J.A.F.O.

"Geek"-end

2009-11-12T15:07:00.002-05:00

A well-known theorem:

"You don't have to own a truck, just have friends who own trucks."

Eric's corollary #1:

"You don't have to be a handyman, just have friends who are handymen."

And Eric's corollary #2:

"You don't have to own a mountain cabin, just have friends who own mountain cabins."

Which allows us to therefore conclude;

"If you own a truck and/or are a handyman, and have a friend who owns a mountain cabin, you should barter your resources in exchange for theirs."

Which is exactly what I have on tap for this weekend! B's birthday is next week. We haven't had a weekend off to ourselves in quite a number of months. And my friend L and I have been talking about some upcoming projects that she needs done up at her mountain cabin. L is always very generous about letting friends use the cabin, so B wondered if it would be possible to plan a birthday weekend. A few emails back and forth with L, and it was all set! The weather is supposed to be "chamber of commerce" perfect - high around 70 and clear during the day (perfect for strolling the shops in town or hiking the trails) and low around 40 at night (perfect for a fire in the fireplace).

I have been quite fortunate over the years to have friends with mountain cabins all over North Georgia. And while all of them have always been generous about letting me stay there without expecting anything in return, I've always believed in earning my keep where I can. I had one friend, R, who had a cabin up near Helen. He told me I could go up there anytime I wanted. He even went so far as to give me my own set of keys to the place! Of course, the cabin was in dire need of attention and TLC, and he made it clear that I shouldn't expect the Ritz. Truthfully, it wasn't even close to the Ramada. But the price was right, and the beds were clean and dry. Just for kicks, the first time I went up there I took my tools and set about fixing this and tightening that and replacing the other. Poor R was so embarrassed when I told him what I did! He felt like he should have done those things before I ever got there, but I assured him that I didn't mind, and even enjoyed doing stuff like that. I made a few more trips to that cabin after that, always with tools in hand and a list of things I wanted to work on. R has since sold that cabin to his nephew, and is building what will eventually become his full-time retirement home just down the road.

But thankfully L has what amounts to a nicer cabin, easier to get to, and in much better condition. Over the past couple of years, I've changed out light fixtures, replaced light switches, and done a few other small projects - enough to warrant a weekend at the cabin once or twice. I've also helped her with things around her "regular" house (which I think also helps me earn credits for the cabin). We're talking now about rebuilding the outside landscape steps at the cabin, along with replacing the garden lights.

Of course, if B takes a liking to our weekend, I might need to plan for more projects so I can earn more credits!

Hope *you* have a great weekend, too!

Updates

2009-10-30T10:28:00.002-04:00

Yeah, yeah... I've been slack in posting to my blog. To say that I've been busy would be a GROSS understatement!

I usually tell folks, "I'm busy, but it's all good." Truth is, it hasn't been ALL good. Dealing with the poor health of a loved one can be very taxing. Realizing that you have over-committed yourself to a worthy cause can be downright exhausting. Trying to deal with natural disasters and your own personal procrastination can be nerve racking. Doing it all while working 50+ hours a week is next to impossible. But having a supportive and loving significant other, a strong network of friends, and a great family can help pull you through.

Last week, I had my quarterly visit to my doctor to check on my health conditions. Because I'm an engineer (left-brained and all that), I have - from day 1 - kept all of my records in Excel, and give my doctor nice, colorful graphs of my daily measurements since the last visit. It was interesting to look at the results from the past quarter and see that the really bad measurements completely coincided with external influences. I've already made some changes to my schedule and commitments, so hopefully things will improve.

In the mean time, I hope to get back into blogging. Maybe I can do better!

Ahhhh

2009-06-14T14:40:00.000-04:00

After the chaos and craziness of the past few weeks, it's nice to just
sit and relax. We're on the deck if the cabin at Cedar Creek,
listening to the birds chirp and the water rush over the rocks.

Day Trip

2009-06-14T13:15:00.000-04:00

Before we start the DC tourist adventure, we're heading into the
Shenandoah Valley for a day at my sister's mountain cabin at Cedar
Creek. We stopped for lunch at a rustic inn called Wayside Inn. GREAT
lunch buffet!

East-bound...

2009-06-13T11:04:00.001-04:00

Brevard and I are headed to DC for a week of vacation. Thought I would
try out the new in-flight wifi on Delta.

I'm still around!

2009-04-03T16:27:00.003-04:00

Yeah, I know. I've been blagging lately. And it's not for lack of stuff going on - believe me! It's more like a lack of free time. See, I'm guilty of usually writing my blog entries from work (guilty! Check the time stamps!), and for the past 4 or 5 weeks, I've been knee-deep in a couple of projects that have had some pretty hard deadlines and loads of work to be done. So my work-day mind has been very-well occupied, not leaving much time for blog posts 'n stuff.

I'm sure all of you are anxious to hear all the details about my new girlfriend. Probably won't happen here. And not because I don't want to share, but because I would rather you meet her in person and learn all about her for yourself. And if I'm going to write anything gushy and mushy about her, it's going to be in a private note just for her, not for eleventy-billion people to see.

So, fair reader, don't fret. I have lots of Observations (as opposed to "Just A Few...) that need to be documented, and in due time I will be back to slacking at my desk and filling your screen.

Have a GREAT weekend!

It's Not As Bad As I Thought

2009-02-03T13:43:00.003-05:00

Whew! I took this all-important, all-knowing survey, and only scored 10 points. Which puts me in line with the likes of James Dean (yeah, right).

http://i.gizmodo.com/5142331/gsat-the-geek-social-aptitude-test

Although, I might should have scored double-points for the question about using your phone in restaurants (reference my last blog entry below, and multiple photos on Dianne's flickr page showing me doing just that).

Hope your week is going well...

Geeeeeek

2009-01-26T20:22:00.001-05:00

I'm sitting at Chick-fil-a on Howell Mill Road eating dinner. There's
a big group of Tech students here. Listening to their conversations, I
have to ask myself, "Dear God, was I *this* much of a geek???"

Hrmmm... I'm sending an e-mail to my blog from my iPhone. Guess I just
answered that question.

Reality check can be painful....

Sent from my iPhone

Something's Not Quite Right

2009-01-26T09:24:00.002-05:00

On the drive into work this morning, I heard a commercial for the "obnoxious" appliance/electronics retailer that is fairly new to Atlanta. They started in Miami, so I have been detesting them for many, many years.

I basically tuned out the commercial, except for the tagline about some indoor smoker device that lets you create "great SMELLING food"!

Shouldn't it be great TASTING food?

End of Week One

2008-12-27T14:20:00.002-05:00

Well, I have a few minutes here in Ft. Lauderdale before I board my flight back to Atlanta, so I thought I would do a quick post.

This has been a really good week. Last weekend, I got to meet Bogart, the 3-legged Boxer rescue in foster care. Such a sweet and active guy, you'd never know he only had 3 legs (he lost one after being hit by a car. It was my privilege to transport him from one of our Director's homes to one of our newest Foster homes. And within a few days, news came that our Foster was so in love with him that they have put in their application to adopt him permanently. Aren't they the lucky ones? I rounded out the weekend with Cheryl's Christmas party, surrounded by great friends, and some chores and packing for my trip down to Ft. Lauderdale.

I arrived mid-morning on Monday, and Dad and I grabbed some breakfast before heading to their house. A few errands in the afternoon with Mom and Dad, then off to the Seminole Hard Rock for dinner with Stacie, Angie, and Mauricio - friends I hadn't seen in AT LEAST 25 years! We had a great time catching back up with each other, sharing stories from the past few decades, and just generally reconnecting. I can't wait until our next "reunion".

Tuesday started with a diner breakfast with Dad, my cousin Wayne, and our friend Bud. Then we headed south to Miami MetroZoo for a photography day. And a full day it was! Over 6 hours and over 450 pictures! The best of the best are posted on a gallery on my website. Finished the day with Mom and Dad at a new Chinese restaurant called "Stir Crazy" where you serve yourself from a salad bar and the chefs wok your selection into your own custom meal. It was very tasty!

Wednesday and Thursday were mainly holiday stuff. Spent time with more family, including aunts and uncles, and of course my sister, niece, and nephew. The days were chronicled in pictures of my nephew enjoying his first Christmas, also on the website. Though the gift-giving was light this year, my folks were gracious in a gift to me, which I plan to use for some new small appliances for the kitchen.

The rest of the week was more family time. An afternoon with the parents and my aunt and uncle as we tried our luck with the local casinos. Throughout the afternoon, I only lightened my wallet by $3 total, so I consider it a good day! Leftover Christmas feast for dinner with Robin and my niece and nephew. And a leisure pace this morning packing and getting ready to head back.

Lots of good things on tap for week #2 of my holiday vacation, including some time with my friends and catching up on some more Boxer Rescue work. And maybe a trip to a car dealer....

Hope all is well on your end. Time for me to power down and get ready to board my flight.

Have a great week!

Christmas Feast!

2008-12-25T18:01:00.001-05:00

Nothing like home-cooked goodness. Roast beef, pork loin, and turkey.
Yum! Hope all of you have a very Merry Christmas!

Getting My Rating

2008-12-24T07:16:00.000-05:00

Well, since everyone else was doing it...

Movie Reviews

Last Exhibit of The Day

2008-12-23T15:47:00.000-05:00

Six hours - and about 450 pictures - later and it's time to head to
the house.

Today's Adventure

2008-12-23T09:34:00.000-05:00

Update!

2008-12-22T09:31:00.001-05:00

It's a wonderful 65 degrees here in Ft. Lauderdale!

Sent from my iPhone

Vacation Begins

2008-12-22T07:03:00.001-05:00

So here's the conditions as I board my flight. In Ft. Lauderdale, my
destination, the temperature is over 40 degrees warmer. Not exactly
Christmas weather, but welcome none the less.

Dinner with friends from elementary school tonight, photography
expedition to Miami Metrozoo on Tuesday, and Christmas holidays with
the family are all on tap.

Hope you have a great week!

The Grand Dame

2008-11-14T15:14:00.000-05:00

Although the weather was less than perfect, the view was still pretty
dang awesome!

Times Square

2008-11-14T14:30:00.000-05:00

Took this while standing next to "The Naked Cowboy"

Ground Zero

2008-11-14T08:37:00.000-05:00

On my way to the ferry to the Statue of Liberty.

Deep Thought

2008-11-05T19:39:00.002-05:00

Though this won't come as a surprise to you, I love food. The default channel on my television is Food Network. And one of my favorite categories of shows is the "behind the scenes" kinds of shows. A lot of these show how food is manufactured, but a lot of them also show the history or the uniqueness of different foods.

Among the favorite subjects is the regional uniqueness of different kinds of food. These different kinds of foods include pizza, barbecue, beverages, hot dogs, and chili. The amazing thing about these foods is that some people have VERY distinct preferences for their specific regional style of each of the foods. I'm pretty sure battles have been fought over which is better - New York thin crust or Chicago deep dish. "Memphis in May" aims to settle the barbecue dispute. And, of course, most all of us are veterans of the Cola Wars of the 80's.

And me? Well, I find myself in a unique and interesting position in the battles: generally speaking, I like it all! Go figure! Some of the best pizza I've ever had was walking down the street from Joe and Beth's house in New York to get a pie from the walk-up window. It was different, but equally as good as a killer deep-dish pizza from Giordano's in Chicago. And as long as it's lean, I've yet to meet a plate of barbecue - ANY barbecue - that I didn't like. Pulled pork, sliced pork, brisket, hot links, turkey, and more! Yum! Vinegar sauce, tomato sauce, sauce on the side, meat cooked in sauce, sauce added afterwards, mustard sauce. It's all good. And although my preference is Coke (I DO live in Atlanta, after all), I won't change my order if the waiter tells me, "No Coke, only Pepsi."

But I think I found my sticking point - chili. Just like the other foods, there are very distinct differences among the regions. My personal favorite, and the style I like to cook, is Texas chili. Texas chili actually does not have beans in it, and is often cooked with chunks of beef instead of ground beef. I make a variation of Texas chili that includes whole corn instead of beans. It's my favorite. That being said, I've generally eaten the other variations I've tried over the years, and have enjoyed them as well (although I wouldn't make those styles if I had a choice).

Then, last week, I was in Cincinnati for a business meeting. It was time for lunch, and it was suggested that we go across the street to the local chili diner - a Cincinnati landmark chain and about as famous as anything else from Ohio. I report that this was my first - and last - time consuming "Cincinnati Chili." It was pretty darn revolting. The fact that it was served over spaghetti was a plus, actually, and the cheese and onions were quite desirable. But the brown (not red) sauce had an acrid tang that was incomparable to anything else I've ever tasted. It was horrible. And the aftertaste, which lasted all the way back to Atlanta, couldn't be cured with gum, Coke, or antacid.

Yuck! I've met my match...

Highs and Lows

2008-10-09T15:14:00.002-04:00

It has certainly been a roller coaster of a week. Just about every good has come with at least one bad, which makes for some really nasty times.

Let's think about some of the good

The 2009 Atlanta Dogwood Festival will return to Piedmont Park! Yay! There has been so much hard work trying to convince the City that this is the only real solution, and they finally agreed. The collective sigh of relief was almost deafening, but the real work begins now - we have 6 months to plan and execute the 74th annual Festival, with a goal of making it a "model" for how festivals should be to sustain the environment in which they are hosted.

Work continues to go well. Things have been a little on the slow side this week, which has been nice, but there still seems to be plenty to do. So far, the economic crisis hasn't hit us yet, although there might be some signs of a slowdown coming. I have to keep my fingers crossed that we pull through it.

I am thoroughly amazed at the friendships I have. D and I have been discussing this at length lately, especially in light of several situations we have each encountered where we realize how nice it is to have friends who can be "there" for you when needed. The latest event was an unfortunate waterfall coming from the light fixture in her living room ceiling! It came at the wrong time and proved to be quite frustrating. Fortunately, I was able to lend a hand. And, luckily, it seems to be a rather simple repair to the shower upstairs which was able to be completed by her, me, and her Dad. Whew!

Last night, I got together with some of the rest of the "Blog Family" for some dinner at my new favorite Cuban restaurant in Atlanta, Mojito's. We had a great time laughing and sharing stories. And it's amazing how we've gotten to know each other well enough that we know when someone says something that is a trigger for someone else, we know how to react. Of course, telling you these things out of context - like mushrooms, lines, boots, nailing, "hurts when I do this", and more - won't mean much to you. Literally, you had to be there! By the way, we're pretty close to deciding that our retirement commune will be in Asheville, in case you were wondering.

Looks like the gas crisis in Atlanta has finally subsided. Gas seems to be readily available now, and the price is even starting to drop. That's a welcome sign, especially given how much of my life is spent behind the wheel all over Atlanta.

I had a really good conversation over the weekend with a professional photographer with over 30 years of experience, much of it in the Marines as a photojournalist. He is a "people" shooter for the most part, meaning that most of his subjects are human (or Boxer dog) and he does a lot of portraits and action/sports photography. Since most of my photography is "not people", we actually have a lot of areas where we can swap stories. We shoot with almost the same equipment, which is a nice bonus, too. I'm hoping the opportunity to learn from an accomplished photographer such as him will present itself.

And I should mention that I spent Saturday night at the police station. But it was a good thing! I don't get many chances to be involved with the police volunteer group because of my other commitments, especially to the Dogwood Festival (the monthly meetings are on the same night), but Saturday was the rare exception. We did a big cook-out for a couple of the shifts at one of the precincts. It's always fun to support these men and women, hear stories of the latest "perp" to get busted, and enjoy a good meal. As an added bonus, we got a fly-by from the police helicopter, who I'm sure thought the infra-red camera was malfunctioning when it saw our grills going!

Now that I've gotten the good out of the way, I've decided not to bore you with the details of the bad. Suffice it to say, it's been rough. I am having to deal with personalities that I thought were one way, and now seem to be another. I've been publicly mis-accused of things, realized that things I have said have been misunderstood, and am having to come to terms with ineffectiveness in my leadership skills. At the same time, I have my own boat-load of frustrating events that seem to capitalize on one another, and the knowledge that things aren't going to be fixed overnight. I have an overwhelming sense of dread for an upcoming meeting, for fear that I'm going to say or do something that is going to be taken out of context or misunderstood.

There are lots more good things coming on the horizon - I just have to muddle through the bad to get to them. Fortunately, my friends and family are "there" for me, and I know that no matter how bad things get, they're on my six watching out for me. And for that, I extend a HUGE "Thank You"!

Catching Up - and a new meme

2008-10-02T09:22:00.003-04:00

I realized as I was driving home last night that it's been a while since my last entry. Suffice it to say, I've had a lot going on. In a nutshell: (2) from-scratch conceptual designs for new customers, BoxerStock, 501(c)(3) approval for Atlanta Boxer Rescue, working with the rest of the Board to find a home for Atlanta Dogwood Festival, (3) Fall festivals, the gas crisis, Dragon*Con, going to a new church (and "relearning" how to go to church at 11am on Sunday), personal (and personnel) issues, and lots more.

Yeah, I've had a full plate lately. I can tell this not by the gray hairs (those that remain, anyway) on my head nor the acid reflux nor the stress-induced intestinal rumblings. But rather, I can tell by the condition of the floor in my living room, which is indicative of the state of disorder in the rest of my house. You see, the unfortunate side-effect of hectic times is this nasty habit I have of walking in, dropping everything I have into a pile, and then leaving again. When I have time, or when I make time, the piles get redistributed into their respective homes and the house has some semblance of order. But with a lack of time, the piles grow, and multiply! Needless to say, I won't be having anyone over anytime soon. My house is a certified wreck!

It's all good, though. As crazy as things get sometimes, I really do enjoy all that I'm doing. Between my for-profit and non-profit roles, I've got a really nice balance of creative challenges and organizational challenges, which keeps it all interesting. I find that, despite the stress that some of these challenges have given me, I am really growing my skills and experiences in a positive way.

About a dozen years ago, I came to the realization that life for me was much better if I threw away some fictional "grand plan" and simply lived more for the moment. That's not to say that I don't plan ahead and think about the future - I just don't have some vision for what I think my future life is supposed to be like. I'm not planning to be the CEO of the company I work for, nor envision myself as some sort of "super engineer." Rather, I take what I've got and see what direction it presents for me. So, having all of these experiences and challenges presented to me in my current roles gives me excitement about what I might do in the future when my interest in designing store fixtures and displays wanes.

Now here's an interesting twist: I started this blog entry today because I really wanted to copy a meme that I found from a new blog I started reading called Cockpit Conversation. The meme is all about life experiences that you've had. I had no intention of really tying it in to the rest of the entry. But as the words started appearing on the screen and I got down to this point, I realized just how relevant it is. Anyway, enjoy!

The Challenge
* Post 3 things you've done that you believe nobody else reading has done.
* If anybody responds with "I've done that," add another thing.
* Encourage your friends to paste this into their own journal to list the unique things they've done.

Here's my list:
* Had an all-access security credential to the '96 Olympics
* Bottle-fed a full-grown Bengal Tiger
* Watched the Indy 500 from the #2 pit box

Feel free to post your list in my comments here, or make your own blog entry.

Where were you?

2008-09-11T12:39:00.003-04:00

Today is a solemn occasion in the United State, a day we remember the thousands of lives lost when terrorists seized control of our aircraft and turned them against us. As a person who has grown up around public safety, I am especially bothered by the high number of police and firefighters who lost their lives simply doing their job.

One of the things that always comes up with major tragedy such as this is the question, "where were you?" These major event always seem to put a bookmark in our brains. I'm sure you might relate to the Kennedy assassination, the moon landing, and the Challenger explosion. Ted and I were chatting last night about just this subject, spurned by some familiarity I had with the ValuJet crash in the Everglades (I happened to be on the same flight the day before).

Interestingly, I remember where I was on the mornings of both September 10th and September 11th. On September 10th, I was in New York, getting on a plane to head back to Atlanta after a great weekend with my friends, Joe and Beth.

On the morning of September 11th, I heard the first bits of news while I was on the entrance ramp to I-20 east bound from Moreland Avenue in Atlanta. I had just been at a construction site for my employer at the time. I was planning to be back in the office for an 11:00 meeting when I got a call from the office administrator "reminding" me that the meeting was scheduled for 10:00! In a frantic rush, I left the job site and headed back to the office. I had gotten my nerves settled down enough from the phone call that I thought I could turn the radio back on. I was listening to the "Morning X" back then with Barnes, Leslie, and Jimmy. As I got on the highway, I heard Barnes describing the scene he was watching - something about a plane hitting one of the World Trade Center towers. I thought maybe it was one of their radio bits, so I switched over to the news channel.

At that point, I heard the announcement that the FAA was grounding all flights. I remember calling my mom, only to get her voicemail. So I left a message like, "Hey, not sure if you've heard the news, but the FAA has grounded all flights. I know you do a lot of travel arrangements for your boss, so you might want to check into this." Little did I know the extent of what was happening at the time. My mom was not at her desk because everyone in the office was in the conference room following the news, while at the same time trying to call their satellite office in the second WTC tower.

I was in the car long enough to hear the second plane hit the second tower. I was just in shock. I remember running into the office, grabbing my stuff for the meeting, and heading up to the Division President's office (where my meeting was, which was why I was so worried about getting back in time). Everyone was just sitting in there watching the TV play the video over and over, along with all the other news coming in. The President was on the phone with the other divisions, the corporate office, the local HR/media folks, and his family. We decided maybe we could meet later in the week, and I headed back down to my desk.

The rest of the day was spent in the conference room watching the news, at least until the boss came in and sent us home. I got home and dug out my American flag, and spent a few minutes hanging a bracket on the front of the house so I could hang up my flag.

A year later, I took this picture.

So, where were you on the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001?

A Dollop of Daisy

2008-09-06T19:44:00.002-04:00

Cara and I ventured out to the annual "Yellow Daisy" Festival at Stone Mountain Park today. Yellow Daisy (YD) has been around for many years, and has become one of the largest arts-and-crafts festivals in the south. I think they have something like 500 booths. And it's free with admission into the park.

Unlike the Atlanta Dogwood Festival, of which I am VERY familiar (being a member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee has a tendency to do that to you), YD is not a fine-arts festival. In fact, most of the stuff offered for sale is more likely to have been created in someone's garage, not studio. That's not to say that the stuff is not of good quality, but you are much more likely to hear something like, "Momma 'n 'dem wood like 'dis" as you walk the paths from booth to booth.

Cara and I have very similar opinions about things, and we share a very twisted sense of humor, so hanging around with her turns into a fun event as we make "keen observations" about the things going on around us. About a third of the way into the festival, we heard Country music playing. That in and of itself is not a problem. But.... Country music also often signals the possibility of something VERY scary: c-l-o-g-g-i-n-g! And, sure enough, we round the corner to find just that! Oh no! But wait, what's scarier than cloggers? Cloggers dressed in matching outfits that look like bad Star Trek uniforms! But wait, what's scarier than cloggers in Star Trek uniforms? Hearing, "And now, we'd like to do something for you that we call 'Flashdance Remixed'"! Arghh!!! I WISH I was making this up! Of course, I can't tell you what it actually was like, because the only thought Cara and I had was "RUN AWAY!"

Another observation: we stopped to watch a woman create an impressive piece of art using scratchboard. If you're not familiar with this, it is a white board covered with a very thin layer of (usually) black wax. You use sharp tools to scratch away the wax to create your image. Now, I'm not really a fan of this technique, but I really can appreciate the skill and workmanship that goes into creating these pieces. And watching her create a scratchboard piece of a tiger freehand from a photo was pretty impressive. But I was shocked at the number of folks that, while we were standing there, made comments like "honey, here's the scratchboard" and "oh, here's the scratchboard" and "don't ya' want to stop and look at the scratchboard?" I never realized scratchboard was a destination attraction.

Another big difference between YD and the Dogwood Festival is the number of food "crafts" for sale. Things like pickles, beef jerky, stone-ground meal, honey, fudge, nuts, and all kinds of soup and dip mixes. Mind you, these are above and beyond the regular carnival food vendors. These are thing you can take home and put in the cupboard. I give them credit - a lot of the stuff is pretty tasty. One vendor, selling drink and instant coffee mixes, has a line of sugar-free mixes made with Splenda, and paid attention to his target audience. I was impressed that he had the marketing savvy to post a "zero Weight Watchers points" sign on his booth. Remember, a large portion of the visitors to this festival think nothing of putting a pink pig made from a propane tank on the front porch of their trailer (and, sadly, you can buy such a thing here). Often, these folks are, shall we say, "big boned?' Needless to say, they were quite drawn by the marketing sign.

To be fair, there were a decent number of genuine artists and craftsman there, and the whole thing gives you plenty of things to look at. I bought a few things at the food booths, and an item that might end up as a gift for a friend. And considering that the park admission of $10 per car was split in two, it was a pretty inexpensive way to have a lot of fun.

I still think the beaded palm tree yard art would be perfect for Cara, but she disagrees....

Uggh...

2008-08-28T12:48:00.002-04:00

One of the things I really struggle with in my professional worlds is dealing with people's personalities and emotions. I tend to think that I can handle most other aspects of business fairly well. I've got good logic and organizational skills, and I do well at prioritizing tasks. But, perhaps it is the engineer in me that makes it hard for me to understand and fathom at times how emotions and personalities play into it.

The one that gets me the most is "it's not fair!" In my "for-profit" world, I have a unique skill set that I bring to the table. Among them is a good sense of working with customers directly, in a courteous and professional manner (something rare among engineers). Add in a lot of experience in my industry from both customer and manufacturer points of view, willingness to travel and work odd hours, and I think I am a valuable asset to my company. Senior management thinks so, too. But several of the other engineers in the company just don't understand. They think that since I am not sitting at the drafting board at 7:00 in the evening, that I'm not pulling my fair share of the load. Of course, these are some of the same folks who complain about everything and refuse to do anything to better themselves - but that's another topic for another day. I'm sorry, but life is not fair. There are plenty of folks that have different job responsibilities and perks than I do. Instead of complaining that I am not getting treated the same as them, I make sure that I am meeting my responsibilities and make the best of my own situation. So far, it's worked pretty darn well on my end. But the other engineers are increasingly making their sour-grapes voices heard, which makes me feel like I'm earning a bad repuation through no fault of my own. And I just don't know how to deal with it effectively.

The other thing that I can not deal with is stubborness. You know what I am talking about: you tell the same person the same thing day after day, week after week, and they refuse to "get it." I have a particular situation where, in this position, I have a view of the "big picture" of everything that is going on. This big picture, as it turns out (like most things), is comprised of a whole lot of smaller, unique parts. Each part has its own unique function, and together these parts make a well-oiled, successful machine. But one of these parts thinks they should be able to do what some of the other parts are doing, and that seriously upsets the apple cart. And, no matter how many times you tell this "part" what the goals and assignments are, this part continues to do its own thing and that of the others. And I just don't know how to deal with it effectively.

Maybe this is why I'm losing my hair...