No, I didn't get laid off. But someone close to me was. Lay-offs are not supposed to be personal, after all, it's just business right? But, it seems that sometimes the choice of who goes has some politics behind it. And politics, especially between men and women, just SUCK.
I don't mean to be cryptic, it's just not my story to tell. I just think it sucks.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Disappointment
I've been looking forward to this conference for weeks now. It looks really good. It's close, cheap and I'm actually interested in the topics. In the last 5 years, this is the only conference I've seen that I can say that about. I signed up. My boss signed up. Another co-worker signed up. All was looking good.
Then, a few days before the conference was to start, my boss and I were discussing our workload and agreed that we should skip the first morning of the conference. We had too much to do. It's only a few hours and the talks aren't that interesting. Ok.
Then on the first day of the conference, our workload got even worse. It was time to go to the conference and my boss says, "You decide. What do we do?". This is the worst trick question in the book. There's only one answer. We don't go. If I went, that means I don't care about my work. So, we miss the first day.
By the end of the first day, it became clear that day two was not going to happen either. Not for me. Not for my boss. But, my co-worker got to go. Does that make things better or just make me jealous?
It's now the afternoon of day two. There is a half day tomorrow. Will we go? Well, my boss never planned to go that day. What do you think my chances are?
Yeah. Me, too.
Then, a few days before the conference was to start, my boss and I were discussing our workload and agreed that we should skip the first morning of the conference. We had too much to do. It's only a few hours and the talks aren't that interesting. Ok.
Then on the first day of the conference, our workload got even worse. It was time to go to the conference and my boss says, "You decide. What do we do?". This is the worst trick question in the book. There's only one answer. We don't go. If I went, that means I don't care about my work. So, we miss the first day.
By the end of the first day, it became clear that day two was not going to happen either. Not for me. Not for my boss. But, my co-worker got to go. Does that make things better or just make me jealous?
It's now the afternoon of day two. There is a half day tomorrow. Will we go? Well, my boss never planned to go that day. What do you think my chances are?
Yeah. Me, too.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Construction Sites
Why do men panic whenever they see a woman on a construction site? As a part of my job I occasionally have to do inspections on construction sites. I won't bore you with the details, it bores me most of the time. It's not one of the best parts of my job you see. Anyway, it never fails, I'm always the only woman at the site. The guys on the site freak out when they see me. So what? I'm a woman, get over it. I'm not here to give you a lap dance or yell at you about leaving the toliet seat up. I'm an inspector, I just want to conduct my inspection in relative peace. Deal?
God forbid I find something wrong. That opens up a whole new can of worms. First, I have to find someone who speaks enough English to understand me. (For the record, I consider this my problem, not theirs. It's not their fault that I'm too stupid to understand Spanish. And I'm supposed to be the smart one. Yeah, right.) Then I have to tell them, usually half a dozen times, what the problem is. This usually involves pointing at the plans, then at the offending object over and over again. Strangely enough, the more English they speak, the harder I have to work to convince them that I know what I'm doing and that I'm right. Of course I'm right. I was hired to be right.
Today's inspection went pretty well. The crew seemed to freak out at the sight of me, which I am used to. But they recovered well. We worked together and got the job done. At one point, we had some down time, big surprise. I'm standing around waiting for things to pick up again when the one white guy on the crew comes up and starts talking to me. White Boy had been making pithy comments all day, mostly about being the only white guy on the crew. He starts making excuses as to why he wasn't doing more, working harder, etc. when he says, "You know when They are talking about you, right?". They being the Spanish speaking majority on that site. At which point I turned to White Boy and said, "Nope, I stopped giving a shit about that a long time ago." If I paid any attention to what men said about me while on a construction site, or to me for that matter, I would have quit this job many moons ago. What the flying F should I care about what people say about me? F-off, bonehead.
God forbid I find something wrong. That opens up a whole new can of worms. First, I have to find someone who speaks enough English to understand me. (For the record, I consider this my problem, not theirs. It's not their fault that I'm too stupid to understand Spanish. And I'm supposed to be the smart one. Yeah, right.) Then I have to tell them, usually half a dozen times, what the problem is. This usually involves pointing at the plans, then at the offending object over and over again. Strangely enough, the more English they speak, the harder I have to work to convince them that I know what I'm doing and that I'm right. Of course I'm right. I was hired to be right.
Today's inspection went pretty well. The crew seemed to freak out at the sight of me, which I am used to. But they recovered well. We worked together and got the job done. At one point, we had some down time, big surprise. I'm standing around waiting for things to pick up again when the one white guy on the crew comes up and starts talking to me. White Boy had been making pithy comments all day, mostly about being the only white guy on the crew. He starts making excuses as to why he wasn't doing more, working harder, etc. when he says, "You know when They are talking about you, right?". They being the Spanish speaking majority on that site. At which point I turned to White Boy and said, "Nope, I stopped giving a shit about that a long time ago." If I paid any attention to what men said about me while on a construction site, or to me for that matter, I would have quit this job many moons ago. What the flying F should I care about what people say about me? F-off, bonehead.
Friday, April 3, 2009
The Obama Mama
I have never met Michelle Obama, nor do I ever expect to. I would love to meet her, she seems like a pretty cool lady. A (very) quick web search reveals some pretty impressive facts.
*graduate of Princeton
*went to Harvard Law
*associate dean of student services at University of Chicago
*mother of two
Overall, Michelle Obama seems like one kick ass woman. Strong, you know? So, why does everyone obsess about her CLOTHES? Yes, she is a good-looking woman. Yes, she has great fashion sense. Yes, I like this about her. But, can we talk about something else now? Like, oh I don't know, how intelligent she is? What she does on a daily basis, other than choosing clothes for her next photo-op? I have great confidence that Michelle Obama does much more in a day than look good (ok, great) in chic attire. We have a strong, intelligent woman in the white house, can we please discuss other aspects of her life than just her outward appearance? Please? I have a daughter to raise and the First Lady would be a great role model for my daughter if we, as a society, can allow Michelle to be a real woman, not a cardboard cutout.
*graduate of Princeton
*went to Harvard Law
*associate dean of student services at University of Chicago
*mother of two
Overall, Michelle Obama seems like one kick ass woman. Strong, you know? So, why does everyone obsess about her CLOTHES? Yes, she is a good-looking woman. Yes, she has great fashion sense. Yes, I like this about her. But, can we talk about something else now? Like, oh I don't know, how intelligent she is? What she does on a daily basis, other than choosing clothes for her next photo-op? I have great confidence that Michelle Obama does much more in a day than look good (ok, great) in chic attire. We have a strong, intelligent woman in the white house, can we please discuss other aspects of her life than just her outward appearance? Please? I have a daughter to raise and the First Lady would be a great role model for my daughter if we, as a society, can allow Michelle to be a real woman, not a cardboard cutout.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Another example
Ok, maybe I didn't convince you of the unequality of life the other day. The loan thing might be minor, I admit it. But, even minor things repeated over and over take their toll. So, here's another example.
About a year ago, I made a donation to a local food bank. It was a little more than I typically donate, but I was feeling very blessed and wanted to share. I wrote the check on our joint account and mail it in, feeling very charitable and good.
A couple weeks later, we get a thank you letter from the food bank. It's addressed to my husband. And only my husband. Seriously? Yes, his name is on the check, but so is mine. And since I ordered the checks, my name comes first on the check. Oh, and I SIGNED the check. But the thank you letter comes addressed to my husband. WTF? He didn't even know I made the donation!
I will NEVER donate to that food bank again. I found another food bank to support.
I hate BS like this.
About a year ago, I made a donation to a local food bank. It was a little more than I typically donate, but I was feeling very blessed and wanted to share. I wrote the check on our joint account and mail it in, feeling very charitable and good.
A couple weeks later, we get a thank you letter from the food bank. It's addressed to my husband. And only my husband. Seriously? Yes, his name is on the check, but so is mine. And since I ordered the checks, my name comes first on the check. Oh, and I SIGNED the check. But the thank you letter comes addressed to my husband. WTF? He didn't even know I made the donation!
I will NEVER donate to that food bank again. I found another food bank to support.
I hate BS like this.
Tired of the BS!
I created this blog because I'm pissed off and tired of all the BS! I'm a woman. And, yes, I have a brain. It can happen and actually it does happen much more often than most people think it does. Why can't people understand this!
I decided to refinance my home loan. My husband knew I was thinking about it, but he mostly leaves this stuff up to me. So, I call a mortgage broker that was recommended to me to get the ball rolling. The male mortgage broker asks me, "so, are you the one driving this one?". Well, yes I am. He takes down our info and says he'll email me the good faith estimate and loan packet. Ok. I get everything today and what do I see? My husband's name on the top of every page. My name, when it appears at all, is underneath his What? Why him first? I love my husband and all, but I'm the one doing the legwork here. I'm the one arranging all of this. I'm always the one driving this bus, and yet his name always appears first. I'm sick of it!
Am I alone here? Are there any other frustrated females out there? Let's hear it ladies!
I decided to refinance my home loan. My husband knew I was thinking about it, but he mostly leaves this stuff up to me. So, I call a mortgage broker that was recommended to me to get the ball rolling. The male mortgage broker asks me, "so, are you the one driving this one?". Well, yes I am. He takes down our info and says he'll email me the good faith estimate and loan packet. Ok. I get everything today and what do I see? My husband's name on the top of every page. My name, when it appears at all, is underneath his What? Why him first? I love my husband and all, but I'm the one doing the legwork here. I'm the one arranging all of this. I'm always the one driving this bus, and yet his name always appears first. I'm sick of it!
Am I alone here? Are there any other frustrated females out there? Let's hear it ladies!
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