01.13.10
Posted in Human Behavior, Things that annoy me at 9:27 am by PsychicDonut
It never ceases to amaze me how unprofessional and stupid some people can be, all the while claiming how intelligent and great they think they are.
Social networking and Twitter are the new fads. Granted, I do not have a Twitter account. I don’t consider my life even remotely interesting enough to have constant status updates, I don’t have the time for it and I don’t want people to know what I am doing every single moment of my day. Not to mention that there are times/days when I simply don’t feel like saying a whole lot anyway. But, to each its own, and I have actually seen philosophical or inspirational messages from Twitter accounts, versus the “I just went to the bathroom” ones.
What truly amazes me though is when people have bosses, or even just other co-workers as their FB, MySpace or Twitter friends (I am not sure how Twitter works, so I assume it’s on a friend basis too), and then wonder when they get in trouble for it.
What do you think will happen if you are not meeting job expectations, telling your boss that you have some personal issues, ask for understanding and then post on FB how bored you are…while your boss is on your friends list?! Or how about badmouthing your boss, your co-workers or your company and posting this stuff publicly?
I simply don’t get it. I also don’t understand employees who are told by managers to leave the social networking to their personal time and then keep sitting at their desk, spending time on FB, MySpace, Livejournal, etc., while their boss sits across/behind/next to them. These are the same delusional individuals who then look you straight in the eye and say “I didn’t do it.”
People really don’t seem to have a lot of common sense! I don’t know if you ever noticed that I generally will not give details about people and their specific behaviors. I usually keep my commentary general, never use names and usually even try to refrain from revealing genders. The details I reserve for my book “Managing the Delusional.” 
But seriously! How is it that common sense, decency, integrity and ethics are missing in our society these days? What is going on with so many expecting a whole bunch for nothing and having a huge sense of entitlement? What happened to being accountable and what is going on with getting defensive when there are consequences to your own behaviors. Have people still not learned that the quality of one’s life and one’s own success is directly proportional to one’s actions, words, thoughts and emotions. And how does it happen that you feel you have the right to comment on a company’s or manager’s decision, when you definitely do not have the insight to even know what really happened, or what was behind a certain decision. Trust me, when your friend got fired he/she is not going to tell you the true reason. How many people do you know who will say “yeah, I got fired because I didn’t do my job/violated policies,” etc.?
These concepts are all so foreign to me. I really, honestly do not understand that any individual who keeps getting coached for the same issues, keeps being told the same stuff cannot succumb to sheer numbers. There is a simple rule of thumb If ONE person says something, oh well, if TEN people say the same, IT MIGHT JUST BE YOU! What happened to respect, as well? If my boss would EVER have had to come to me to tell me to be on time, lay off of the social networking, etc. I would have felt like a complete douche, apologized and immediately altered my behavior. Why? Because if a manager notices such things, it means I overdid it. End of story! It would not occur to me to start arguing or even defending my point.
What happened to having pride in one’s work. If you really do feel that your job, the company and the boss stinks, you shouldn’t be there! You have a choice, if you don’t like it, leave! If you choose to stay, then do your job and do it well. My mother was a cleaning woman, which was hard labor. She was a cleaning woman in a huge museum, using good old fashioned mops, water and floor waxing machines. Guess what? She didn’t call in sick when she wasn’t, she didn’t get in late, leave early and she didn’t cut corners. This is what she was doing and getting paid for. In her mind that meant that she had to do the best she can at it, and my brother and I have been lucky enough to having learned that from her. You respect your superiors, you do the best job you can and you don’t expect anything for nothing.
Before I moved to the States my friends in Germany told me how I had to watch out from getting fired here. In their head, everyone here gets fired for no reason. It is hard to fire someone in Germany, because almost everything is unionized and the labor laws are much stricter. But when I started my path in management, I realized how impossible, or excruciatingly hard it is to get rid of bad performers here. And I do want to add that I have always been understanding if someone is hitting a rough spot in their life. When I say bad performance, I mean people who game the systems, blame everyone else, have a huge sense of entitlement and have not an ounce of integrity or accountability.
I really need to start writing my book!
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01.12.10
Posted in Things that annoy me at 9:47 am by PsychicDonut
Apparently, my rant about the beautiful employees of the world has caused some interest, and the material keeps flying my way. Turns out, delusion has really no end, and let’s face it, self-awareness and honesty with oneself is also highly overrated.
I am confused on the behavioral patterns. Imagine you are sitting in a meeting with a bunch of people. You are being asked what your progress on a specific project is and your answers are pretty limited to two choices “It isn’t my fault, because I have pointed fingers at others before and damn, you keep coming back to me and holding me accountable, when I didn’t do it,” or “it’s working for me!” Latter is a clear sign of a team player. “Well, too bad everything is going to hell for you guys, ’cause it’s working for me!” Should I mention now that these responses come from a lead? Probably not. How do you NOT feel like a total douche, and how is there no voice inside of you that wonders “geez, I keep getting the same feedback and results, I have nothing to show for. Maybe I AM the one who screwed up?”
What is wrong with companies? Why do they insist on thinking that a person that might be technically good will have leadership or management skills? And why is it that the incompetent morons in the work place don’t get fired, especially if they are not even full-time employees, but contractors or temps? Where are the brave souls of the world, who actually do have decision making power, when it comes to calling these guys on their crap? Why would you NOT take a person aside and hold them accountable for the role they have?
I have heard too many stories and witnessed a couple on my own, where one person was holding the company hostage. The company was so afraid to do something about these incompetent people, who divided up the work force and brought nothing but disruption and frustration to the floor, that they simply stood by and watched. I know of two people who were like that. They had given numerous reasons for immediate dismissal, but didn’t even get written up, because HR was too afraid of a law suit.
Somehow some corporations still haven’t learned the lesson. They keep putting project managers, IT guys and technically savvy people into management positions. They watch as these horrible managers run out one employee after another and how no one wants to work under them, and do nothing. Apparently, it is pretty easy to be promoted when you succeeded in a PROJECT, but not so easy to demote you if you terribly fail in management. I have met very few managers who are equally good at both.
My heart goes out to a bunch of people who are stuck with one such lead. A person who not only has yet to prove their worth, but keeps screwing up left and right, blaming everyone else and having accomplished nothing. The same person who keeps crying about being mistreated and disrespected on Facebook, while her co-workers have to work twice as hard to fix her mistakes, to then read her BS status updates on FB, which are an even bigger slap in the face.
Maybe in the future someone, somewhere will learn something from this. I do hope for a time where it is equally important to know what you are doing, to whom you know. And at the risk of sounding crazy, I DO believe that it is actually better, if you have to choose the lesser evil, to have a manager who may not know all the technical details, but knows how to lead and inspire. Until then, entire departments or teams are stuck with horrible leaders, who get the credit for the work they did, claiming they deserved it and feeling entitled to it. Worse, getting another great gig as a leader, doing the whole thing over again without consequences again, thereby keeping the cycle going.
I think it is most frustrating that these type of people won’t ever change. Being a victim or martyr is a way of being for some, who have perfected it to an art. There is no hope for them, because they don’t feel that they are doing something wrong to begin with. They don’t seek out coaching, or training but keep pointing fingers, keep feeling entitled and always being wronged. How bad is it, if you create the same reality day in and day out, year after year, and not ever wake up? And how easy is it to find like minded individuals, who never ever call you on it, but keep supporting you in your crap. And shall I say, when I went to a company gathering I didn’t see this incompetent lead sitting by herself. Nope, she was actually surrounded by a hand full of people who she has convinced about being the victim. And now tell me again that it doesn’t speak volumes about a person when you look at those they surround themselves with/call their friends. I quote again the German saying “Sag mir wer Deine Freunde sind, und ich sage Dir wer Du bist.” (Tell me who your friends are and I tell you who you are).
Thanks for the managers who coached me and called me on my crap, thereby making me a better leader. And thanks for the friends who do it in my personal life. And thank the universe for having the courage and self-awareness to seek those out who push me to become a better person, even if it stings at times.
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01.03.10
Posted in Things that annoy me at 3:28 pm by PsychicDonut
Happy New Year! I am back and ready to hate again Ah, life is grand!
I went to a small gathering of people just recently. All these people happen to work in the movie industry, namely in the same company. All of these people equally disliked one single person, for being unprofessional, consistently screwing up, and of course, being the victim. So I dug a little deeper, because as we know, I am really interested in the Muppets of the world, and the more I heard, the more I remembered stories of my own. Working in the corporate world for many years has provided me with enough material to write a book. One day I will write this book, it’s going to be called “How to manage the delusional.”
But, back to the story at hand. So, this specific person has screwed up so many times that it is now a running joke in the office. For each screw up she has an excuse and shoker, it is always someone else’s fault! Of course, updates on Facebook include great comments about being too intimidating (apparently, she is not intimidating, just highly incompetent) and my personal favorite, she is being discriminated against/disrespected because she is a woman in man’s world!
The sad thing I have witnessed over and over, is that all of these horrible performers DO believe that THEY are being wronged! None of them are ever to blame for any of their poor performances, the fact that they got reprimanded, fired, or put on a PIP. They are all one big miserable family of unhappiness and they are all victims. YIKES!
Our Australian friends asked “so, how do these people keep finding employment?” Well, there is another great way of bullshitting your way through job interviews. First of all, none of these people will ever truly have recommendations from actual managers. Nope, their recommendations come from co-workers, or people from other teams who, of course, are buddies with them or like them, but have absolutely NO clue how these guys are performing in their jobs. I know people who claim to have been managers, when they never held a management role in life and how would a future employee know this, unless he checks with their previous managers? And in a world where what you know often counts less than who you know, it is quite explainable how some of the most incompetent people keep getting hired.
No, I am not going to share my own stories of the delusional people I have managed. And come to think of it, I haven’t had too many of them. There are a lot of good, hard-working and honest people out there, who do not have more issues than a Hollywood magazine stand! But when I heard how ONE person makes entire thralls of people miserable and then blogs on Facebook how she is the victim, without as much as a single ounce of self-awareness, or self-honesty, I want to puke yet again.
How does it happen that people wake up day after day, month after month, year after year, find themselves in the same shitty situation, friendships, lack of career, issues at work, issues with friends, etc and never once look in the mirror thinking “maybe it’s me, not them?!” I guess this is why I call them delusional. Dangerously unaware of who they are, they just bs their way through life, wondering why everyone else around them is “so lucky” and they work so hard and keep getting disrespected and abused.
It’s 2010, more of the same for some, and better things for others, namely those who actually learn something from their screw ups/are honest with themselves. A thing one of my previous managers said to me yesterday was something to the effect of “it’s the people who claim to be good people, who claim they don’t know who are truly scary. Because how would you stop yourself from keep doing the wrong thing, if you don’t even think what you are doing is wrong?” I have an answer! Free therapy for all the screwed up people out there. Oh wait, I forgot, they tend to be the ones who claim they don’t need therapy. Never mind 
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12.15.09
Posted in Things that annoy me at 3:43 pm by PsychicDonut
Imagine the following scenario. You are in a relationship that lasts for a few years. Within the span of this relationship, your partner hits you, cheats on you, lies to you, uses you and cleans out your bank account. After the relationship ends you find yourself fairly alone, not to mention severely broken. You kind of isolated because you felt too ashamed to tell anyone what really all happened. But eventually, you do open up and tell your closest friends, friends you’ve had for many years. The same friends who then befriend the one who abused you on Facebook/MySpace. How would you feel? And WTF???
I am honestly baffled by the lack of spine, conviction and integrity some people possess. It outrages me how superficial and mindless people often truly are, and how meaningless the term “friend” has become. I am also amazed at how two-faced people can be. They bitch about a person, they have never really anytyhing good to say about someone, but then befriend them on the social networking site of their choice. Really? I mean, excuse my language, but how can you NOT feel like a total inauthentic douche when doing stuff like that? And those who start getting pissed at me right now are probably the ones who fall into these categories!
People have often told me that I should not waste energy on such things. They have told me that I don’t have the right to tell people who they can and cannot be friends with. Guess what? I feel I do! If I call you my BEST friend, and if you truly fall into my close friend group, I absolutely feel warranted in telling you “it really rips my heart out that you side with my abuser!” And before anyone gets bent out of shape again, I am not talking about having a little dispute with someone! I am talking about people who have wronged you so severely, have hurt you so deeply and betrayed you, abused you on a level that violates every single law of friendship and decency. If you are my friend, you would stand for me. That is what friends do!
You know, I am not talking about myself this time. Ha, some probably thought I did! I am talking about someone who means the world to me. For all you jerks who have the nerve to call yourself her/his best friend, you are fired! If you are too lazy to not delete the scum bag who abused your friend and damn near ruined her/him, you are truly either a spineless coward, or dangerously oblivious.
I am all for the concept of forgiveness, I truly am. But I have learned a simple fact in life. Abusers generally remain abusive. Why? Because people look the other way. People do NOT confront them and there is never a single consequence to what they did and the bodies they’ve left in their wake. There are plenty of people out there who are too lazy, too cowardly, too busy to call them on their shit.
People are non-confrontational. They are passive aggressive and “don’t take sides” by keeping their mouth shut, looking the other way and dancing at two weddings (a German phrase). These are the people who don’t call the cops when they hear their neighbor beating the shit out of his children, or witnessing a crime. Is it really to the point where people lack conviction, have no opinions and stand for absolutely nothing but what serves them or their purpose. They make up excuses for continuously doing the wrong thing and choosing the wrong thing. Well, excuse me for not participating.
Yes, I know a huge amount of people. But it keeps becoming abundantly clear why I call such few people my friends. I feel I DO have a right to open my mouth. I am not perfect and I have really screwed up in my life, but when it comes to those I love, I am 200% loyal and dedicated. When I did screw up, I tried to correct it, I owned up to it, I apologized. It is so easy to say that I am judgmental and arrogant, rigid, or whatever label has been bestowed on me. But damn, if I would have had people who stood for me when I was abused as a kid, instead of looking the other way, pretending they didn’t know, I would not feel so strongly about this.
Yes, I am putting a label on you “friends.” You should be ashamed of yourself! I don’t give a flying rat’s ass how I piss anyone off. But while most are too busy and look the other way, it offends the hell out of me what lousy friends some people are. What a lame ass thing to do, to befriend people you consistently bad mouth, or people who have really hurt your close friend. And thanks for giving these jerks a consistent in to your true friend’s page and for making it painfully obvious how superficial you are.
You know, there are people out there who I have gotten in fights with, or had fall outs with. There are people I no longer talk to, but I still would NEVER befriend those who have abused them. I had a friend for a long time who no longer speaks to me. We had numerous fall outs for whatever reasons, but to this day, if I would get a chance to kick the teeth in of the asswipe of a guy she was with for years, who beat her, ruined her credit and ruined her life to a degree, trust me, I’d do it. Another guy, who I also had a huge fight with and no longer talk to, is the best friend of someone I’ve dated. Even though I no longer speak to anyone in this circle, I will always chuckle to myself when I remember how he went to a club and called the cheating scum bag ex of his best friend a “gold digging whore” and walked away. I salute people who do that, even if I had my disagreements with them. THAT is a sign of character and a good friend, because I would do the same!
Some people are just scum and that anyone sides with them, befriends them, defends them, etc. seriously offends me, and sure as hell disqualifies them of any position of friendship or trust in my life. Sometimes doing the crime is just as bad as being indifferent and looking the other way! Think about that for a moment!
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11.23.09
Posted in Things that annoy me at 5:47 pm by PsychicDonut
I haven’t been hating on anyone in a long time. It’s time to have another gulp of Hatorate and let the evil flow forth! >:-)
Sometimes the nerve of some individuals really stuns me! One very close friend of mine received a message from an ex, clearly trying to come on to her. The fact that he had dumped her after he cheated on her, lied to her and deceived her didn’t feature into the equation at all. Apparently, he thinks that he can have her back, wait I mean can get her into bed, if he just uses the right words. Luckily for him she made me promise to not go after him.
I’d love to give him a piece of my mind. Actually, come to think of it, I’d love to do that for all the friggin’ asswipes out there, who wander about hurting people and then try to nonchalantly wander back into their life as if nothing has happened. And when they are being told to go to hell, they’ll seem all shocked, angry and surprised, wondering why we don’t want to be friends with them. So, for all the jerks, selfish idiots, users, liars, cheaters, pretenders and those who feign ignorance “I didn’t do it/didn’t know,” let me tell you how we dumb bunnies function. Once you have screwed us over the first time, we generally do not sign up for a second helping of abuse, lies, bs and crap. We generally walk away, hopefully having learned the lesson and not repeating having your kind in our lives. Hence, just go back to the rock from under which you came and leave us the hell alone.
And for those Muppets who just keep blaming everyone else, keep pointing fingers at others they have hurt, I have this to say “there are plenty of your kind out there. Do what all of you do so well, surround yourself with like-minded individuals who keep confirming what a great person you are and how “right” you truly are with all your crap. Make sure to never take stock of your life and realize that you haven’t learned a damn thing since your teenage years. But then, ignorance is bliss, so have a great life. Talk to you, never!”
Oh yes, and on another hate note, for those who sit here offended by my words, “go read another blog!”
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10.16.09
Posted in Things that annoy me at 1:19 pm by PsychicDonut
It is true, vampires roam New Jersey. How do I know? Well, see this: http://www.nj.com/insidejersey/index.ssf/2009/10/vampires_of_new_jersey.html
Really? Alright, here goes my opinion, even though it may come across harsher than I mean it. But hey, I reserve that right, being German 
I honestly don’t care at all what people worship, how they dress, what race they are and what they do in their bedroom. Hence, my circle of friends is pretty eclectic and doesn’t favor one group over another. Having said that and often being considered “Goth” based on how I look affords me the right to cast my opinion here.
Simply said “Get over it already!” Why do all subcultures strive for community or social acceptance? Are you friggin’ kidding me? I don’t know what America they live in, but it’s sure as hell not the one I see. Yes, I do feel this country needs to be more tolerant and if I had the power I’d ban ignorance, bigotry and intolerance. But before I run about whining about the perception others have of vampires, I’d rather go and spread acceptance and facts about certain spiritual paths, races or gay people!
When one emerges oneself in a certain subculture, one HAS to be aware that one will quickly be deemed a freak. Most of us who spent any time in the Goth scene know this. So, if I wander about flashing acrylic fangs at people, while wearing a corset and cape and sharing that I am drinking blood, I might not be taken all that serious, or get ridiculed or labeled. Definitely latter.
I never quite understood why there is a need to share your preferences or intimate details with others. I sure as hell never felt a need to share that I am into mysticism and other philosophies. Vampirism is NOT a religion, spiritual path, philosophy or what have you. It is a choice! Hence, it is no different to me than wandering about yelling that you want to raise tolerance and acceptance for being a swinger, goth, or being into wearing a bear costume while chanting “Isis, Isis, Ra, Ra, Ra.”
COME ON! Seriously. I happen to know a few “vampires” and guess what? Codex or not, it’s all derived from Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Ann Rice tales of describing a vampire as a beautiful and powerful being. So, while I don’t care if you are sporting fangs, a hooded cape and drink blood, I can’t take you serious when you ask for community advocacy.
*steps of the soap box*
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10.09.09
Posted in Things that annoy me at 3:51 pm by PsychicDonut
Really??? There are still people falling for the Nigerian money scams? I do hope that there is not a single person left out there who will fall for this crap. However, if there ARE any people who, even for a moment, consider this stuff real, let me point out the obvious!
First of all, I do this for a living. I work in cyber crime/identity theft/credit card debt prevention. Some scams are better than others, but these money scams are always the same! While the email content changes, the bad English, spelling, grammar and the promise to receive a large sum of money from someone you have never met, or by winning a lottery you’ve never played, are always the same!
In this one, I am being selected as sole heir to poor Mrs. Ruth Schoch’s fortune (mind you, this is pronounced “Shock” in English), who has found Christianity after her husband was killed by the Muslims in Afghanistan! Come on!! Really????? I almost want to tell people who send their personal info to FRAUDSTERS IN CHINA OR NIGERIA that they deserve to be ripped off. Alas, I worry about old people who may not be that familiar with the Internet and its many scams and phishing attacks by fraudsters across the globe.
And here is the original of the email I received today. BTW, it has the “hk” extension on the end of the email, which is Hong Kong. And as we know China is THE largest producer of spam on the planet! My advice to any overseas fraudsters “LEARN PROPER ENGLISH!”
Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I am Mrs. Ruth Schoch, A widow to Late Mr. John Schoch, I am 73years old, and I am now a new Christian convert, suffering from long time, cancer of the ear. From all indications my condition is really deteriorating and it’s quite obvious that I won’t live long according to my doctors.
This is because my cancer stage has gotten to a very bad stage. My late husband was killed during the U.S raid, against terrorism in Afghanistanwhen he traveled to Afghanistan to monitor a Hospital/a Humanitarian Found at (HHF) he was setting up for the benefit of the Afghan masses as of then; whose majority and 99 percent of them are Muslims/ Islamic scholars and loyalists.. During the period of our marriage we couldn’t produce any child. My late husband was very wealthy and after his death, I inherited all his businesses and wealth, and when I noticed that my condition is not improving rather it gets worsen by the day I decided to divide part of this wealth, to contribute to Charity and the development of the churches in Africa, America, Asia and Europe. I selected you after visiting the internet and I prayed over it. I am willing to donate the fund to you for charity, the less privileged, churches, orphanages and widows, Propagating the word of God and to ensure that the house of God is maintained.
I took this decision upon myself because I don’t have any child that will inherit this money and my husband relatives are not Christians and I don’t want my husband’s hard earned money to be misused by unbelievers. Because I have come to find out that wealth acquisition without Christ is vanity upon vanity.
Please I want you to note that this fund is deposited with security company for security purpose.. And upon my instruction, you will file in an application for the transfer of the fund in your name with the security company. May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you and your family.
Await Your Urgent Reply though this email (mrs_ruthschoch@yahoo.com.hk)
do remember to send me your full information.any delay in your reply will give me room in sourcing for a church, another person or Christian individual for this same purpose.
Yours in Christ.
Mrs. Ruth Schoch,
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09.22.09
Posted in Things that annoy me at 5:53 pm by PsychicDonut
Today, a news report stated that Yahoo! is going to spend $100M in advertising. They’ve also created their own color purple; it’s called “Yahoo purple.” *sigh* To quote one of my old employees “If they could only create their own money…”
No, I am not focusing on Yahoo, but I have noticed an alarming trend that seems to be wide spread in corporate America. But then again, maybe I am the only one who notices this. Common sense and logical thinking seem to have left the building! Maybe I am the only one who doesn’t get it, because I do not have a MBA. As a matter of fact, it seems to me that a MBA is probably required to make absolutely crazy and nonsensical business decisions (no offense to a few of my friends with MBAs).
I have often pondered this and yet never found an answer. If you are losing money, wouldn’t you take care of the source that is losing you the money? Wouldn’t you find a solution that solves the problem and will continue to do so in the future? Apparently a plan for the future is not something anyone looks at, but a mere “what should we do now?” Then the company goes after the quick fix and is shocked when the master plan blows up in their face, later on down the road. Instead of investing in something that truly does affect the bottom line, they are investing in a short-term solution that guarantees just that: a short term success.
Here is why I am confused about this. I am a homeowner. One day I come home and discover that I have a leak in one of my plumbing pipes, let’s say under the sink. What do I do? Hm, let’s see. I stuff a piece of cloth in there and hope that it will hold the water long enough before it causes severe damage. Of course not! No, I call a plumber who fixes the pipe so I won’t have the same issue again in the future. I spend my money wisely, knowing that a half-ass fix will save me money now, but then result in even higher costs down the road.
Sometimes business sense seems like a large case of insanity to me. Trying the same failing methods over and over and expecting a different outcome each time.
I have stood there numerous times over the years, while working for different companies, with my jaw dropping when I would hear some of the decisions they’ve made. I remember, one company I’ve worked for almost 10 years ago hiring numerous people and paying for relocation costs for some of them, then laying the same people off in a mass-lay off about 2 months later. Another company I’ve worked for decided to put a bunch of temp bodies on a specific project. None of the 30 some temps were even remotely qualified, but I guess there is strengths in numbers? Would they have hired a hand full of high quality full-time employees they STILL would have saved money. Alas, paying 30+ temps seemed more logical than paying half a dozen full-timers. Of course, the cost to constantly train new guys, due to the expected large turn-overs did not get put in the equation of “we are saving money here.”
Now, I am not going to bag on Yahoo, because I’ve worked for them too long and have plenty of friends who still work there. But am I really off my rocker when asking, “why wouldn’t you spend $100M on improving your technology and making strides towards your competitors THAT way?”
Maybe the problem lies in the sheer size of some corporations? Usually they start buying other companies, or open other branches, which are totally disconnected from the “mother ship.” The trend I have noticed is that the offices outside the headquarters are not only treated like an unwanted stepchild, but also operate in a total vacuum, far removed from everyone else. No one “on the top” seems to have the slightest clue what these guys are doing and even more important, what they need in order to be successful. When they report problems or ask for things they need, no one seems to listen and when all blows up in their face the top bozos ask “How could this have happened? Why did no one tell us!”
One boss once told me that one should never have emotion in business and that being a high ranking business person requires a certain sense of detachment and cool logic. I have always openly admitted to definitely lacking the sense of detachment or lack of emotion, but still pride myself on being a logical person. But then, I do not have a MBA and I think that is why I don’t understand the grand decisions made by these corporations. Come to think of it, this is probably also why I am not a business owner.
I am possibly over-simplifying it all. But then I am just not the one so caught up in politics that I can no longer make rational decisions, because my hands are tied by the top Muppet who makes the stupid decisions to begin with. But hey, at least he/she has a MBA and as we know, that means they are smarter than the rest of us.
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09.16.09
Posted in Things that annoy me at 6:57 pm by PsychicDonut
Reading the presidential debates about public health-care, I am safely concluding that the US probably has turned into the biggest nightmare; namely for the ultra-conservative, racist, bible preaching rednecks who are still roaming this country in large numbers. What a horror that a black man is our president, and that he doesn’t have a name like “John Smith!”
I happen to agree with Jimmy Carter. I also think that Wilson’s outburst is based on race. Why? Because he reacted like any typical Southern good ol’ boy who had to sit there and respect a colored fellow for his opinion. What scares me is not so much that people like this are spread in vast numbers across the country, but that they are actually in politics where they influence others with their crap.
I was shocked that anyone would be so disrespectful towards the president. I mean, I don’t recall anyone ever calling G.W. a liar, idiot or whatever else, when it would have been appropriate in that case. Nevertheless, one should have more respect than that!
Meanwhile, I am still annoyed at the stupid Florida idiots who refused to let their kids watch the president’s message about staying in school. I just don’t get it. I am really trying to understand where someone becomes so ignorant. But then, I assume being raised that way largely contributes. Sometimes I just feel as if I am still living in the 19th century. I wonder if these idiots ever watch international TV and then wonder if THEY are the reason Americans are considered stupid, ignorant and uneducated. How sad, that a bunch of morons are shaping the outlook of the rest of the world on all of us 
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09.08.09
Posted in Things that annoy me at 2:59 pm by PsychicDonut
Another one I got from Yahoo’s homepage. These things are all common sense and as usual, some of the comments suggest that these behaviors are merely one’s freedom to express oneself and one’s pursuit of happiness! It never ceases to amaze me what people perceive as their god given right, simply because they show up to work and grace their employers with their presence! Of course, they all have a big mouth about their given rights until they get laid off. Then they go on whining and bitching, or even suing the company. Try firing someone who violates rules, or is incompetent. But that is another blog!
I got laid off, but thank god, it was due to the company downsizing, not because I had a sense of entitlement, took my job for granted, or took advantage of the company!
I can tell tons of stories about morons who kept stealing other people’s lunches, especially those who took bites out of people’s sandwiches and put the half eaten sandwich back into the fridge, or the constant “fish cookers” in the office that left most of us gagging. I can add on even more things one shouldn’t do in the office, but I am not going to list them here 
1. Don’t! Be the Office Downer
You don’t want to be such a buzz kill that people arrange their desks away from you.
That’s what Caroline Melville, owner of virtual administrative service VirtuallySorted.com, had to do after hiring an accountant to work with her small team.
In the mornings, when Melville asked how he was doing, he would respond with a deadpan, “I am not dead yet.”
If the company booked a new client and the office was celebrating their success, he would pipe in with, “Ah, I don’t know. I don’t know. He might leave.”
The eternal optimist didn’t stay long. He resigned when his wife got a new job and needed to move. But Melville didn’t complain.
“It was quite a sigh of relief for me, actually, because it was quite stressful having someone like that in the office.”
2. Don’t! Microwave Fish in the Office
Tuna sandwiches are banned from some offices, but fish dishes in the microwave are absolutely off limits.
“I never knew who the culprit was because the kitchen area was not near my desk,” says Casey Corrigan, a media strategist at a New York City PR firm. The smell would waft through the office gently at first, and “then you would feel it more pungently.”
You don’t want your cube mates wishing you would sleep with the fishes.
3. Don’t! Go Barefoot
“Everybody wants to wear really cute shoes, and they go out and get five-inch tall Christian Louboutin shoes,” reports a tipster who asked to remain anonymous because she feared she would lose her job for outing co-workers.
“If you cannot walk in them, you should really go for a more sensible shoe.”
Resorting to kicking off your stilettos under the desk is permissible at the end of a long day, but “walking around the office barefoot is really gross.”
4. Don’t! Set Your Ring Tone to the Jonas Brothers
Keep your phone on vibrate. Your officemates notice your ring tone — especially if it’s particularly loud and annoying.
“You would see five or six people who sat around her look at her and roll their eyes,” says Richard O’Malley, remembering a former receptionist whose ring tone for her boyfriend was a Jonas Brothers song.
At the sound of the boy-band melody, the woman would leave her desk to take the call. “It wound up working against her because everyone knew that she was slacking off,” says O’Malley, who now runs his own event-planning business, The O’Malley Project
Eventually she was let go. And even though her ring tone wasn’t specifically at fault, it didn’t help. “There were several minor things that built up,” says O’Malley.
“If you are the person who has the stupid cell phone ring, everyone has noticed it already. Turn it down.”
5. Do! Save Smiley Faces for Mom
Sherry Kerr, the owner of a small public relations agency, hired a recent college graduate to be her assistant and was confronted with an acute case of smiley face overload.
They were on the picture frame, clock, mouse pad, screen saver and a decoy on the monitor. “The desk space itself was really dreadful,” says Kerr.
But it didn’t end there: She also put smiley faces next to her initials and every single place she signed her name — including the company’s tax forms.
Kerr tried to talk to the assistant about presenting a more professional manner in person and on paper. Her response? “She looked at me with these big round smiley face eyes and said, `It is a part of my signature,’” Kerr remembers.
Kerr eventually had to let her go, for unrelated reasons, but, Kerr says, “I have to confess that I was happy about not seeing smiley faces anymore.”
6. Don’t! Be the Boss’ New BFF
“People who are worried about being laid off end up going overboard to prove that they are indispensable, and that ends up making them seem so obnoxious to people,” says Tina Lewis Rowe, a professional development coach.
Rowe consulted at one firm where she watched an employee try to position himself as the boss’ right arm. “At every staff meeting he would try to take the meeting over and ask employees report to him to get approval.”
Instead of becoming the main man’s right-hand, Mr. Sycophant just annoyed the entire office. His co-workers don’t have much use for him, and his managers see right through his tricks, Rowe says.
And while he is still at the firm, “he is on shaky ground,” she adds.
7. Don’t! Read Your Emails Out Loud
Keep a lid on it, neighbor. One wife complained — on her husband’s behalf — about a coworker who reads her emails out loud. And listens to her voicemails on speakerphone. Seriously.
“My husband works right next (as in their desks are connected with no real divider, like Dwight and Jim on “The Office”) to a woman who does all of her work, all day long, out loud,” says the woman, who wanted to remain anonymous to protect her husband.
Now her husband has to take any serious reading home and do it at night because he can’t concentrate in the office.
8. Don’t! Give Yourself a Mani/Pedi
“I had a boss who would clip his nails at his desk,” says Michelle Poteet, who now owns Reclaim Order, a San Antonio-based life-organizing company.
“The next position I was at, the guy across from me would clip his nails at his desk, and to me it is the worst sounding thing in the world.”
“It would be one thing if you waited until there was background noise, but it always seemed to me that people, would do this when it was dead silence. Getting rid of a hang nail would be fine, but it is another thing if they are giving themselves a complete manicure.”
9. Don’t! Steal Food
Keep your mitts off other people’s frozen lunches. One anonymous reporter out in the field says that her Lean Cuisines disappear from the freezer on a regular basis.
“It has happened pretty much every where that I have worked,” complains the office worker in distress.
Not even writing her name in black Sharpie across the box deters thieves. So instead, the lunch lady keeps her thawing Lean Cuisine in her desk.
Yum.
10. Don’t! Crank the Russian Folk Music
Headphones, people.
There is no faster way to top “cube rube” status than to crank your music.
“We had one person who was playing Russian folk music all day long,” says Megan Slabinski, executive director of The Creative Group, a California-based staffing agency.
The constant drone of Russian folk music got so draining to a freelancer the Group had placed, one of the employees had to ask the company to curb the staffer’s habit.
Oddly, management was reluctant to address the issue, reports Slabinski.
“Ultimately, we encouraged them to say, could you please put on a pair of headphones?”
You may think that you are all by your lonesome in your cube, but don’t forget about your proximity to others. And if the spirit moves you, and you must have a bit of your motherland’s music to get you through your day, headphones, people. Headphones.
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