Mad
I hate being angry. I really really do. That's why I always take so much care not to be angry with anyone. I try to be tolerant and patient and everything else just to avoid anger. The reason is because I get that upset feeling in my stomach and it makes me want to cry. Another thing I don't like doing. Ever.
Today I got angry. I sit in a guest computer area and the company is setting up a conference room next to where I sit. These men were putting up this huge table where the conference room will be, and I was going about my job as usual. At about 10:30 my boyfriend calls me, and I talk to him for about 10 minutes, nothing serious, just some little teasing, "hey I'm still picking you up from the van pool later" kind of deal. About 10 minutes later my manager comes in and tells me (quietly of course) that she had received a complaint saying that I'd taken a personal phone call and that I was being loud.
The only people who were in the room besides me were the men setting up the table.
She leaves and mentions the complaint and then asks one of the men to move a file cabinet that they had moved in front of the door because it was a safety hazard. A few minutes later I leave for lunch and the man who moved it asked if someone had complained about it and said that if someone had mentioned it he would have moved it.
I twisted my lips in irony and told him that no, no one had complained about the filing cabinet. Someone had complained about me taking a personal phone call. The man who was beneath the table tightening some screw or something said that he was the one who had complained and that it had been getting on his nerves.
I told him, similarly to what the other man had told me, that if he had asked me to be quiet I would have gladly complied and that I would have appreciated being asked, instead of being reported on.
He said that it wasn't his job to do that and that he was a professional. The other man apologized to me, albeit quietly, about his co-worker's actions. I accepted his apology, but in the back of my mind I was confused (as well as so mad I could scream).
If it wasn't his job to ask me to please be quiet, which would have required merely raising his voice a little and saying, "Hey, could you please be quiet," then how could it possibly be his job to go down 2 or three hallways to Joyce, a friend of mine, and tell her that I had taken a personal phone call and that I was being loud, which requires getting up off the floor he's working on, walking a few dozen yards, telling her that some girl was being loud and had taken a personal phone call, walking a few dozen yards back, and getting back down on the floor?
When I mentioned that I had finished all my work for the morning and that I hadn't realized how loud I was being he just said again something about being a professional. I clenched my jaw to keep myself from crying, which I really do only do when I'm angry, and to keep myself from saying something I'd regret, and just walked out the door, managing a tight smile at the apologetic man.
Gah! I'm still livid! On the plus side my typing is incredibly fast right now.
I had lunch with Joyce, like I always do, and she didn't mention anything. After that I cooled down a bit, but when I came back I didn't even look at that jerk (I don't cuss, but if I did there would be a much choicer word there). Mary, my manager, didn't seem too upset with me and so I don't think I have anything to worry about.
I don't think there's anything wrong, though, with taking a call from my boyfriend when I spend most of my days working at a desk with no human interaction except for saying "hi" to people going to a conference room and lunch. And yeah, I might have been a little loud, but would it have killed him to ask me to be quieter? And even though it may not be his job to ask me to be quiet, it is common courtesy!
Anyways, this has helped me calm down a bit. Now maybe I can get back to alphabetizing business cards.
On the plus side, I did write today!
Today I got angry. I sit in a guest computer area and the company is setting up a conference room next to where I sit. These men were putting up this huge table where the conference room will be, and I was going about my job as usual. At about 10:30 my boyfriend calls me, and I talk to him for about 10 minutes, nothing serious, just some little teasing, "hey I'm still picking you up from the van pool later" kind of deal. About 10 minutes later my manager comes in and tells me (quietly of course) that she had received a complaint saying that I'd taken a personal phone call and that I was being loud.
The only people who were in the room besides me were the men setting up the table.
She leaves and mentions the complaint and then asks one of the men to move a file cabinet that they had moved in front of the door because it was a safety hazard. A few minutes later I leave for lunch and the man who moved it asked if someone had complained about it and said that if someone had mentioned it he would have moved it.
I twisted my lips in irony and told him that no, no one had complained about the filing cabinet. Someone had complained about me taking a personal phone call. The man who was beneath the table tightening some screw or something said that he was the one who had complained and that it had been getting on his nerves.
I told him, similarly to what the other man had told me, that if he had asked me to be quiet I would have gladly complied and that I would have appreciated being asked, instead of being reported on.
He said that it wasn't his job to do that and that he was a professional. The other man apologized to me, albeit quietly, about his co-worker's actions. I accepted his apology, but in the back of my mind I was confused (as well as so mad I could scream).
If it wasn't his job to ask me to please be quiet, which would have required merely raising his voice a little and saying, "Hey, could you please be quiet," then how could it possibly be his job to go down 2 or three hallways to Joyce, a friend of mine, and tell her that I had taken a personal phone call and that I was being loud, which requires getting up off the floor he's working on, walking a few dozen yards, telling her that some girl was being loud and had taken a personal phone call, walking a few dozen yards back, and getting back down on the floor?
When I mentioned that I had finished all my work for the morning and that I hadn't realized how loud I was being he just said again something about being a professional. I clenched my jaw to keep myself from crying, which I really do only do when I'm angry, and to keep myself from saying something I'd regret, and just walked out the door, managing a tight smile at the apologetic man.
Gah! I'm still livid! On the plus side my typing is incredibly fast right now.
I had lunch with Joyce, like I always do, and she didn't mention anything. After that I cooled down a bit, but when I came back I didn't even look at that jerk (I don't cuss, but if I did there would be a much choicer word there). Mary, my manager, didn't seem too upset with me and so I don't think I have anything to worry about.
I don't think there's anything wrong, though, with taking a call from my boyfriend when I spend most of my days working at a desk with no human interaction except for saying "hi" to people going to a conference room and lunch. And yeah, I might have been a little loud, but would it have killed him to ask me to be quieter? And even though it may not be his job to ask me to be quiet, it is common courtesy!
Anyways, this has helped me calm down a bit. Now maybe I can get back to alphabetizing business cards.
On the plus side, I did write today!