Thought for the day ~ Learning to play the game isn't as much fun as you would think...

So I had a great weekend catching up with a friend I hadn't seen or talked to in about 7 years... in the scheme of things 7 years is a pretty good chunk of time. Nerves aside, to my surprise when I opened the door, it was like it had been only yesterday since I had seen him ( a little age seemed to be the only thing to show for the time)...

As I was filling him in on the "goings-on" at the new job I was reminded why I hold this friendship so close to my heart... While I believe this person sees me for and accepts me for who I truly am - he is also not afraid to call me on it. I was basically told to get over myself... If I didn't like the situation I was in, then it was within my control to change it... but was also reminded that the economy is awful, and as bad as this job may seem, there are people who have much less and need more...

So with a little perspective and another piece of humble pie I made my way into work for the beginning of week two. Being in the great mood I was, I was convinced this week would be much better than last, as I at least knew what to expect...

WRONG - I was there for not even 5 minutes, and the general manager ( or just The General as I now think of him every time I see him) was inviting me into his office to "have a quick talk". long story short, apparently a dry, witty sense of humor is not appreciated or even understood as humor in this little corner of the world. It may have had something to do with my comment to the shipment supervisor last Thursday when she asked how my day went; I smiled and laughed and then said "Well I came back from my lunch break, and I haven't quit yet, so all in all a good day"... We then had a conversation about whether or not this was what I wanted etc etc etc, and I swear it was all I could do to hold my tongue... The conversation itself was not worth the $2.00 of my hourly wage it took up... But The General obviously felt better, because he had made his point. IE. You can't really speak honestly when someone asks how your day was,,, and "if you need help, you need to ask for it, we don't expect you to know everything" (even though absolutely nothing is documented and it is treated as a huge interruption of them using the phone when you do ask).

So how am I applying these rules to my world? When asked how it's going " Oh, it's great, thanks!"... and if it's not documented somewhere I am asking a question and then asking where I could have found that information myself ("oh it's not written down" has been spoken many a time over the last two days), and just so it can't be misconstrued, I am very careful to make sure I thank the person helping me at least twice...

It's exhausting, this little game that has been started... But these people are oh so happy when you ask a question . But it's oh so irritating to have to ask all these questions because they can't document procedures or provide adequate/sufficient training...

At the end of the day they are so impressed by how "eager I am to learn new things" and I can make the day go a bit faster by turning the tedium into this game. I have to admit there are times where I am pushing the snarkiness, but unfortunately, they aren't picking up on it...