WorldWideWaterCooler

I think it’s time for another ridiculously high standard, don’t you? This time around it’s Attitude. Appreciation vs. Awe. We all know that the guys who don’t care and don’t call automatically suck. But what about the ones that care too much?

It’s really nice when someone obviously appreciates what’s great about me. But automatically putting me on a pedestal gets a bit unnerving. This is probably why I end up falling for the jackasses. They’re the only ones who will call me on my bullshit. And there will be bullshit. It wouldn’t be me if there weren’t some totally ridiculous component to all of this.

So you think I’m the prettiest, smartest, sexiest, best dressed, most well read, the list goes on and on… girl who’s ever bothered saying “hi” to you? Well then how do you like the fact that I haven’t actually shaved my legs since the last new moon? You think that’s cute and not icky? Ooooookay then. Or what about the fact that I’m a relentless TV junkie? You think it’s a-ok, or even great that I waste far too much of my time sitting in front of the boob tube? You wouldn’t rather go outside for a walk (even though I know you hate TV)? I made shrimp fried rice for dinner! What? You’re allergic to shellfish? You’ll eat it anyway? OK THEN! DIG IN!

A hint to all the guys out there - DO NOT BE AFRAID TO BE YOURSELF! If you think something is silly, or annoying, or have any other sort of opinion, SHARE IT! Believe it or not, it’s more attractive of you can appreciate certain aspects of my personality and maybe not like others so much, but still dig me as a person instead of blindly thinking every single stinkin’ thing about me is the best thing to happen to the world since TiVo.

Bottom line, if you act like “you’re not worthy” all the time, I’ll start to think you probably aren’t.

With the sale of the company today, the interview I was supposed to have at 2:00pm for my “dream job” at that company was cancelled. That position (and any new hiring) has been postponed indefinitely. It’s obviously time for me to look long and hard at the situation, and take my pro-active approach to finding employment satisfaction to the next level.

But before that, I do believe I’ll engage in some good old-fashioned self-destructive behaviour.

Things I will accomplish before bed tonight:

-drink copious amounts of gin and tonic
-add to the libation a slice of the questionable lime I found at the back of the drawer (it’s ok if I cut off the blue furry bits, right? the alcohol should sanitize it anyway…)
-skip class tonight
-make a serious dent in the pint of rocky road in the freezer, despite the fact that I’m totally out of flex points this week, thanks to the all you can eat sushi I had for lunch
-spend more than I can afford on cosmetics (Clinique bonus at Sears! The lip gloss is fantastic!)

Any ideas for any more destructive things I can engage in over the next 5 or 6 hours?

It’s like deja vu all over again!

The people who sign my paycheque are about to change for the 2nd time this year. The investment firm who closed the deal to purchase my employer on the first of the year have flipped us to a major player in the industry.

Personally I think the two players were in cahoots from the very beginning, creating a mutually beneficial agreement to buy the new owner some time with the regulatory bodies, and make the investment firm a tidy profit in the meantime (really, who can complain about a half-billion dollar profit for 3 months of work?). If that is indeed what happened, it’s great business strategy, and I have to admire the new owner for making the arrangement - it just sucks for those of us who actually depend on the jobs that have already, and may soon be eliminated as a result.

Nobody knows what that means for us, and I really don’t care. I have no doubt that whatever the outcome of the situation I’ll land on my feet. There’s no point in being bitter about things. I’m lucky that in this day and age I have no expectations of giving or receiving blind employer loyalty - only a mutual expectation that we’ll each get what we need out of the employee/employer relationship as long as it lasts. Unfortunately, so many of my coworkers have not taken that stance, and are feeling very betrayed. I feel bad for them.

Welcome everyone, to the WorldWideWaterCooler. I saw this phrase somewhere before (and if I could remember, I’d credit the source), and it seemed to really fit my style of blogging. I tend to post stuff that I’d talk to colleagues about around the water cooler if I actually liked anyone I work with (kidding colleagues! no doocing please!)

So take a look around, tell me what you like and what you don’t. I have someone working on design and we’re hoping to have it finished by the end of the month. In the meantime, enjoy the Kubrick.

Trailer Park Girl

Originally uploaded by peechie.

This the “before” of my balcony. Hopefully by the end of the month, once I’ve got some plants going, and the car parts are gone, the “after” will be much more pleasing to the eye, and looking much less like Bubbles is going to walk through the door any second. Even better, what you can’t see is that there’s my old bike behind me too, complete with neon orange brake cables straight outta the early 90’s.

Also, I’ve added some notes to the picture in flickr, so click the link if that’s your thang.

Unlike Donna, apparently I am aging prematurely (for those playing along at home, I’ll turn 25 at the end of July). Does this mean I need to lighten up already?

As part of my resolution to make 2005 the year of fiscal solvency, I’ve been re-reading my copy of Smart Women Finish Rich.

I highly recommend it to EVERY SINGLE WOMAN IN THE DEVELOPED WORLD. Seriously though, every women I know is getting this as a present at some point. It’s much too important to not read and take action. This is your life ladies - take control of it and make it what you want it to be! It’s so easy and can mean so much in the future.

I seem to have far, far too many friends who don’t take their financial security seriously. After reading this book I honestly believe that if you are over 30, do not have at the bare minimum $7,500 in an RRSP somewhere earning between 5%-10% compound interest, and can not own your own home (whether or not you do is something entirely different), you’re currently a financial failure you should take an afternoon to re-think your current future-planning, and if you fail to take some immediate action, you are setting yourself up for the strong possibility of a long life of continuing poverty and hardship. Yah, it’s fun to throw caution to the wind and buy that fancy new toy or whatever, but is it really worth personal bankruptcy?

I myself am what I’d consider a “financial failure” right at this point in time. Too much bad debt, too little future planning. Hopefully my current plan will turn that around, and I’ll be at my goal by age 30. The good news is, it’s never too late to start turning things around. You may never be a millionairess, but at least you won’t be one of the increasing number of seniors living in a rat-infested hovel, eating cat food. Think it won’t happen to you? Talk to me again in 25 years when you’re just starting to worry, and I’m semi-retired on a beach somewhere.

I’ve already done something very liberating - I cut up three of my five credit cards! One was my mastercard, which has a very high balance that I’m working to pay off, and the others were store cards that I only signed up for to get a deal anyway.

I’ve been living in a bit of a fantasy world when it came to what I was actually going to do with my money - now it looks like if I start planning and working now, I’ll actually do quite well. After all, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail!

Ok, enough with the cheese. Just go get the book.

This sounds like whining - and it probably is - but if you have a potential answer (or just want to tell me to shut the hell up) then please comment.

I am a low-level cog is a large corporation. I work with someone else who is also a low-level cog of a slightly different sort. We’ll call me person J and this co-worker person B. It should be understood that both J and B are at exactly the same level of senority in the company - neither has any clout over the other.

It should also be noted that the organization stresses the importance of recognizing where change could and should be enacted in order to maintain efficiencies through all areas of the company, and expects all its employees to participate and make suggestions.

B is asked to keep track of some data, and devises a system to do so, involving the need for certain actions by J and all of the other people who do J’s job.

J realizes that the actions being requested are redundant, and a time-waster (15 minutes per day x 30 people performing redundant task, not to mention the collosal waste of paper), and eventually thinks of a better way to perform said actions which will maximize efficiency and minimize errors. J then presents her idea to the supervisors.

Supervisors think J’s idea is great! Yay J! However the idea will require B to also slightly modify the way she does things.

B resists change. Supervisors let B’s stubbornness overrule their request for change.

Nothing changes.

J remains bitter.

UPDATE: 5:44pm (for clarification purposes) If you were J, what would you do now? What would you do to better the situation, when up and quitting isn’t a viable, or responsible option?

A lot of people at work are sick lately.

I did pilates last night.

You wouldn’t normally think these two things have anything to do with eachother, but how wrong you’d be.

I did the extreme abs pilates workout, and thanks to my co-workers I’m developing a bit of a cough. I think you know where this is going….

PAIN.

*whimper*

And I feel fine.

If you ever contemplated or worried about the destruction of the earth, Sam is here to tell you it’s really, really difficult to do.

The entire body of research is a bit long, though worth reading. But if you’re pressed for time, at least check out the section of things that will NOT destroy the earth.

It’s just been confirmed that the SFU school of contemporary arts will be one of the tenants in the retrofitted Woodward’s building in Vancouver’s Downtown East Side.

I have mixed feelings about this.

On one hand, the School of Contemporary Arts has been a long-standing sore-spot among students at SFU. It’s been housed in mouldy portables for the past far-too-many years, which isn’t exactly an atmosphere conducive to creativity and arts development. The new facility downtown will be both updated to provide necessary resources to students and faculty, and will be an ideal spot to inspire arts as a reflection of society by being integrated into the downtown east side neighbourhood. Which is what contemporary arts should really be all about.

However, this will mark SFU’s fifth campus location. There is already a disparity between the “downtown (SFU Harbour Centre & Morris J. Wosk Center for Dialogue Locations on opposite sides of Hastings at Seymour)” vs. “the hill (aka “the hell” in Burnaby)” crowds. Once the SFU Segal School of Business (on Granville at Pender) and the new Contemporary Arts DTES locations are open, I can only see further factions splitting apart.

Something I never really got a strong feeling for during my time at SFU was any sense of community. It’s very different from UBC students I know, who seem to gather together at the SUB frequently (while the SFU pub sits empty and closes early). I haven’t been up there recently to see if the UniverCity has impacted any significant change, but I’d be surprised if it has.

Do you think the relocation of the School of Contemporary Arts will make a difference to the sense of community? Is SFU simply a commuter campus that should stay that way? Should the campus locations make a difference to the sense of community within the school?

Someone just commented on this entry. This is what they left:

IP Address: 24.16.92.100
Name: 4SSH0L3
Email Address: asdf@pqurs.com
URL: http://www.faeeeries.com

Comments:

I HATE YOU!

Thanks random 4SSH0L3, I hate you too

I’ve been meaning to have a post-holiday gathering since about the 5th of January. But everyone kept beating me to the punch!

Whether it was a casual gathering, planned party, conference, family obligation, or “other” - Every time I think of a good date, something comes up.

BUT NO MORE! I know it’s obscenely far in advance, but I am officially claiming SATURDAY APRIL 2ND as the date of the official end of winter Brrr-B-Q (meaning I will fire up the grill no matter what the weather).

If I know you (or I don’t, and you think I should) and you want to be included, leave me a comment, and I’ll send out the evite this week. For now, you know enough to keep your calendar clear for that day.