Grown Folks At Play

I love it when grown folks can humble themselves and play like kids. Seeing them so intensely focused on an arts and crafts project just lifts my spirits. I think that's why I love the the crafty community. We are forever creating with wide-eyed excitement just like kids.

Some of you may remember how not to long ago I was really down about my current work state; a mix of boredom and anger. I was seriously considering getting a new job and leaving these folks behind. Well wisdom pervailed. I decided to stay and not look to be served by my company but to serve them more. Sometimes our expectations from a company (and by extension it's employees) are too high. Just like a love relationship, we expect them to fulfill certain needs they're not designed to fill (i.e. self fullfillment, affirmation, acceptance), change who they are (change the company culture to suit self), allow you to control them (accepting only your ideas as sound), and be like the boyfriend before (have the same programs/fringe benefits we loved from the previous company). It doesn't work in a love relationship and it most definately will not work at work. Somebody has to change. I choose me! Hopefully others will be so inspired to serve more as well.

I joined the new Morale Committee at work. We're responsible for, well, lifting the morale of our department. We put on events to foster teamwork and the cohesiveness amongst the various groups that make up our department. Our first event was Halloween. Eventhough I don't celebrate it, it didn't hinder me from helping to oversee the festivities to lift the morale of the team. We had a costume contest, candied apples, and a pumpkin decorating contest. Check out how creative we all got, without carving! Grown folks at play!

Kamika smug cause our pumpkin won!

Getting Restless

I'm getting restless again. It's a mode I get into every couple of years when I feel I need to make a change on the 9-5 front. I'm bored as the dickens and have been having a hard time finding the burst of energy to swing by the Man's house each day. I do get there every morning, although my attitude has been less than stellar. When I get to this point it's usually a quick spiral down into pure judgemental anger against those I work with ending in an all out stalemate.

I hate that about myself. I need to take work and my work environment less seriously but I've always had an issue with being non-productive and having non-productive people around me. I figure since you spend 1/3 or more of your daily life there you need to love it or at least like it. I feel that when I get there I should have things to do that don't drop my IQ 25 points each day. I'm not one of those who likes to come to work and sit around. If you are willing to pay me to do nothing or to surf the Internet, then pay me to stay home. None of this was in the job description.

I don't need to control situations anymore, I've learned that God takes care just fine without my input and usually to my advantage. What I do need is for people to work smart with me and delegate those things which are not their forte before they become chaos. I do not like the voice of our department being the one person who is making the most mistakes and causing delays.

I'm trying to be 100% and not 75% grateful. I need to take this as an opportunity to nip murmuring in the bud and to love people regardless of their shortcomings like others do me. I'm going to working on that today. I'm off as we've had a death in the family and I need to help take care of some business. I'll keep you all posted later.

Question: How do you deal with working in a not-so-ideal work environment? This can include SAHMs as well.


Kamika checking her attitude at the door

It Just Don't Make No Sense

It takes a whole lot of energy to over manage a project. I'm serious! Ridiculous amounts of energy! I have seen some people micro-manage. Seen them mis-manage. Hell, I know we've all had our fair share of total lack of management. At work. But damn! I never thought anyone could over manage a project. I mean over manage to the point of confusing themselves in the process of trying to remember how to explain to others the who, what, when, where, and why of a project that they only briefly looked at for less than 5 minutes while blindfolded, hanging upside down, with their right thumb in their mouth, and their left hand tied tightly behind their back with dental floss. One sock on and a Birkenstock or is that a Jimmy Choo? Over manage to the point that a simple mail merge becomes all out guerilla warfare dividing the north from the south, of a single department of 4 people (mind you!), Noriega style. The project is still seven months past due and we still didn't get it done today. It's a mail merge!!

Nope! I aint' ever seen it. I hope I never see it again. I betcha I betta not! Thank God, I'm not a betting woman. As my Daddy would say, "If betting was my ho card, I would have put my nightgown on!" I sit here fully dressed in the clothing of the day...

They angered me so today that I had to go out to my car and pray that God forgive me for my pride and my desire for a pistol. Chocolate pistol that is. Milk chocolate. I try not to be violent. I TRY! Lauryn said, "It could all be so simple, but you'd rather make it hard." Alas, workplace theatre. Public Access TV of course...

Well since I'm venting. I ordered these really great cookies from this spot. I think I placed the order on Wednesday. Why the folks just now getting around to mailing my stuff today? Must be that HAT time. Hawaiian Aloha Time cousin to Colored People's Time. Why did they call me on today and tell me they were missing a digit in my zipcode. Naw! Computer's can't be scarce in Hawaii. How else did they get my order? Mapquest anybody? Google maybe? HmmH?

So as not to drag you all down any further. I have been making great progress on the knitting front. I'm half way done with the back of my Ribbed Top by Vladimir Teriokhin from Vogue Knitting Spring/Summer 2008. I'm knitting it up in Malabrigo Silky Merino. Take a look.

I also got some really great Louet Kidlin for Stardust by Tourit Wilroy from Knitty Winter 2007 (?). I was at one of my favorite LYS, The Knitter's Studio, for their summer sale and couldn't stop admiring Litle Owl's sample they had displayed. It was in this great hue of green. She has an excellent post on collar alterations for it if you decide to do this project. The Kidlin is an excellent yarn choice for this project as it is very soft, silky, and as a mohair blended with linen it doesn't have as much loft as a pure mohair would which makes it less fuzzy. Plus the light really catches this yarn at every angle making it more dimensional.

I'm now off to pack up my SP12 gifts. I may post pics here as I seem to always get the partner that is not loquacious, or did I mean non-responsive, or distracted, or forgets to post pics of their swag on their blog. The luck of the draw I guess.

I know the title of this post is a double negative. It must be all that The Boondocks I've been watching. I got to take LB to a pool party tomorrow. I hope she has a ball and falls asleep on the way home. Now she's loquacious.

Kamika The War Torn