Office Meetings... #wheeew! Couldn't stop glancing at my Watch.
It started at about 10:13 am and at 12:40 'twas showing no signs of winding down anytime soon.
The meeting was being run, you see, by a Man. Doesn't matter which Man- Could even be some guy named John, it could be one of the night watch Men even.
I've come to understand it as a central fact of Corporate life: If a Man is running the Meeting, it will take Eighteen times longer than it would a Woman. This is absolutely true especially if you work in a much larger Company than mine, with many more Policies, and Rules and Meetings. I think i have spent half of my work life in Meetings run by Men.
Just last week, two hours. Two hours to discuss the Company Policy about throwing birthday parties. Why is this? What is it about the male character that makes a Meeting drone on and on and on? Is it a difference in Organisational skills? Or a difference in the male and female sense of Time? Or they simply soo like to hear the Sound of their own Voices that they ramble on indefinitely if given the chance?
I believe its all three. Today, this particular meeting was devoted to a discussion of the correct use of the Semicolon when drafting memos to the Coordinator. You see, my Boss doesn't like being called CEO or MD, prefers being called The Coordinator...and this was how this man was talking; "Now let me say that when we're talking about Semicolons-and in this case, i mean Semicolons as opposed to Colons or as opposed to Commas- we're talking about Semicolons, what we have to do is talk about the utilization of the Semicolon and not just proper application of semicolons in the contexts of, say, current grammatical theory..." God knows i slapped him Fifty times, in my mind. Why couldn't he just say "use semicolons in so and so cases but not in that..." or something. That's assuming we actually needed the lecture. Still cant understand why issues like this become so convoluted?
Oh, i know why. Because he's a Man. The idea that Women are feelings-oriented and Men, action-oriented is a bunch of hooey when it comes to life in the Office. I believe so in the depth of my soul.
The real truth has to do with different notions of success and accomplishment and how best to attain them. I usually associate accomplishment with productivity, and so do other women, generally. If i'm being busy and efficient and engaged or i've just ticked Nine out of Ten items off my list of things to do-That makes me feel successful. Diligent. Deserving a Reward. But most Men i work with seem to associate success with presence, with being seen and heard.
"If i can force Nine People to sit in a Room and listen to my voice for two and half hours, then i must be successful..."
"If i can turn what should be a three-minute conversation about Office Paper into a Forty-five Minute dialogue, then i must be important".
"If i can find Nine ways to say the same thing about Semicolons and Fourteen other ways to use big words like 'context' and 'utilization', then i must be really smart".
(don't understand my obsession with the Number 'Nine'). The Meetings keep going on and on...Testosterone poisoning. Its such a terrible thing.
Monday 24 March 2014
Friday 21 March 2014
My well thought-out Quote of the Decade.
It's been soo long since my last Post...don't even know if i should post daily or weekly or even monthly sef. Well, lemme assume no one missed me or did u? :( so no one missed me??? *sniff sniff*Friends, the real ones are those with the same Shoe size as you...
or
The real Friends are the ones with whom you share the same size of Shoe...
You guys can help me decide which one sounds better. lol
Quotes don't have to be entirely true and widely accepted right? Well, i do have really good Friends who are not size 8 though but WTH? I like the way this one sounds, Audrey Hepburnish.
So that's it, that's my Precious well thought-out Quote *big grin*
Tuesday 4 March 2014
Self-esteem Made Easy
Le Second Post, yayy!
Wanna talk about how to boost your self esteem the Elsie's way...
Lets face facts, its hard to feel good about yourself. If you are like me, you begin each week resolving to read more, eat less, well for me eat more, work harder, drink less Coke and take better care of myself. And i end each week in a fit of self-loathing, having read nothing, absolutely nothing, not even work emails or the text from my Church Cell Group, eaten too little, fallen behind at work, under exercised, and under slept.
Then have those moments when you finally give up and say, "what's the use?" "I'm a lout, I might just accept it as my fate"...this is called 'psyching yourself out'-setting yourself up for failure, live up to your own worst expectations.
Luckily, I've found a way to use this line of thinking to my own advantage. I merely learnt to Psyche myself out in positive ways. Trust me, it works. You just need a few special tricks of your own, Here are a few of mine-
How to be well rested, Elsie's style- Set your clock ahead by an hour and a half. this way when you have to get up at an ungodly hour like say 6.30 am, yes that's an ungodly hour, you set the alarm for 7.00 am-a much more friendly time to rise. When you wake up and look at the clock, you'll know its really 6.30 but never mind, the important thing is you feel as though you've gotten more sleep than you really have. (Note: This also helps if you oversleep, if the clock says 8.30-its really only 7.00 am and you can make it to work on time).
How to be incredibly well-organized- Compile a list of things to do and be sure to add a few items that you've already accomplished and remember to tick them with those little check makers. The list will look less daunting than it would otherwise, thereby inspiring confidence.
How to be Financially Responsible-Only recharge your phone with N200 at a time. Never mind that you'll have to top up the said N200 with another every day or three times a day and that in the long run you wont save a dime more than you would if you just put N2000 worth at a time. That's beside the point. Psychologically, N200 is a lot easier to part with than 2k.
Apply this principle to the ATM and take out 5k at a time. Sure you'll be back the next day or the next hour for another and you'll end up taking out over 50k over 3 or 4 days, but if you took out all at once, you'll feel terrible about yourself.
Decide to save money by not buying elaborate lunch at work all week and swell with pride at your restraint and the money you've saved up. Then on Friday night, you're free to go out and spend way more money than you have a right to. You'll feel you've earned this...
How to be a good Friend-Only call Friends or Relatives you'd rather avoid when you are certain they are asleep or won't be available, one call, just one and then send a text expressing glee at the mere thought of hearing their voice. Ask them to call back when they can, then dial customer service, they never pick up anyway, your phone will be engaged when they try calling you back. Do this several times in a row.
When you run into them on the streets or at an event, say "Gosh, you're so hard to reach. I've been trying to call you for weeks!". Voila-guilt gets transferred and you can rest easy, safe in the knowledge that you're a good girl.
Now go to sleep, set your alarm for 7.00 am and start allover again...
Wanna talk about how to boost your self esteem the Elsie's way...
Lets face facts, its hard to feel good about yourself. If you are like me, you begin each week resolving to read more, eat less, well for me eat more, work harder, drink less Coke and take better care of myself. And i end each week in a fit of self-loathing, having read nothing, absolutely nothing, not even work emails or the text from my Church Cell Group, eaten too little, fallen behind at work, under exercised, and under slept.
Then have those moments when you finally give up and say, "what's the use?" "I'm a lout, I might just accept it as my fate"...this is called 'psyching yourself out'-setting yourself up for failure, live up to your own worst expectations.
Luckily, I've found a way to use this line of thinking to my own advantage. I merely learnt to Psyche myself out in positive ways. Trust me, it works. You just need a few special tricks of your own, Here are a few of mine-
How to be well rested, Elsie's style- Set your clock ahead by an hour and a half. this way when you have to get up at an ungodly hour like say 6.30 am, yes that's an ungodly hour, you set the alarm for 7.00 am-a much more friendly time to rise. When you wake up and look at the clock, you'll know its really 6.30 but never mind, the important thing is you feel as though you've gotten more sleep than you really have. (Note: This also helps if you oversleep, if the clock says 8.30-its really only 7.00 am and you can make it to work on time).
How to be incredibly well-organized- Compile a list of things to do and be sure to add a few items that you've already accomplished and remember to tick them with those little check makers. The list will look less daunting than it would otherwise, thereby inspiring confidence.
How to be Financially Responsible-Only recharge your phone with N200 at a time. Never mind that you'll have to top up the said N200 with another every day or three times a day and that in the long run you wont save a dime more than you would if you just put N2000 worth at a time. That's beside the point. Psychologically, N200 is a lot easier to part with than 2k.
Apply this principle to the ATM and take out 5k at a time. Sure you'll be back the next day or the next hour for another and you'll end up taking out over 50k over 3 or 4 days, but if you took out all at once, you'll feel terrible about yourself.
Decide to save money by not buying elaborate lunch at work all week and swell with pride at your restraint and the money you've saved up. Then on Friday night, you're free to go out and spend way more money than you have a right to. You'll feel you've earned this...
How to be a good Friend-Only call Friends or Relatives you'd rather avoid when you are certain they are asleep or won't be available, one call, just one and then send a text expressing glee at the mere thought of hearing their voice. Ask them to call back when they can, then dial customer service, they never pick up anyway, your phone will be engaged when they try calling you back. Do this several times in a row.
When you run into them on the streets or at an event, say "Gosh, you're so hard to reach. I've been trying to call you for weeks!". Voila-guilt gets transferred and you can rest easy, safe in the knowledge that you're a good girl.
Now go to sleep, set your alarm for 7.00 am and start allover again...
Saturday 1 March 2014
First post.
Today, i am starting a blog.
This is my first entry.
I feel incredibly self-conscious, haven't even found a suitable title yet, See the lame one i have...
Scratch all that.
Today i am starting a blog and for the first time,G i'm making a solemn vow to myself that i will not be self-conscious about what i write. i will free-associate. i will commit all my deepest, darkest fears and secrets to these sacred pages. I will use this medium to explore my thoughts and express my personal hopes and dreams, and it will be a marvelous, freeing experience.
Yes! i'll do it.
This is my first entry.
I feel incredibly self-conscious, haven't even found a suitable title yet, See the lame one i have...
Scratch all that.
Today i am starting a blog and for the first time,G i'm making a solemn vow to myself that i will not be self-conscious about what i write. i will free-associate. i will commit all my deepest, darkest fears and secrets to these sacred pages. I will use this medium to explore my thoughts and express my personal hopes and dreams, and it will be a marvelous, freeing experience.
Yes! i'll do it.
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