Friday, May 16, 2008

Give it a rest, girl.

I want to complain about the people I work with. I know I just complained about them, but the past two weeks have been especially annoying. Everybody in our office is over 21 (at least 10 years older than 21) and have been working there for over 2 years. So why is it that nobody else can do anything, but me?

Yes, I'm still having a pity party.

You get over it. I'm tired of this crap and I want to complain about it. I can't do anything about it but complain.

I've told the supervisor that she should give the "new" employee more responsibility so he'd feel more like a member of the team. Honestly, I was thinking that maybe he would do more, maybe he'd have more ambition to do something besides just enough to get by, maybe if he felt like he was making a contribution he'd actually work more than an hour or two a day. [Yes, I tell my supervisor what to do sometimes - I used to be her supervisor.]

He has the fastest alt-tab response I've ever seen, but one can't help but notice that he's often surfing the web or checking his Yahoo email even though he was reprimanded for that soon after he started working there.

I doubt if he's been at work for 8 hours in one day more than two or three times in the past 2 years. He leaves at least 30 - 90 minutes early every day, he takes several long breaks during the day, and frequently his 1/2 hour lunch appear to take 1 - 2 hours, but maybe he just takes a break before and after lunch. You'd have to know where I work to know why it's weird that he takes long breaks. There's literally no place to go in the building but to the bathroom or the pop machine. And there's no place outside close enough to walk to.

Every time the supervisor goes to a conference or on vacation, he calls in sick or says he has to work from home because one of the kids is sick. He has a very sickly family and a bad back that's always giving him problems. Maybe it's true, but we don't believe it any more.

Our office keeps tracks of the number of times each employee enters the office using their badges. It's not unusual for him to badge in more than 10-12 times in a single day.

So what's got me wound up about it today? Aside from the fact that I have to do everything and after 2 years he's still considered too new to know how to do anything? And he half-asses everything he does?

First, I don't keep track of when he comes and goes, but I have to walk by his desk when I come in and go home and when I go to the printer or to the conference room or to the supervisor’s office. If I come in after 8 and he's not at his desk, I know it won't be time for him to go home before 5. If I go to the printer several times between 8 and 10 and he's not in yet, I know he shouldn't go home before 6:30 at the earliest. I can do math in my head.

So .... The supervisor and I left at the same time this afternoon and we stood in the parking lot talking. Within a few minutes of us leaving the office, he left work and went home - at least 60 minutes early, probably 2 hours early.

I abhor liars, cheats, sneaks, and thieves. Especially lazy-assed ones that get away with doing as little as possible, while I'm being buried in "our" work.

Thanks for letting me vent. I feel better. Of course, it may be the impending weekend more than you, but I'm sure you helped.


Thursday, May 15, 2008

One woman's opinion

Do you know what I especially don't like about frozen green beans?

They don't taste as good as canned green beans.

They have an artificial texture.

They squeak when you eat them.


All of the above.

I don't especially like that infamous Green Bean Casserole either.

I like canned greens beans simmered with some bacon bits and chopped onions. Maybe a little vinegar if I want a little snap in my beans.

So there.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Seven

My new upstairs neighbor has an annoying exercise routine. I have yet to see this person so I don't know if it's a man or woman. Doesn't matter - it's annoying either way. To make this more readable, I'm going to call him/her Sam.

Sam walks in the upstairs apartment. To be more specific, Sam walks in the living room which is just over my living room. Sometimes it's at 7 in the morning, sometimes it's after 10 at night. This morning it was at 8:30.

None of my business, you say? HA! Sam walks just over my head and trods with a heavy foot. In the evening, I can't hear the television. In the morning, I can't concentrate on my work.

And to make it worse, Sam walks 7 steps forward and 7 steps back, 7 steps forward and 7 steps back, 7 steps forward and 7 steps back. Get the picture? For 10 - 30 minutes, it's 7 steps forward and 7 steps back.

I want to scream, "For sanity's sake, dance a little! Hop! Skip! Be daring - try 10 little steps forward and 6 big steps back!"

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Fine Feathered Friend

This is a poor-me, I'm over-worked and under-appreciated weekend. It's mostly because I suffer from "The Little Red Hen Syndrome".

Just in case you had a deprived childhood and/or have never heard of the Little Red Hen, you can read a version of her story by clicking here or read a synopsis of my version below.

The Little Red Hen tried to get her lazy-assed friends to help her prepare the garden, plant the seeds, reap the harvest, and bake the bread, but they wouldn't. So she said, "Then I'll do it myself".

However, when it came time to eat the bread, they were right there. "We'll help you eat it", they all chorused, as if they were doing her a favor.

And the Little Red Hen said, "No, you won't, you lazy-assed, good-for-nothings. I'll do it myself". And she ate all the bread, and wouldn't let them have any.

The problem with The Little Red Hen Syndrome, is that if you have it, you never learn to say "Oh, no you don't."

For example, in my personal version, I would say, "Alright, you can have some and I'll eat the crust to make sure everybody gets some. And don't worry about the dishes, I'll do them."

I am such a chicken.

Friday, May 02, 2008

An observation

Have you ever noticed how very, very annoying so many people are?

Sometimes it seems like they have weekly committee meetings to plan ways to irritate me.