Sixteen Tons
-
Better
I deleted yesterday’s grumpy entry. Yesterday’s issue is an ongoing problem, though. People are still mad, and will make a point of not enjoying the fun day I’ve arranged. It’s illegal to make every person salaried, so sometimes I wish we could make every person hourly so there wouldn’t be this divide. Human beings love to divide and exclude, to measure and compare, so simple on-paper business decisions become wretched complicated minefields in the psychology of the workplace. A psychologist, I am not. I’ll just try to be nice, and have a meeting with the hourly folks, and explain that the day is not an expression of appreciation for salaried people’s…
-
A Few Random Bullet Points
Haven’t felt much like writing since the VT thing. Something like that, no matter how distant from your daily life, really takes the wind out of your sails. And how about publicizing that package the kid made? Way to go, NBC. Way to give a lot of other angry kids looking for attention a great idea. The Israeli owner of our company is in town. He is a chain smoker, so whenever he’s here he chain smokes in his office just a few doors down from me. Now I’m not a girl who will give somebody a hard time about smoking in a bar, or at an outdoor party, or…
-
Tax Fun
Sorry to post two of these in a day. But during the encounter described below, in abbreviated but word-for-word detail (except for the names), the only thing that kept me from losing my mind and/or throwing my chair through my un-open-able window was thinking about the wonderful comic blogging opportunities that the experience allowed. It’s a long read. Imagine how long it was to live it. 11:15 am Brrrrring brrrrring. Brrrrring brrrrring. #1 – “Hello this is Charlie Sneed number oh one seven six five seven oh how can I help you today” <Like many government workers, he speaks without punctuation> “Hello. I’m an HR Manager and I have a foreign citizen…
-
A Brief Interlude
A short break from recounting the honeymoon in exhaustive detail – I’ve been on fire at work this week, getting a ton done. I think it’s the lovely weather outside. Even though it’s outside and I’m inside, it’s still motivating me. I’m waking from winter hibernation, shaking off the frost and bursting forth. Or maybe that’s my crocuses out front – whatever previous homeowner planted those bad boys, thank you. They are delightful. This morning, though, I’m foggy. I took a Tylenol PM last night for a headache – I hate taking any drugs, but it was a bad headache. This morning I have Tylenol PM hangover – it’s…
-
Miss Unpopularity
Over the years, bosses have asked me to do many things. I’ve fired or laid off at least 200 people. I’ve disciplined probably half that many. I’ve had to tell people that they won’t be getting a raise this year, or that the raise they get wouldn’t buy them a cup of coffee at Starbucks. I’ve broken bad news of deaths, illnesses, and accidents; I’ve turned a parent in to Child Protective Services; I’ve turned away candidates with bad criminal records. I’ve never, in all this time, been asked to do as difficult a job as I am doing today. The boss wants a picture of everyone in the plant. …