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Straw? Meet Camel. Camel? Meet ground.
Oct. 2nd, 2007 03:16 pmI have officially been used as an excuse.
Turned in my two weeks' notice last Saturday. Came to the conclusion that life's too short to spend three days a week trying to be something you aren't and the other four bitching about it. So I respectfully tendered my resignation. Can we keep this quiet? I want to minimise the opportunity for drama. And says The Man, "Sure. We've got to be professional, after all."
Today I get a text message from the other MT in the place: they've fired her, saying she's the reason I jumped ship.
.....
...
.
Um.
No.
She was one of the reasons I lasted as long as I did.
You fired her because you wanted to; we'd have had more respect for you if you'd SAID it like that.
Thanks.
Bye.
Please, someone tell me a story about an AVEDA salon/spa that is actually a rejuvenating place to be. Give me good stories. I don't want to form my whole idea of a corporation based on just this collection of passive aggressive queens.
Please tell me they're not all like this.
Turned in my two weeks' notice last Saturday. Came to the conclusion that life's too short to spend three days a week trying to be something you aren't and the other four bitching about it. So I respectfully tendered my resignation. Can we keep this quiet? I want to minimise the opportunity for drama. And says The Man, "Sure. We've got to be professional, after all."
Today I get a text message from the other MT in the place: they've fired her, saying she's the reason I jumped ship.
.....
...
.
Um.
No.
She was one of the reasons I lasted as long as I did.
You fired her because you wanted to; we'd have had more respect for you if you'd SAID it like that.
Thanks.
Bye.
Please, someone tell me a story about an AVEDA salon/spa that is actually a rejuvenating place to be. Give me good stories. I don't want to form my whole idea of a corporation based on just this collection of passive aggressive queens.
Please tell me they're not all like this.
It's refreshing as all hell
Sep. 27th, 2007 08:40 pmto know that I'm not the only one having issues with The Man, recently.
(because if you'll all flash back to your Psyche 101 course--"If you're the only one with a problem with a person, chances are the problem's really with you. But if three of you independently have the same problem with the same person, chances are the problem's with THAT PERSON.")
Less refreshing to realise there's not a lot to do to change this particular system, because the people who set it up in the first place seem more dedicated to exerting their authority over their machine than to building a machine that runs itself.
I'm having trouble swallowing the slightly confrontational urge to see whether I can ask polite, pertinent questions long enough provoke bullshit passive-aggressive responses, just so I can see the fireworks, too.
"Pardon me, I've got a question about this new policy here. Could you please explain it to me? What about *this* approach? Was there a reason you didn't take that one first? Oh, do please enlighten me. I don't get it yet, but I want to, really."
"Hi, I'm new here, so I'm not sure whether you guys realised--this part of your system's broken. Fixing it's easy, you could do it like this. Em... Why haven't you? Why do you do things this way?"
Note to self: Don't make Jonestown references, even to yourself, when walking into a business model whose employees warn you straightaway "People say this is kindof like a cult. But I promise we're not." The next day, you WILL be offered Comforting Tea in the group meeting. And you WILL be expected to consume it while the boss watches.
....
~fume~
(because if you'll all flash back to your Psyche 101 course--"If you're the only one with a problem with a person, chances are the problem's really with you. But if three of you independently have the same problem with the same person, chances are the problem's with THAT PERSON.")
Less refreshing to realise there's not a lot to do to change this particular system, because the people who set it up in the first place seem more dedicated to exerting their authority over their machine than to building a machine that runs itself.
I'm having trouble swallowing the slightly confrontational urge to see whether I can ask polite, pertinent questions long enough provoke bullshit passive-aggressive responses, just so I can see the fireworks, too.
"Pardon me, I've got a question about this new policy here. Could you please explain it to me? What about *this* approach? Was there a reason you didn't take that one first? Oh, do please enlighten me. I don't get it yet, but I want to, really."
"Hi, I'm new here, so I'm not sure whether you guys realised--this part of your system's broken. Fixing it's easy, you could do it like this. Em... Why haven't you? Why do you do things this way?"
Note to self: Don't make Jonestown references, even to yourself, when walking into a business model whose employees warn you straightaway "People say this is kindof like a cult. But I promise we're not." The next day, you WILL be offered Comforting Tea in the group meeting. And you WILL be expected to consume it while the boss watches.
....
~fume~
Work, tomorrow.
You know, it's funny what a little attitude shift'll net you.
Last week, I went in full of "Allright, fuckers, give me an excuse to quit. Just one."
And you know, it didn't. No nonsense from the boss, no bullshit from my coworkers. Even the broken, broken system pretended for a week that it was whole.
Granted, tips went to hell, too, but hey, it was a slow week for everybody.
So I'm curious what'll happen this week.
It's weird, having two completely different impulses when faced with a situation:
One says "Oh, to hell with this--these loonies talk like folk you can agree with, but they do business like the first charlatan you did massage for. Granted, so far your checks haven't bounced. But bits of your spirit sure have."
The other says "I don't have to drink the Flavor-Aid, I just have to follow the letter of company policy and go home. I can hack this and stay intact."
So far, nobody's won the debate.
So I go to work waiting for a reason to give 'em my two weeks, and in the meantime, I do my job as best I can.
Hell.
The whole thing may be taken out of my hands by my "failure" to meet sales goals.
(pause to grok and cherish that thought.)
Somewhere in between the two, though, is a quiet voice wondering what's off in my whole approach that leads me into places I've got issues with, in the first place.
...the pause to grok that one's going to take a little longer...
You know, it's funny what a little attitude shift'll net you.
Last week, I went in full of "Allright, fuckers, give me an excuse to quit. Just one."
And you know, it didn't. No nonsense from the boss, no bullshit from my coworkers. Even the broken, broken system pretended for a week that it was whole.
Granted, tips went to hell, too, but hey, it was a slow week for everybody.
So I'm curious what'll happen this week.
It's weird, having two completely different impulses when faced with a situation:
One says "Oh, to hell with this--these loonies talk like folk you can agree with, but they do business like the first charlatan you did massage for. Granted, so far your checks haven't bounced. But bits of your spirit sure have."
The other says "I don't have to drink the Flavor-Aid, I just have to follow the letter of company policy and go home. I can hack this and stay intact."
So far, nobody's won the debate.
So I go to work waiting for a reason to give 'em my two weeks, and in the meantime, I do my job as best I can.
Hell.
The whole thing may be taken out of my hands by my "failure" to meet sales goals.
(pause to grok and cherish that thought.)
Somewhere in between the two, though, is a quiet voice wondering what's off in my whole approach that leads me into places I've got issues with, in the first place.
...the pause to grok that one's going to take a little longer...
Well.
Went in to have my hair re-purpled today... got it really well highlighted and faintly violet-reddened instead. Is still good, though, and still makes me smile and trill. We shall keep the Jonathan who doesn't question the trill and who offers hugs at just the right moments, and we shall keep the trendycool hair he gives us. We shall think of it as camouflage and thank him for taking good care of us.
Managed to stave off my boss's attempts at putting me in eye make-up. Particularly, rose-coloured eyeliner that made me look as if I'd been crying. Maybe it's further evidence that I'm cracked a bit--when the boss says "You really undersell yourself; we're gonna be bringin' sexy back with you. Here--you need to play up your eyes...", my head understands that she's attempting to bond with me like she's bonded with every other girl in the shop...but my gut says "Why? Is it against policy for your employees to not wear make-up? Where was that in the handbook? Is this another aspect of my personality that I'm going to have to check at the door?" (and anyhow, why do I need to sell myself that way? I'm happy with the me in the mirror without paint, and I've netted the most wonderful man in three states. Who else would be buying? As an MT, I don't want clients to be concerned with how I LOOK--I want people who're concerned with what I can DO. Our priorities are different, hers and mine. That's all.)
So I got to figure out a tactful way to say thanks-but-no to the eye pencil of doom, and then figure out how to bring this woman into my space carefully so we're less strangers to each other.
Came home, then, after four hours of being on the other side of the glass wall between employees and guests, and finished Stranger in a Strange Land.
...
...
Well.
Now I understand Mike a bit better. A good deal better, actually.
But I can't escape the feeling that I've spent the past three days being preached at by a fascinating set of puppets who had Heinlein's hand up their backs. Not many of them felt like more than window dressing to me--all a lot of patter and movement, not a lot of depth.
(then again, I could be reacting to the constant patting-of-women-on-the-head even while giving lip service to their strength and ingenuity, etc. etc...)
(says Mark from off camera: "D'you think maybe that might've been part of the point?" and I'm not entirely certain which "that" he had in mind, but I suspect he may speak rightly. It bears thinking about, in spare cycles.)
So there's that.
And as soon as I get my little boy down for bed, that'll have been my day.
Freaked out and weird, from start to finish.
Still not sure what to make of any of it.
Went in to have my hair re-purpled today... got it really well highlighted and faintly violet-reddened instead. Is still good, though, and still makes me smile and trill. We shall keep the Jonathan who doesn't question the trill and who offers hugs at just the right moments, and we shall keep the trendycool hair he gives us. We shall think of it as camouflage and thank him for taking good care of us.
Managed to stave off my boss's attempts at putting me in eye make-up. Particularly, rose-coloured eyeliner that made me look as if I'd been crying. Maybe it's further evidence that I'm cracked a bit--when the boss says "You really undersell yourself; we're gonna be bringin' sexy back with you. Here--you need to play up your eyes...", my head understands that she's attempting to bond with me like she's bonded with every other girl in the shop...but my gut says "Why? Is it against policy for your employees to not wear make-up? Where was that in the handbook? Is this another aspect of my personality that I'm going to have to check at the door?" (and anyhow, why do I need to sell myself that way? I'm happy with the me in the mirror without paint, and I've netted the most wonderful man in three states. Who else would be buying? As an MT, I don't want clients to be concerned with how I LOOK--I want people who're concerned with what I can DO. Our priorities are different, hers and mine. That's all.)
So I got to figure out a tactful way to say thanks-but-no to the eye pencil of doom, and then figure out how to bring this woman into my space carefully so we're less strangers to each other.
Came home, then, after four hours of being on the other side of the glass wall between employees and guests, and finished Stranger in a Strange Land.
...
...
Well.
Now I understand Mike a bit better. A good deal better, actually.
But I can't escape the feeling that I've spent the past three days being preached at by a fascinating set of puppets who had Heinlein's hand up their backs. Not many of them felt like more than window dressing to me--all a lot of patter and movement, not a lot of depth.
(then again, I could be reacting to the constant patting-of-women-on-the-head even while giving lip service to their strength and ingenuity, etc. etc...)
(says Mark from off camera: "D'you think maybe that might've been part of the point?" and I'm not entirely certain which "that" he had in mind, but I suspect he may speak rightly. It bears thinking about, in spare cycles.)
So there's that.
And as soon as I get my little boy down for bed, that'll have been my day.
Freaked out and weird, from start to finish.
Still not sure what to make of any of it.
I'm inspired to demi-filk:
Aug. 24th, 2007 11:17 amLate home from work
And Early to bed
Makes a man wealthy
And keeps a man fed
But what good is eating
And what purpose wealth
If early and late,
He ignores his own health?
I honestly heard my boss ask whether we realised how lucky we were to get a lunch break at all on our eight hour shifts.
...
~headshake~
And Early to bed
Makes a man wealthy
And keeps a man fed
But what good is eating
And what purpose wealth
If early and late,
He ignores his own health?
I honestly heard my boss ask whether we realised how lucky we were to get a lunch break at all on our eight hour shifts.
...
~headshake~
The Wall O' Happy
Aug. 15th, 2007 09:03 pmAt work, as part of a team-building, positive-attitude-inspiring exercise in personality-blending, they're putting together a bulletin board of things that make the employees smile. So far, we've got a picture of our (absolutely stellar) front desk man in figureskating gear at ~13 years of age, a picture of one very happy dog, a shot of one of our stylists mid-rollerderby, and a couple of other things. I've been contemplating my contribution.
The problem is, what I find inspiring and humorous? Isn't usually on par with where the rest of the world is. Take this for example:
I?
Actually find this kindof encouraging.
Right up there with this.
I giggle every time I think of it.
But the question is, would this attempt to add my personality to the pool inspire positive thought?
~shrug~
I've got 'em printed and credited; we'll see tomorrow.
The problem is, what I find inspiring and humorous? Isn't usually on par with where the rest of the world is. Take this for example:
I?
Actually find this kindof encouraging.
Right up there with this.
I giggle every time I think of it.
But the question is, would this attempt to add my personality to the pool inspire positive thought?
~shrug~
I've got 'em printed and credited; we'll see tomorrow.
Good news:
I have officially survived a day-and-a-half of unusual-stuff training at work!
Bad news:
Now I smell like wonderful, organic, responsibly harvested and packaged essential oils...that make my husband's sinuses organise a walkout and strike.
News news:
I begin to question whether I'll be recognisably me after the paradigm shift necessary to think in Aveda-ese. It's not that Aveda-ese is a BAD thing--its intentions are stellar!--I just...have yet to grok the mechanics of how not really caring about session length or schedules, and not discovering whether specific medical issues exist during pre-session consultation... how those translate into a profitable, organised, respected spa with no record of injury.
Obviously it can--our place is doing it!
I'm just not sure how.
It's a very good thing I have two days in which to get back into my own skin before having to go to work again.
I would be the picture of carnivorous barbarism, if I didn't.
On we go.
I have officially survived a day-and-a-half of unusual-stuff training at work!
Bad news:
Now I smell like wonderful, organic, responsibly harvested and packaged essential oils...that make my husband's sinuses organise a walkout and strike.
News news:
I begin to question whether I'll be recognisably me after the paradigm shift necessary to think in Aveda-ese. It's not that Aveda-ese is a BAD thing--its intentions are stellar!--I just...have yet to grok the mechanics of how not really caring about session length or schedules, and not discovering whether specific medical issues exist during pre-session consultation... how those translate into a profitable, organised, respected spa with no record of injury.
Obviously it can--our place is doing it!
I'm just not sure how.
It's a very good thing I have two days in which to get back into my own skin before having to go to work again.
I would be the picture of carnivorous barbarism, if I didn't.
On we go.
