On the Road Again
Just dropped The Hub at the airport. He got the itch to wander, but I got the new job before we could go. My probationary period doesn't end for at least another two months, so he went on a smaller jaunt out East. He's going to Baltimore and Washington, D.C. I think some schoolmates are there, and he talked about go-go music in Chocolate City, so off he went. I caught a cold from a wayward bus-bench sitter sneezing on me, so I will have gone unkissed on the lips by my Smoobie for almost a week and a half when he gets back. Phooey.
Work's been interesting. We had to run 2 tests twice for a person transitioning gender. The scales actually change if the stated gender is female or male, even if the answers remain the same. I don't yet know nearly enough about the MMPI to see how the test works on things like this, but comfort with one's stated gender is at least one factor. The longest test results this week seemed to deal with someone with extensive psychosexual issues. I really, really, really hope I don't recognize any names. That occurred to me the other day.
I've also determined that the amount of time for people to stop being very polite is about 2 weeks. My supervisor is... very strange. She's one of those one-uppers. She overheard me talking about The Hub being a drummer, so she talked about her former boyfriend who's a multi-instrumentalist and musical genius. She's in her 60s and grew up here, so I figure the guy has to be around her age or no more than 10 years or so younger, judging from her appearance (she was probably pretty cute when she was younger, but she used to smoke and is... not a small woman; has some wear on her). Didn't recognize the guy's name. Usually I'll know a name or someone playing in the same scene, especially if they used to play at a certain venue regularly. Uh... She's also always too warm and talks to herself all the time, and has ailments. Lots and lots of ailments. She's worked with the doctor for 34 years. She knows a lot, but she's pretty fucking nutty. I know too much about her romantic past, too. Ex-hippies fucked a lot of people, y'all.
Ah, well. My other coworkers are pretty cool. The younger one's sort of like me, if I'd been raised in Hawaii, was in my 20s, had an Okinawan dad, and spent all of my time outdoors. Our minds and senses of humor are similar. Her guy coaches jiu-jitsu, they have a dog, and she's considering med school. We joked about poo the other day ("Welcome to Los Angeles Municipal! Turning left..."). Accounts Payable is a sweet lady from Texas. She's been here for years, though. Loves to talk and sells Avon. Everyone loves to talk. Accounts Receivable is sweet, too. Everyone's really nice, even the annoying woman. I don't want her to have my phone number. She's got no sense of boundaries.
It's hard to find the urge to read complex stuff after work, even though I'm done by 2 or so. I'm still cramming a lot of new info into my brain, so reading Indian philosophy's going to have to take a back seat for a while. The translation of the Bhagavad Gita was pretty easy, not overly flowery or full of terms I had to look up in the dictionary, but the topics are pretty heady. At least they're familiar. I've read some Zen stuff and other Eastern philosophy, so: same territory, different map. I'm also trying to have decent sets of small talk and responses to regular conversation topics. I think that'll help with my supervisor, so I don't try to suggest how she can attend to her health concerns. I like to help, but I think she likes to talk about stuff in a venty way, not in a way hoping for solutions. Sometimes people just talk to talk. I'm still learning that. Also, people either think of themselves as decent people or The Worst. Still learning that, too.
I think we all spend a lot of time juggling reassurances. I know I rarely see myself clearly, let alone other people. If I can at least pause a second before getting annoyed, maybe I can create a space to not jump immediately to anger. I'm calmer than I used to be, but it's still work for me to just sit with what I'm hearing. I don't always have to say anything, even if I have an opinion. Sometimes it's best for me to shut up especially if I have an opinion. There's no point in me complaining about a random Kardashian, honestly. I know they don't care. The person I'm likely to share this opinion with probably doesn't care, either. We're just talking about a Kardashian so we don't have to face up to the awkwardness of realizing we're both probably wearing crappy underwear, or need to floss, or forgot to pick up chips at the market.
Work's been interesting. We had to run 2 tests twice for a person transitioning gender. The scales actually change if the stated gender is female or male, even if the answers remain the same. I don't yet know nearly enough about the MMPI to see how the test works on things like this, but comfort with one's stated gender is at least one factor. The longest test results this week seemed to deal with someone with extensive psychosexual issues. I really, really, really hope I don't recognize any names. That occurred to me the other day.
I've also determined that the amount of time for people to stop being very polite is about 2 weeks. My supervisor is... very strange. She's one of those one-uppers. She overheard me talking about The Hub being a drummer, so she talked about her former boyfriend who's a multi-instrumentalist and musical genius. She's in her 60s and grew up here, so I figure the guy has to be around her age or no more than 10 years or so younger, judging from her appearance (she was probably pretty cute when she was younger, but she used to smoke and is... not a small woman; has some wear on her). Didn't recognize the guy's name. Usually I'll know a name or someone playing in the same scene, especially if they used to play at a certain venue regularly. Uh... She's also always too warm and talks to herself all the time, and has ailments. Lots and lots of ailments. She's worked with the doctor for 34 years. She knows a lot, but she's pretty fucking nutty. I know too much about her romantic past, too. Ex-hippies fucked a lot of people, y'all.
Ah, well. My other coworkers are pretty cool. The younger one's sort of like me, if I'd been raised in Hawaii, was in my 20s, had an Okinawan dad, and spent all of my time outdoors. Our minds and senses of humor are similar. Her guy coaches jiu-jitsu, they have a dog, and she's considering med school. We joked about poo the other day ("Welcome to Los Angeles Municipal! Turning left..."). Accounts Payable is a sweet lady from Texas. She's been here for years, though. Loves to talk and sells Avon. Everyone loves to talk. Accounts Receivable is sweet, too. Everyone's really nice, even the annoying woman. I don't want her to have my phone number. She's got no sense of boundaries.
It's hard to find the urge to read complex stuff after work, even though I'm done by 2 or so. I'm still cramming a lot of new info into my brain, so reading Indian philosophy's going to have to take a back seat for a while. The translation of the Bhagavad Gita was pretty easy, not overly flowery or full of terms I had to look up in the dictionary, but the topics are pretty heady. At least they're familiar. I've read some Zen stuff and other Eastern philosophy, so: same territory, different map. I'm also trying to have decent sets of small talk and responses to regular conversation topics. I think that'll help with my supervisor, so I don't try to suggest how she can attend to her health concerns. I like to help, but I think she likes to talk about stuff in a venty way, not in a way hoping for solutions. Sometimes people just talk to talk. I'm still learning that. Also, people either think of themselves as decent people or The Worst. Still learning that, too.
I think we all spend a lot of time juggling reassurances. I know I rarely see myself clearly, let alone other people. If I can at least pause a second before getting annoyed, maybe I can create a space to not jump immediately to anger. I'm calmer than I used to be, but it's still work for me to just sit with what I'm hearing. I don't always have to say anything, even if I have an opinion. Sometimes it's best for me to shut up especially if I have an opinion. There's no point in me complaining about a random Kardashian, honestly. I know they don't care. The person I'm likely to share this opinion with probably doesn't care, either. We're just talking about a Kardashian so we don't have to face up to the awkwardness of realizing we're both probably wearing crappy underwear, or need to floss, or forgot to pick up chips at the market.