Okay another post about Mofito. She is DRIVING ME CRAZY.
When Mofito first came in, I noticed how she was a little green and I decided not to align myself with her. She is only a year younger, but she acts a lot younger than me, which was mentioned by coworkers. I was rising fast, and she would have dragged me down (hey, I'm being honest). However, after I decided to leave the company to move onto better things, I decided to let my guard down and have some fun. So I befriended her.
Now, however, she has become somewhat of... a leech. She eavesdrops on my phone conversations, follows me around like a little lapdog, is incredibly nosy (to the point where she comments on anything I bring in the office), and tries to pretend she is as good as me. But she's not, and it not only drags me down, it annoys the hell out of me. Does she view me as a boyfriend? I made the mistake of inviting her to 2 events with me and my friends- I should have seen the warning signs when for weeks straight she couldn't stop talking about how excited she was. She actually FOLLOWED me and my friends to a club with her friends, and now she wants to hang out with me all the time. She has to have lunch with me, she has to have the same kind of lunch as I have, she even asks the Big Boss why her salary is lower than mine (um, DUH. You're not an engineer, just some unnamed weird profession).
I CAN'T STAND IT!!!!!!!
Lately I feel like I'm being stalked by her. She wants to meet all my friends, have me set her up with someone, wants me to meet her friends (to be honest, I met them for like 5 seconds and don't really want to meet them again- it's like talking to a bunch of really quiet mice). Every day, she wants to take the train with home, and will try and hang out with me. It really is like we're in some kind of weird relationship, where i want to pull my hair, and scream, "I need space!!!!"
As much as it pains me, I'll have to lay down the law with her. I'll have to stop hanging out with her, pretend not to see her pained face, and pray that she gets the message without me being too explicit.
*Sigh*
Another lesson, too late. Never befriend the stalkerish, admiring, green office types who eventually annoy the hell out of you with their leechiness and nosiness.
Monday
Wednesday
Driving all over the world
Being a native New Yorker (born and raised, baby), I only got my license 1 year ago. Before then, I was one of the few teenagers in the U.S. that willingly relied on smelly subways and slow buses to get around. Now, I drive around the tri-state area for work. To get one's license at the age of 22, and then immediately start driving around in the craziest areas in the world is... well, crazy.
Driving in New York made me proud of myself; hey, I made it here! It was sort of a symbol of success in general... you know, New York traffic is nuts, New York drivers are mean and tough, yadda yadda yadda, if you make it here, you make it anywhere, etc. Anyway, then I happened upon a memory. Of India. And I thought, Hey, New York is NOT the craziest place to drive in! India is!
I remember once in India my mom and I were trying to cross the street to get to a bank. Like a lot of streets in rural parts of India, there were no lanes, and lots of different kind of... mobile creatures/machines.
My mom held my hand tightly as we saw cars honk and zip on by, bicycles ringing the hell out of their bells, people ambling by, and scooters weaving in and out of the fast-paced two-lane road. We tried to cross the road, but a rickshaw threatened to mow us down.
We stepped back.
We tried yet again, and this time a bus came barelling out of nowhere (the real threat were the people hanging on the sides of the bus).
We stepped back.
We tried yet a third time, but an elephant lumbered by, sweeping its trunk across the road for spare sweets, followed by a crowd of chattering children chasing after it.
We stepped back breathlessly.
Finally, my dad actually went into the middle of the road, held up both hands, and STOPPED traffic for us! I have no idea why drivers and animals would obey a little bald man waving both hands furiously in the middle of a busy intersection- but they did. Maybe they thought he was a wacko. And so my mother and I crossed the road, like first-World spoilt royalty. Which, I admit, I am. =)
Anyway, the simple act of crossing the street astounded my American mind. Driving in India requires a special talent that I doubt I have....
Driving in New York made me proud of myself; hey, I made it here! It was sort of a symbol of success in general... you know, New York traffic is nuts, New York drivers are mean and tough, yadda yadda yadda, if you make it here, you make it anywhere, etc. Anyway, then I happened upon a memory. Of India. And I thought, Hey, New York is NOT the craziest place to drive in! India is!
I remember once in India my mom and I were trying to cross the street to get to a bank. Like a lot of streets in rural parts of India, there were no lanes, and lots of different kind of... mobile creatures/machines.
My mom held my hand tightly as we saw cars honk and zip on by, bicycles ringing the hell out of their bells, people ambling by, and scooters weaving in and out of the fast-paced two-lane road. We tried to cross the road, but a rickshaw threatened to mow us down.
We stepped back.
We tried yet again, and this time a bus came barelling out of nowhere (the real threat were the people hanging on the sides of the bus).
We stepped back.
We tried yet a third time, but an elephant lumbered by, sweeping its trunk across the road for spare sweets, followed by a crowd of chattering children chasing after it.
We stepped back breathlessly.
Finally, my dad actually went into the middle of the road, held up both hands, and STOPPED traffic for us! I have no idea why drivers and animals would obey a little bald man waving both hands furiously in the middle of a busy intersection- but they did. Maybe they thought he was a wacko. And so my mother and I crossed the road, like first-World spoilt royalty. Which, I admit, I am. =)
Anyway, the simple act of crossing the street astounded my American mind. Driving in India requires a special talent that I doubt I have....
Tuesday
I need satellite radio
The past few times I've driven for work I've ALWAYS forgotten to bring CDs, which means I end up listening to the radio. Aside from NPR, the radio pretty much sucks. It's either music I haven't heard of (I admit I haven't been keeping upto date with latest trends) or obnoxious DJs prattling on about stupid shit, or really loud and headache-inducing commercials about cars. Honestly, commercials are the worst. I once read somewhere that commercials are actually LOUDER than the actual program. The prattle of DJs during the mind-numbing "Morning zoo" conversations come a close second. S0me of these DJs are SOOOO not funny. And the sad thing is, they think they are. Half the time, the only people laughing at their jokes are they themselves. And what is up with all the "Morning zoo pranks" that they pull on unsuspecting listeners? Some of them border on racist and classist, which has made news lately. Honestly, I need to get satellite radio. Sometimes, even Howard Stern is better to listen to. I said sometimes, people.
Anyway, those are my deep thoughts for today. Not very deep, esp. since I am so tired. Time to hit the sheets and wake up at 5am. Tomorrow I'm bringing some Macy Gray and Sheryl Crow for the trip. Power to soulful females.
Anyway, those are my deep thoughts for today. Not very deep, esp. since I am so tired. Time to hit the sheets and wake up at 5am. Tomorrow I'm bringing some Macy Gray and Sheryl Crow for the trip. Power to soulful females.
Comfort food
I had a lovely dinner today. One of those dinners where you think about it and smile. Not because of the ambience, or necessarily of the pple you had dinner today. Because of a particular dish, a dish that went down as smooth as butter, a dish where you could not dip your fork into quickly enough. A dish that titillated your tongue, your nose, your body. It was not at a fancy restaurant. It was at California Pizza Kitchen, a restaurant chain. It was lovely because of a particular appetizer they have which I'm NUTS about- spinach and artichoke dip. Or more specifically, very warm spinach and artichoke dip smothered in white cheese. Oh yes. It was sooooo good. I consider that my comfort food.
Wednesday
Hi Boss, I'm leaving
My conversation with the Big Wig telling her that I was leaving was somewhat... awful. I had planned the speech for an entire day, stealing off to the bathroom at intervals to mutter under my breath various organized sentences, such as "It was such a pleasure to work in this organization, but I feel it is time for me to move on and.... blah blah" I had called Bwoy several times, repeating my speech to him. I had consulted with Mofito about this speech and gotten some edits on what to say, e.g. Mofito advising me to "Look sad!" and then "Stay calm!" and then "Be happy!" Um, okay. She did tell me to tell the Big Wig at the end of the day, around 5:30 when everyone else had left, preferably a Friday. Which I did.
The problem started with the fact that the Big Wig was in meetings ALL day. This made it impossible for me to have the pre-requisite 5 minutes to pace around in my cubicle, take deep breaths, pump myself up, and then walk with determined calm into her office. Instead, I ended up with the opposite.
I had ask the secretary to tell me when Big Wig was out of meetings: several times during the day, the secretary would call me and scream, "NP! SHE'S IN HER OFFICE! GO! NOW!" I'd have to scream in return, "THANKS!!!" slam down the phone, and dash off to the corner office, where- inevitably- the Big Wig was on the phone again. So I'd wander back sadly to my cubicle. Five minutes later, the secretary would scream at me again. And I'd run, and- of course- yet another conference call. Talk about false alarms! Anyway this happened a couple of times, with the secretary's voice becoming very hoarse, until FINALLY I caught the Big Wig in a free moment.
"Yes?" she said, without looking up from her laptop (I hate it when she does that. I've sometimes had whole conversations with her where the entire time her eyes are glued to the bright screen in front of her).
"Um," I gasped.
"I have a conference call in 10 minutes, NP," she said, talking to the laptop.
"Uh," I said.
She looked up from her screen with an icy glare.
I stammered.
I proceeded to stumble, stammer, and fumble my way through my speech. My speech somehow... changed. It twisted and contorted itself into a completely different speech with each raised eyebrow of the Big Wig. Reasons for leaving changed from "pursuing an exciting opportunity" to an utterly false "Bwoy! Uhhh, Bwoy is moving, and I'm following him!" Sentiments changed from "appreciation for giving me this opportunity to work here at my first job" to "Um, maybe I can come back!" With each mutated sentence, I sunk lower and lower into my well of lies. In the end, the Big Wig thinks I am leaving for a boy, and that I intend to come back to the company after 2 years. Somehow I have transformed myself into a solid, bright career woman, into somewhat of a wannabe housewife who is very unsure of what she wants to do.
*Sigh*
This awful wreck of a speech taught me an important lesson: it is best NOT to think of a speech in moments like these. Just say what's on your mind, be simple, and don't make it such a big deal. Ahhh, NP. You did it again.
The problem started with the fact that the Big Wig was in meetings ALL day. This made it impossible for me to have the pre-requisite 5 minutes to pace around in my cubicle, take deep breaths, pump myself up, and then walk with determined calm into her office. Instead, I ended up with the opposite.
I had ask the secretary to tell me when Big Wig was out of meetings: several times during the day, the secretary would call me and scream, "NP! SHE'S IN HER OFFICE! GO! NOW!" I'd have to scream in return, "THANKS!!!" slam down the phone, and dash off to the corner office, where- inevitably- the Big Wig was on the phone again. So I'd wander back sadly to my cubicle. Five minutes later, the secretary would scream at me again. And I'd run, and- of course- yet another conference call. Talk about false alarms! Anyway this happened a couple of times, with the secretary's voice becoming very hoarse, until FINALLY I caught the Big Wig in a free moment.
"Yes?" she said, without looking up from her laptop (I hate it when she does that. I've sometimes had whole conversations with her where the entire time her eyes are glued to the bright screen in front of her).
"Um," I gasped.
"I have a conference call in 10 minutes, NP," she said, talking to the laptop.
"Uh," I said.
She looked up from her screen with an icy glare.
I stammered.
I proceeded to stumble, stammer, and fumble my way through my speech. My speech somehow... changed. It twisted and contorted itself into a completely different speech with each raised eyebrow of the Big Wig. Reasons for leaving changed from "pursuing an exciting opportunity" to an utterly false "Bwoy! Uhhh, Bwoy is moving, and I'm following him!" Sentiments changed from "appreciation for giving me this opportunity to work here at my first job" to "Um, maybe I can come back!" With each mutated sentence, I sunk lower and lower into my well of lies. In the end, the Big Wig thinks I am leaving for a boy, and that I intend to come back to the company after 2 years. Somehow I have transformed myself into a solid, bright career woman, into somewhat of a wannabe housewife who is very unsure of what she wants to do.
*Sigh*
This awful wreck of a speech taught me an important lesson: it is best NOT to think of a speech in moments like these. Just say what's on your mind, be simple, and don't make it such a big deal. Ahhh, NP. You did it again.
Saturday
Bridget Jones is not fat
Just came back from a delicious vacation. Absolutely excellent. Unpacking today all my smelly clothes (smelling like Deet, sweat, and general camping smells). The reason why I'm talking as if I'm British (well, sort of) is because I was watching Bridget Jones' Diary while I was unpacking. While I was watching it, I thought to myself, Bridget Jones is not fat!
I then proceeded to do what I always do with my "deep thoughts"-- Google 'em! So I Googled my thought "Bridget Jones is not fat," and came up with several websites that expressed my opinion, such as this excellent one. I was really surprised to discover that the actress who played Bridget Jones (Renee Zell-what's-her-name) thought that her normal weight as a woman who is 5'5" should be 110 pounds. Hmmmm. I'm not going to judge Renee's on her opinion- she may be have a rail-thin body type to begin with- but I think that as a public figure talking about such a sensitive issue, it's important for one to think about what message they want to give. It's sad that girls as young as seven start dieting- not because of their health, but to acheive (sometimes unhealthy) skinny body types. Why? Shouldn't they just try to be healthy and focus on their minds? I understand one wouldn't want to be fat- practically, there is a general social stigma and it may lead to health problems- but it's unfortunate that girls feel such pressure to diet for the wrong reasons. I know, I know. That's not a very deep thought. but still.
I then proceeded to do what I always do with my "deep thoughts"-- Google 'em! So I Googled my thought "Bridget Jones is not fat," and came up with several websites that expressed my opinion, such as this excellent one. I was really surprised to discover that the actress who played Bridget Jones (Renee Zell-what's-her-name) thought that her normal weight as a woman who is 5'5" should be 110 pounds. Hmmmm. I'm not going to judge Renee's on her opinion- she may be have a rail-thin body type to begin with- but I think that as a public figure talking about such a sensitive issue, it's important for one to think about what message they want to give. It's sad that girls as young as seven start dieting- not because of their health, but to acheive (sometimes unhealthy) skinny body types. Why? Shouldn't they just try to be healthy and focus on their minds? I understand one wouldn't want to be fat- practically, there is a general social stigma and it may lead to health problems- but it's unfortunate that girls feel such pressure to diet for the wrong reasons. I know, I know. That's not a very deep thought. but still.
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