Work mates and empty plates
Two things have happened to me recently. Neither have anything to do with the other, apart from the fact that they are both happening at the same time in my life.
Firstly, work. The on-going saga of my colleague (name deleted for obvisous reasons) is, well, on-going. But, the good gossip value aside (and in my workplace there seems to be another to talk about without this clouding up our weekend), the whole situation seems to be getting out of hand. It has become a stalemate, in which nothing changes from week to week, but drag us more and more down and involve more and more people. Yesterday, names began to brought in which have absoluting nothing to do with the situation, while the cold war between my boss and my colleague remains the same as the former one. I can't quite fathom why the latter has not quit yet. I have been at the end of a bullying boss; the pressure was unbarable, but I had the choice to walk away. Now, I am not saying for a nano-second that my boss is a bully; indeed, in this battle, I see the blaim lying squarly with my colleague. However, the question still stands - why is she still here?! For all the stress it seems to be causing, it cannot be worth it for the little gained. And I'm not just talking about stress for the 'afflicted' party either; we don't want our names dragged through the mud, espically if we don't deserve it. We don't want to have to choose our lunch breaks to avoid someone, to have to hide everything, to have to lie about things because you know it will provoke a barrage of endless questions, each one as toe-curling as the last. Schluss damit! Ye gods, I have 3 weeks left, I should not be worrying about this; but it does pose the ulitmate question - who goes first, her or me?!
The second pain in my life is not really a pain ( and I count my blessings that it's the one thing I have to moan about!), but just an annoyance - a food theif. I've been trying to figure out a cool term for it - a Freif? A Foreif? A FT? Egal, you know what I'm talking about. SHe started about a week ago, I guess, and is now stealing the weird things - butter and beans are my casulities (so far, touch wood). A notice appeared on the fridge on Sat telling us as such. So far, nothing that wouldn't happen in any other communial kitchen. What's irking (cool word, non?!) me is that someone then wrote underneath who they think it is. I don't know why that is bothering me, but it is. Maybe because I don't like to see people be so petty rather than having a quiet word. Maybe because naming and shaming was just wrong. Maybe because I'll be in the frame (though I do have an alibi). Whatever, it's getting on my nerves. But what can we do? Lock the fridge? Write 'property of XXX' in big letters on everything? Whatever we do is just going to make living together that little bit more uncomfortable and would seem stupid and, yes, petty.
Apart from their proxmity in my life, these two incidents do share one thing. They both stem from someone's inablity to deal with something in a rational and approriate way. I don't want to say that I would never do that; I'm as guilty as the next for overreacting, seeing things the wrong way. But it just goes to show that people never learn. The worse thing that I can do is let myself be dragged into these sorrid mixes as far as possible; to let people get on with their squabbles and just hope that when my time comes, they will let me get on with mine.
PS: I suppose I should really say something about BGT. I must admit, the best people won on the night. Susan Boyle was good, yes, but the hype got in the way and overshadowed the fact that there were other, better acts. And it showed how the media can, and do, get it wrong. Well done, people of Great Britain. To stand up against public opinion and choose with your heads rather than with hype- now that really is talent!
Firstly, work. The on-going saga of my colleague (name deleted for obvisous reasons) is, well, on-going. But, the good gossip value aside (and in my workplace there seems to be another to talk about without this clouding up our weekend), the whole situation seems to be getting out of hand. It has become a stalemate, in which nothing changes from week to week, but drag us more and more down and involve more and more people. Yesterday, names began to brought in which have absoluting nothing to do with the situation, while the cold war between my boss and my colleague remains the same as the former one. I can't quite fathom why the latter has not quit yet. I have been at the end of a bullying boss; the pressure was unbarable, but I had the choice to walk away. Now, I am not saying for a nano-second that my boss is a bully; indeed, in this battle, I see the blaim lying squarly with my colleague. However, the question still stands - why is she still here?! For all the stress it seems to be causing, it cannot be worth it for the little gained. And I'm not just talking about stress for the 'afflicted' party either; we don't want our names dragged through the mud, espically if we don't deserve it. We don't want to have to choose our lunch breaks to avoid someone, to have to hide everything, to have to lie about things because you know it will provoke a barrage of endless questions, each one as toe-curling as the last. Schluss damit! Ye gods, I have 3 weeks left, I should not be worrying about this; but it does pose the ulitmate question - who goes first, her or me?!
The second pain in my life is not really a pain ( and I count my blessings that it's the one thing I have to moan about!), but just an annoyance - a food theif. I've been trying to figure out a cool term for it - a Freif? A Foreif? A FT? Egal, you know what I'm talking about. SHe started about a week ago, I guess, and is now stealing the weird things - butter and beans are my casulities (so far, touch wood). A notice appeared on the fridge on Sat telling us as such. So far, nothing that wouldn't happen in any other communial kitchen. What's irking (cool word, non?!) me is that someone then wrote underneath who they think it is. I don't know why that is bothering me, but it is. Maybe because I don't like to see people be so petty rather than having a quiet word. Maybe because naming and shaming was just wrong. Maybe because I'll be in the frame (though I do have an alibi). Whatever, it's getting on my nerves. But what can we do? Lock the fridge? Write 'property of XXX' in big letters on everything? Whatever we do is just going to make living together that little bit more uncomfortable and would seem stupid and, yes, petty.
Apart from their proxmity in my life, these two incidents do share one thing. They both stem from someone's inablity to deal with something in a rational and approriate way. I don't want to say that I would never do that; I'm as guilty as the next for overreacting, seeing things the wrong way. But it just goes to show that people never learn. The worse thing that I can do is let myself be dragged into these sorrid mixes as far as possible; to let people get on with their squabbles and just hope that when my time comes, they will let me get on with mine.
PS: I suppose I should really say something about BGT. I must admit, the best people won on the night. Susan Boyle was good, yes, but the hype got in the way and overshadowed the fact that there were other, better acts. And it showed how the media can, and do, get it wrong. Well done, people of Great Britain. To stand up against public opinion and choose with your heads rather than with hype- now that really is talent!
posted by Timemistressabroad @ 2:26 PM
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