A Cast of Characters
There are minor characters in the theatre of our lives we'd rather not associate with but cannot avoid. You can pick your friends but you can't pick your family. Unsavory family members are hard to get away from. The workplace is where I have encountered the most undesirable people I have known. We don't usually leave jobs over the few crackpots we work with. We just deal with them in the limited professional manner required to get our jobs done avoiding unnecessary exposure to their nuttiness. Over 30 years of working I've run into my share of nutcases. Some may even see me as an oddball but I can live with that.
I have a hard time dealing with the worst cases. Actually, I don't deal with them at all, I mostly ignore them. It's that or be a complete asshole because I have a habit of saying what's on my mind with little regard to consequences. When confronted on my occasionally surly attitude I simply say, "Everything I said is the truth. The truth is not always pretty." People may not want to hear it but I can live with my words and actions as long I know I'm being honest and fair ..... even if I'm not being nice. My mouth has gotten me in trouble a few times but in the end the truth has set me free.
Depending on your schedule you may spend more time with your coworkers than family. You get to know people in a way even their friends and family may not. Some play their cards close to the vest revealing very little about their lives while others blab on about personal issues at a level that is often uncomfortable. The unasked question, "Why is he telling me this?", has popped into my head many times as someone spills the beans on a personal problem better left to themselves. I like to help people and I'm willing to lend an ear but I have boundaries.
If you happen to socialize with coworkers outside the workplace you'll see another side of them. A few of my coworkers frequent an Irish Pub near ASU. Friday happy hour is filled with another cast of characters I have become familiar with as an irregular at the pub. I'm not a regular because I go no more than once a month. As an irregular over the past few years I've come to know some of the regulars quite well. The cast is a mixture of ASU grad students, faculty, blue collar workers like my coworkers and the locals who live in the pub's neighborhood. There are some very nice people and some serious creeps. My workplace and the pub are a microcosm of society. Whether you see it this way or not you also live in a microcosm
When other ideas are scarce I'm going to blog about my little theatre and the ensemble of players. The names have been changed to protect the not-so-innocent. That's easy since we already have nicknames for the oddest of the oddballs. This won't be one story with a start, middle and ending. It will be a collection of weird anecdotes, quotes and the strange behavior of people I've come to know ............ some more than I care to.
I have a hard time dealing with the worst cases. Actually, I don't deal with them at all, I mostly ignore them. It's that or be a complete asshole because I have a habit of saying what's on my mind with little regard to consequences. When confronted on my occasionally surly attitude I simply say, "Everything I said is the truth. The truth is not always pretty." People may not want to hear it but I can live with my words and actions as long I know I'm being honest and fair ..... even if I'm not being nice. My mouth has gotten me in trouble a few times but in the end the truth has set me free.
Depending on your schedule you may spend more time with your coworkers than family. You get to know people in a way even their friends and family may not. Some play their cards close to the vest revealing very little about their lives while others blab on about personal issues at a level that is often uncomfortable. The unasked question, "Why is he telling me this?", has popped into my head many times as someone spills the beans on a personal problem better left to themselves. I like to help people and I'm willing to lend an ear but I have boundaries.
If you happen to socialize with coworkers outside the workplace you'll see another side of them. A few of my coworkers frequent an Irish Pub near ASU. Friday happy hour is filled with another cast of characters I have become familiar with as an irregular at the pub. I'm not a regular because I go no more than once a month. As an irregular over the past few years I've come to know some of the regulars quite well. The cast is a mixture of ASU grad students, faculty, blue collar workers like my coworkers and the locals who live in the pub's neighborhood. There are some very nice people and some serious creeps. My workplace and the pub are a microcosm of society. Whether you see it this way or not you also live in a microcosm
When other ideas are scarce I'm going to blog about my little theatre and the ensemble of players. The names have been changed to protect the not-so-innocent. That's easy since we already have nicknames for the oddest of the oddballs. This won't be one story with a start, middle and ending. It will be a collection of weird anecdotes, quotes and the strange behavior of people I've come to know ............ some more than I care to.