No More Office BS

The other thing that is really wonderful with everybody working from home and online meetings is that all the pre and post office meeting BS has been eliminated.  It's a lot harder to try to corner me just prior to a meeting to persuade my viewpoint on an issue.  Business meetings are just that - business meetings.  No, I'm not your friend and I don't care what you have planned for the weekend.  We have a business relationship.  Don't take that as me being uncaring and rude, I just know BOUNDARIES.

The problem today is that the boundaries are blurred between business and personal relationships.  We are expected to be 'friends' with people we would not have anything to do with outside of work.  We are expected to go do dinners, concerts, sporting events....(gag).  Throw in all this  idea we should all be working in an open room instantly accessible to each other at all times of the day (and night thanks to email and text) and no wonder we all want to open fire on each other.  Our spouses don't have the same accessibility to us that our workmates do.

Thank GOD for the virus allowing us to work from home.  OOOOOOOOPS.  I forgot to pay my PG&E.  That means I'm cut off.  No access to internet nor email.  You'll have to send me snail mail if it's that important.  Thank God for the virus so you don't show up unannounced on my doorstep.

The rant for today:  BOUNDARIES

Respect them. 

Going Postal

...I finally did it. I completely blew my stack at a work meeting. The tension had been building for years. At a meeting I finally stood up for myself and got in the face of an asshole who had been on my case for months. He would ridicule and second guess everything I had done. If people don't like me, fine. I can handle that. And to be honest, there are only very few opinions I actually care about anyway. You leave me alone, and I will leave you alone. Keep your dislike for me private and I will return the same. There are several people who deserve a public flogging from me, but I have kept my contempt private as they have shown me the same courtesy.

However...dare to turn into an obnoxious asshole making a public scene and God help you... I will rip off your head, shit down your throat, and show no mercy.

Yesterday was one of those days. After getting publicly grilled and needled at a large meeting on a subject matter that was of no business to the antagonizer, I subtly, then not-so-subtly dropped hints that he was crossing over into the danger zone, I lost it.

"I am DONE with this inquisition! I am NOT going to stand here and take cheap, pot- shots from an ignorant, belligerent ass who only knows 1/2 of the facts!"

...you could hear a pin drop from across the room...

And the Belligerent Ass responded, "Well.... I did not mean to upset you."

"Well, I am upset, so PLEASE STOP"

I have no idea what I said after that point because I was that pissed off. My mouth opened up, and the words flowed out. I did not care who heard what, and who was around. I was pushed to the limit.

Belligerent Ass stormed out of the meeting. When he left an uncomfortable silence filled the room. The others were visibly shaken by my outburst as I am usually so congenial in group settings. The meeting quickly adjourned.

Am I going to get fired? At this point I really don't care. Maybe it would be a blessing. Hell, I'll just join the unemployed masses and wait for my government "bailout" like everybody else.

This afternoon I received an official, written apology from Belligerent Ass that bordered on being overly sappy. Hmph... I'm still too pissed off to even deal with him.