2004-02-09 - 2:48 a.m.

News of the World

Let's see, what else have you missed out on while I was out of it?

Some news updates on the familiar topics:

Caf chick actually is pleasant to me now and then these days. I think once I realized she didn't actually have a specific hatred aimed directly at me, I relaxed a little. Then once I wasn't so nervous around her, she eased up. Maybe she thought I hated her - who knows?

CWOMM2 - got her check, finally. I didn't write her to tell her that I got it, but I did write her when I sent the tickets out so that she'd know to look for them and I wouldn't have to deal with her saying they didn't arrive. I'm so passive aggressive.

CWOMM - I did email her, and she wrote me back basically saying she hoped I didn't think she was blowing me off. Um, since I said in my email that I was upset that she was blowing me off, well, then, you make the call. She also said she had a check that had been ready for me for days but something implying that she had had a rough few days so hadn't had a chance to mail it but would the very next day. Apparently it's supposed to make me feel better that these people write me checks, then sit and look at them with warm and happy feelings toward me for days while they don't mail the checks, and don't let me know they intend to. And she didn't come close to addressing my statement that what bothered me was not the delay, but that she didn't let me know there would be a delay.

I'm thinking it's time for me to lower my expectations again. Obviously things that are important to me - like keeping your word - aren't so important to many other people. Apparently many other people say "I will do this" with some other meaning in mind than that they are actually going to do this. Maybe I'm the odd one in that I don't give my word lightly. And saying "I'll send this to you tomorrow," to me, constitutes giving my word. I don't have to say "I promise" or "I give you my word" or swear on something. If I say I'll do it, I do it or you hear from me explaining why.

But this is how I get into trouble - trying to hold people to the same standards to which I hold myself. (Didn't I warn you about this superiority complex?)

I haven't written her yet to let her know I got her check - I will when I can do it without sounding too angry about her complete lack of understanding of why I'm upset.

Next topic - my friend who was going to have the baby? She did, in fact, have a baby! She wrote me saying she'd just gotten around to turning her cell phone back on, a little more than two weeks after giving birth, and so had just gotten my message and realized that the proud daddy apparently hadn't called everyone on her list of people to be informed. She sent me some pictures and the baby is such a darling.

Interesting difference to note here:

CWOMM2 - no apology for not following through on her word.

CWOMM - no apology for either not following through on her word, or for not keeping me in the loop and making me be the one to broach an unpleasant subject again. She did say "I'm sorry if you were upset," but that, my fine friends, is NOT an apology.

My friend who was busy giving birth to and tending to a new life on this planet? APOLOGIZED to me for not getting back to me sooner. She needs to watch that, she's going to end up renewing my faith in the general goodness of the human race or something radical like that.

Apologies go a long, long way. Remember that. That's my public service announcement for the day.

What else? Oh, my job - remember the pointy haired boss who wanted the house with the giraffe pen? Well. I've just found out that the database I'm building for him, which I don't really know how it's supposed to work because he hasn't told me because he doesn't know either - it's scheduled to go live in less than two weeks.

I just see him blaming it all on me. I can see the bus coming and I can feel him trying to get a good throwing grip on me. Either that or he still thinks it can be done by then, which - trust me. What does exist has been tested by NO ONE but me, and while what does exist works, it doesn't really accomplish much. I'm sure there are whole necessary chunks missing because no one has told me what they are. But you know, I have a couple of things going for me. One is that so many other people know he's an idiot - however they're not allowed to concede that they know it, of course, and I can't see him getting the blame for this not being ready. I don't know what his leverage is, but somehow he has it. The other thing though, which is more important, is that every other project I've done there - EVERY other one - I've done well and people have been pleased. So I think if I'm suddenly painted to be a slacker who ruined this entire project with my ineptitude, at least there will be a few people who will say hmm... how unusual; she didn't trash our project like that.

Next time I'll try to recount my other recent pre- and post-show encounters with famous friends and acquaintances... unless something more exciting than that happens in the mean time.

my mood -

the mood of the whole world wide bleepin' web -