I give up, I'm waving the white flag!! There's something in the air today, and it's either affecting people around me...or me!! Are these people crazy, or am I the insane one?? Where's my flare, I need backup???? Oh yes, it's attached to a Frisbee in Omaha, NE. :-)
The first assault occurred first thing this morning....POW!! JabberJaw walks in the door. It's her right, she works here....but she brought with her an overly 'robust' voice. That's a nice way of saying she was really, really, really loud.
She's telling her stories to anyone who comes anywhere near her. She took a long weekend trip of some sort, I didn't ask where, and is now reliving it with anyone she can catch. And it's not like it's new stories with each person, she starts from the beginning each time....over and over and over again.
It got to the point where I had three choices #1 start telling the stories to people myself, I'm sure I could do it faster #2 start shooting people with rubber bands and push pins if they even thought about going near her or #3 run screaming from the building.
It wasn't long before my close friend and co-worker walked into the area, headed for her desk. She emailed me a few minutes later, after hearing the weekend story a couple times (which meant by then I had heard it at least a million times....maybe two).
My buddy then emailed our IT guy, asking him to order us each a 'cone of silence.' I told him I needed a keyboard with a longer cord, because the one I had wasn't long enough to hang myself with. He appeared with a set of ear plugs for each of us...it was the best he could do. :-)
At one point, it got bad enough that she (JabberJaw) started to interrupt us with her stories. But - they had NOTHING to do with the conversations she was interrupting. I know for a fact she has allot of family and friends...how could she possibly act as though she has no one to talk to???
The second misdemeanor took place shortly after lunch.
The stress of this place can get to people. I know it happens to me, I'm the first the admit it actually. But darn it if there aren't some people that let it get to them almost 100% of the time any more. It's a job, it pays the bills. If I have to stay late to get stuff done, I do. I don't get paid for it, it's the joy of being salaried. :-) But there are those that are stressed ALL THE TIME now!!!
Sometimes, I leave with a project sitting on my desk unfinished..or even untouched. It stinks. I like leaving here with a clean desk as much as the next person. But sometimes it's an unrealistic goal. When I worked as a jeweler a number of years ago, a coworker once said something that has stuck with me ever since...."It's not brain surgery Nej, no one will die if it doesn't get done right now."
It was the same jeweler job that almost killed my marriage. I hated it there so much (not the job, just the employer), that I'd bring it home with me. I wouldn't always talk about it....but I still brought it home. Even though I said nothing, the attitude was still there. Finally, one day Mot said "Nej, really?"
He's a man of many words sometimes, but I knew what he meant. From that day on, I leave it at work. I may be tired when I get home, so I'm quiet....but I leave the stress of work at work. Mot still, to this day, asks me how my day was. I always answer with "OK"...nothing snotty, just "OK" and a smile. He'll try to get me to tell him more. I've had to ask him numerous times if he really wants to know. You can see him think about the question, smile, and change the subject. He's a good guy. :-)
Let's return to my second assault. This person suffers from the same thing I did as a jeweler...stress, stress, stress. So I know it's nothing personal (well, I hope it isn't). I try and talk to them about things other than work. Usually that's all it takes for me....a reminder that there's life outside of this place. But, most of the time, it's not taken well. So today, I quit. I'm pulling my caring (misconstrued as "nosey") behind out of the game. I have a hard enough time keeping myself happy. I'm done.
Third assault...my sister. Take into account, assaults by my sister are nothing new to me. She used to bury my clothes in the backyard when we were kids. All because she didn't want me wearing them.
I asked sis what I thought to be a simple question about our shopping trip this weekend. She got a promotion, and needs "adult clothes" (those are her words, not mine), and had asked if I'd go along for help, and I said "sure thing!"
We're going Sunday, and the malls close early - 5:00 or so. (This is the Midwest. Do they close early elsewhere? I've always been curious.) Because of the early closing time, and the fact that she has NO adult clothes, I figured we'd get going as early as we could. She said we'd have to do it in the afternoon because she was playing taxi, in the morning, for her kids.
When she listed the things scheduled, I wondered why her hubby wasn't taking them....as he's highly involved in those activities. I thought maybe he was out of town, and she'd need some help carting them around. Instead, she assumed....well.....I'm not quite sure what she assumed.....but her response to me was ugly.
Being the pushover sister I am, I was torn between two options
Option 1: Apologizing. I had done nothing wrong, and she obviously assumed wrong, but for some reason I felt compelled to apologize for something I didn't do....because it was something she thought I DID do. I know....I'm strange!
Option 2: Telling her off. She can go shopping on her own....why would I want to spend time with the ungrateful little {redacted} anyway!!!!!
After much consideration, I went with Option 3. Oh, did I forget to tell you there was an option 3? Tough! Just go with me on this one. :-)
Option 3: Assume she's having a bad day, and didn't mean to snap at me for doing something I didn't do (or in this case, something I didn't think). I didn't answer her email at all. Avoidance, non-confrontation. There's a time for it, and today shall be that time!!! :-)
It's 4:23 pm. After dealing with Excel spreadsheet formulas all afternoon, I'm ready to get the heck out of here. First order of business....applying ice to my forehead. There are keyboard impressions on it....from banging it on my desk. I love Excel. :-)
Second order of business, pouring a glass of Bailey's Caramel. I'm a tequila girl through and through....but today, that little bit of sweat sounds good. Maybe to counteract the sour I've been knocked around with all day!!!!
1 comment:
You are such a good sister. I think God or whatever, takes the good siblings and matches them with the not-so-good siblings to spread around the love.
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