Hump Day!
Pet Peeve rants.
- Thread starter Mathias
- Start date
Yes, your ass does look big in that dress.
No, that doesn't cover up your bald spot as if you're 20 years younger.
No, none of us believed you were actually sick.
Yes, we can tell when you went straight home or visited your "side-girl"
No, your drinking isn't just "social".
Yes, we notice you don't just smoke your"funny" cigarettes after work anymore.
...I'm not terribly popular, either.
My office is so full of misanthropes and terminally shy people, I look and socialize like a fucking ray of sunshine.
You have a dog. Just regularly showing people your avatar counts as doing social stuff right. It's cheating.
GasBandit
Staff member
Well, depends on the job... it'd be damn near heaven for me
I know what you're trying to do, and it won't work, buster.
I've had job assignments like that. I'm not always super chatty, so sometimes it's okay, but it can get tedious really fast. And I swear it makes time slow down.
On the other hand, given some of the people at my last job, I was often grateful my desk was isolated from the main floor.
Cajungal
Staff member
People who can't stop reiterating something when you clearly understand.
An older employee of mine came up the other day and said, "I need to reschedule [XYZ], because you accidentally put me on the calendar for Tuesday. I'm supposed to be Friday."
*I pull out my phone* "I'll change it right now."
She continues, "Because we had talked about Tuesday. I remember talking about Tuesday, but then we landed on Friday. Don't you agree? Didn't we say Friday? Anyway I really need you to change it because I have a meeting with [YADDAYADDA] on Tuesday and if you need me on Tuesday I won't be there!
...it's been changed for a year at this point.
An older employee of mine came up the other day and said, "I need to reschedule [XYZ], because you accidentally put me on the calendar for Tuesday. I'm supposed to be Friday."
*I pull out my phone* "I'll change it right now."
She continues, "Because we had talked about Tuesday. I remember talking about Tuesday, but then we landed on Friday. Don't you agree? Didn't we say Friday? Anyway I really need you to change it because I have a meeting with [YADDAYADDA] on Tuesday and if you need me on Tuesday I won't be there!
...it's been changed for a year at this point.
So, you need to reschedule your meeting for Friday, because there's a conflict with Tuesday. Just making sure you know, because you'd had it for Tuesday, and that won't work.
Cajungal
Staff member
As far as I know, she's still standing there talking.
fade
Staff member
HOLY CRAP yes this. It happens in meetings all the time. Add to that the person who asks a question about something that was clearly stated multiple times already. I can't stand it when someone does that.
Or as I call it, "every single fucking time I give directions for an assignment in my class."
There are a lot of motivating factors behind over communication. I prefer to assume they don't think I'm stupid and are using it as a method to strengthen the relationship.
But there are certainly a lot of ways to use it in meetings and politically to force a certain viewpoint - and it sometimes works because no one else calls them out on it, and everyone's thinking, "If we don't give in, we're going to be sitting here for hours listening to them re-iterate the exact same thing over and over again..."
Which then leads to people saying "yes" in the meetings just to get away, then doing their own thing anyway.
I hate workplace politics.
https://www.google.com/webhp#q=why do people over communicate
But there are certainly a lot of ways to use it in meetings and politically to force a certain viewpoint - and it sometimes works because no one else calls them out on it, and everyone's thinking, "If we don't give in, we're going to be sitting here for hours listening to them re-iterate the exact same thing over and over again..."
Which then leads to people saying "yes" in the meetings just to get away, then doing their own thing anyway.
I hate workplace politics.
https://www.google.com/webhp#q=why do people over communicate
fade
Staff member
Here's one that bugs the poo out of me: articles on sites like Cracked that start "lies your history textbook told you" and then proceed to tell me these things that my elementary school textbook supposedly left out. But the thing is, half the time I distinctly remember my textbooks telling me a lot of this stuff. Now, the cartoons and kids movies and the like tended to tell the version that the authors attribute to textbooks, but not the books. It's entirely possible these authors are just misremembering, or maybe their teachers toned down the lessons. Here's an example:
http://www.cracked.com/article_19864_6-ridiculous-lies-you-believe-about-founding-america.html
Thing is, I remember my early 80s rural SC history books pointing out quite a bit of this because I actually read them. I remember the engravings of sophisticated Native American cities. I remember them talking at length about the effects of the plagues. Hell, even the friggin' Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Special went into the negative parts of Squanto's history, even though this article acts like it's a revelation.
http://www.cracked.com/article_19864_6-ridiculous-lies-you-believe-about-founding-america.html
Thing is, I remember my early 80s rural SC history books pointing out quite a bit of this because I actually read them. I remember the engravings of sophisticated Native American cities. I remember them talking at length about the effects of the plagues. Hell, even the friggin' Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Special went into the negative parts of Squanto's history, even though this article acts like it's a revelation.
My new boss also loves herself a meeting. We have a daily management meeting that is meant to be 15 minutes but often stretches to 45, a weekly all staff meeting that isn't relevant to my team, a weekly private management meeting just us two, a biweekly program officer meeting, not to be confused with the alternating biweekly program management meeting and then the random because an idea popped into my head and I need you meeting spiced up with frantic all caps emails URGENT CALL me and calls to my cell while I'm driving over lunch or after hours.[DOUBLEPOST=1453411297,1453411247][/DOUBLEPOST]There are days when I have six conference calls all chaired by her.
You definitely deserve a hug for dealing with this mess.
Ah, meetings you say:
I have a Monday morning lab meeting (~1.5-2 hrs)
A Monday afternoon functional genetics meeting (the non-computer science folks) (1-1.5 hrs)
I have a biweekly conference call on Thurs. and Friday (1 hr each)
Then, we have two not-so-mandatory-but-it-looks-good-to-attend seminars every Wednesday and Friday (1 hr each)
I have a Monday morning lab meeting (~1.5-2 hrs)
A Monday afternoon functional genetics meeting (the non-computer science folks) (1-1.5 hrs)
I have a biweekly conference call on Thurs. and Friday (1 hr each)
Then, we have two not-so-mandatory-but-it-looks-good-to-attend seminars every Wednesday and Friday (1 hr each)
I'm so jealous but there's no rating for that.[DOUBLEPOST=1453862330,1453862199][/DOUBLEPOST]Instead of the regular schedule of gratuitous over-meeting, I am traveling alone with my me boss for a week of all day meetings.
I shit you not.
Not until I get home 
Cajungal
Staff member
The dumbass idea that kids should be able to bring birthday dessert for their goddamn HALF birthday. Because boo-hoo, they were born in July. I'm sorry you have a summer birthday, but if we indulged every damn parental whim to bring cupcakes and cut down an already too-short lunch and recess, your kids would never get to play outside. I know you got a birthday party that probably cost more than I make in a month, so get over it. GAH. Long week.
Half birthday??
We never had parties for birthdays in class.
Cajungal
Staff member
YES. Half. Birthdays.[DOUBLEPOST=1453863986,1453863647][/DOUBLEPOST]
Me neither! I don't care so much about occasional birthday treats at lunch, but here's how it makes more work for me:
*I need to email parents of kids with allergies so they send their kid with something they can eat (and we have a lot of allergies).
*Despite countless reminders, parents always open up containers and then look at me and say, "so where are the plates and napkins? Bitch.........then they have to go and find some damn napkins,which means less recess.
*More time eating means less time playing, which means moody, restless,unfocused kids in the afternoon.
*I have been purposely undermined by people who give kids seconds when it's against the rules or roughhouse with their kids and their kids' friends and rIle everyone up.
My parents used to do this with me. It wasn't everyday is your unbirthday, though. It was the day of your birthday, but in a different month. My b-day falls on the 1st of the month. Growing up it was one of those weird things my parents did just to be weird. As an adult I'd get unbirthday cards and phone calls on the 1st of every month (except on my birthday when I'd get actual cards, presents, etc). Once in a while it was nice, but it got out of hand to the point where I had to tell them it was ridiculous.