed my dreams more often...
  

1st Year Rules

A great Friday blasted into an oblivion of annoyance.

A person I work with can't seem to understand what not to say to avoid ticking me off.  I have been working here for 4 years as a senior strategist, she for 9 months as a specialist. After I finished a project (which she originally abandoned because she went on an extended vacation only 3 months after she was hired), I had some proofing samples brought in to test. While I was talking to the vendor, this specialist proceeds to interrupt my conversation, critique the materials that I produced and approved, and suggests ridiculous applications of the product which were all together not feasible and more costly.  The vendor left after I assured him that what we had decided to go forward with will remain as is.  The specialist then tops off the event with telling me 'Good Job' in a tone that can only be similar to that of a kindergarten teacher.  I wanted to tell her to 'Bite me'!

There are certain unsaid rules to follow when starting at a new job and working with others

1) DON'T ASSUME you know how things work in a business until you have been there for at least 1 year.  No matter if you have held that exact same position for 10 years in a different company, the dynamics of another business may be altogether inappropriate to the new operation method.

2) Take the first year to shut up and LISTEN, rather than speak during any open air opportunities.  Certainly you should ask questions humbly to understand that which you don't know, but the more you listen the more you can learn and progress in your performance.

3) Give the people who have worked there for a longer period RESPECT and trust that they have the most expertise in their activities.  They would not have remained employed at that business if they did not perform their duties effectively.  If you come in to a position with blazing finger points, you won't have any fellow associates defending you when you commit a major screw up (which most new employees will do).

4) As all individual people are different, you must learn which method works best to get the best out of each individual. ADAPT your own terminology and voice inflections to get the best results. You have no control over their behavior, even if they report to you.  Address any of their inappropriate behavior formally,with calmness, and possibly with an arbitrator.

5) DO NOT PATRONIZE superiors with phrases like "Good Job" as these should be reserved for those associates of equal or inferior position. For those of superior position whom you should show respect, use phrases like "Great" or "Wonderful" when they have made a change and try to refer to the improvement process rather than that person's performance. If you do spout out a 'Good job' or 'Great work' to superior then you will lose respect.

6) If you have a suggestion for a possible improvement, don't start it with terms like "You should..." or "Why didn't you..." or "You need to"... By using the word 'you', the statement becomes a personal attack rather than one that addresses a process.  If it involves a change in their behavior, the term "We" works better, as it implies your willingness to SHARE the responsibility and thus can't be personal.  "Could we do it like this...." refers to the company employees working to improve operations together.

7) Let the boss be the boss.  If you disagree with the direction that he/she is deciding to take the company in, you can express your feeling but then step back and let him/her take the ownership of what they have been awarded responsibility.  If you continue to support your superiors activities, you will earn their respect and one day, when you are in the management position, you can make changes in activities over which you have authority.

Please, PLEASE keep these things in mind if you are in your first year of employment at a company.  Otherwise, you might become a 'Specialist' in unemployment very soon after.