Cremes » Life

House Warming

Meags — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 18:56:34 +0000

So we’re settled into the new house! We still have boxes to unpack but we are getting closer to being completely settled in every day. Of course, we’ve been living here for the past month or more, and we still have junk to do, but that is mostly because with Christmas and everything we’ve been busy doing other things. Tomorrow is the day that I’ve decided to take all of the Christmas decorations down, so that’s what I’ll be doing once I get home from my volunteer stint at the Sagemont Library.

Mom came and went; we dropped her off at the airport this morning. It was really nice to have her here, we spent a lot of time just relaxing, talking over a cup of coffee and hanging out. Of course, we did our fair share of shopping too. This means I’m done shopping for the next few months! Christmas was great too, we had the family over for Christmas morning (more like noon, but you know…) and then we had dinner with the extended family that evening. Between work, Christmas functions and New Year’s Eve parties, I’m bushed. I’m actually quite looking forward to getting back to the regular routine of things. Classes don’t start up for me until Jan 20th, so I’ve got another 2 weeks to relax in between shifts at the bookstore.

Well, it’s a new year and you know what that means. Resolutions! To sum up last year, I did not lose 10 pounds but I did read a lot of books. I’m going to keep track of what books I read this year too, but I’m not doing my monthly updates anymore. You can keep track of my progress on my 2009 Books page (located on the sidebar). So that means I needed a new resolution. I think last year I was too ambitious. This year, I’m reading through the Bible in one year. I picked up a One Year Bible from work (yay employee discount!) and I’m trying to get into it every single day. It’s only 5 days in and I’ve already missed one day, but I did go to church that day so that counts for something, right? I’m blogging about the process, so if you are more interested in reading about my bible reading, lemme know and I’ll forward you the URL. The goal was to blog every single day, but considering how slack I am updating this one, you can imagine how the other is faring (re: not well). I think now that I’m getting back into my routine, though, I might be able to turn it around.

Anyways, I hope everyone had a great New Year! If there are any resolutions out there, let me know in the comments so I can pray for and encourage you.

Plan To Say Farewell in 2080!

Meags — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 21:48:36 +0000

I just took this quiz thing on The Living to 100 website, and apparently I’ll go when I’m 97 as long as my lifestyle persists. You answer 40 questions on your lifestyle, genetics, and medical history. The neat part is that you can ask for feedback on what would add longevity to your life. Things they recommended for me was better stress management, working fewer hours (amen to that), cutting out coffee (gasp!), taking aspirin once a day, flossing more, exercising more, and getting my blood sugar, blood pressure, and regular check-ups regularly. So, I can definitely work towards some of those things. But nixing the coffee? Forget it!

Source: Better Homes and Gardens, August 2008, p. 170

Where Have I Been?

Meags — Thu, 29 May 2008 14:26:43 +0000

I don’t even know where to begin answering that question. I’ve had the best intentions, but it seems that every time I get on track with something, an illness of some sort hits me full force. I’m still dealing with a UTI from several weeks back, and between specialists appointments, my demanding reading schedule, work, and the rest of life, it’s been near impossible to sit down and research a blog post. I have more ideas than time to write them all in. Of course, I could have taken the time I used to play Mario Kart Wii to whip up some prose, but we all need a break once in awhile. I’ve been dying to quit the full-time employment scene but it feels like I’m continually being met with resistance. I’ve even fantasized about being fired, although I can’t think of any grounds for that. Maybe all my absences, but unfortunately most doctors’ offices aren’t open after 5pm on Friday. Anyways, I hope to have something for you all in a few weeks, and maybe write several posts to be waiting in the wings so there aren’t too many more long absences from this blog!

Dealing With Difficult Personalities

Meags — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 03:51:40 +0000

I attended a short (mandatory) training session through my work this past week. I envisioned an hour of being talked at about how we needed to answer the phone kindly, never show emotion to co-workers, and basically how to be a robot in the office. I was pleasantly surprised by the informality of the session and the tips and strategies we talked about. First and foremost, the speaker said what most of us were thinking: dealing with clients is usually not that bad – it’s our coworkers that we have the worst time dealing with. We briefly touched on why that is, but we didn’t really get into it.

(I think it’s a tough nut to crack, personally. I mean, you are shoving together a bunch of people that have different personalities, strengths, and weaknesses, and expect them to row together like the Princeton crew. Unfortunately, this never happens. You have your odd team that works well together and can bounce off each other in a creative and productive way, but more often than not most people work together, teeth clenched and lips tightly drawn, just trying to make it until 5pm so you can all get the hell out of there and spend the rest of your time with people who don’t make you constantly roll your eyes.)

One of the more interesting parts of the session was about “personality types” described by cutesy characters with names like Eager Eddie and Negative Nancy. We went through each of eight types, described them, and then talked about how they hindered office productivity and then discussed strategies to deal with these types. This was all great, but every time she asked us to consider people we worked with that fell under these categories (“Do you work with a Negative Nancy? No names please!”), I was unable to think of a person that fit into these archetypes. Not that I work with the least difficult people in the world, but the problem was that these types were much too simplified to be used in an office setting, or any setting for that matter. I could pick negative aspects of each type in myself, but none that were universally, unquestionably me. There’s a Barracuda Barbara (or Bob) in all of us, I think. Which is sort of why these training sessions, while interesting and informative, are not helpful. Because not only is it hard to figure out which personality type your coworker is at any given moment, it’s hard to distinguish which one I am. How can I be more effective and personable in the office if I can’t figure out how to deal with myself?

The truth of the matter is that human beings are much too complex to be simplified by assuming that one poor trait overshadows all their other qualities. I found most of the “difficult personality types” in my own behavior, depending on my mood, current circumstances, or base personality. I may be more likely to act in certain ways than others, but I found it impossible to pick one type that could describe me in most instances. And I’m much too honest to consider that maybe I’m one of lucky ones – not difficult in any way! That would be a complete lie. I know that I have a strong personality which can turn people off in certain circumstances. I’ve been told as much. (Interestingly enough, at no point in the presentation did she ask us to assess ourselves in terms of these personality types.)

So what can we learn about dealing with difficult personalities? Well, nothing. I learned how to deal with hypothetical personality archetypes, which will come in handy when robots roam the earth, so there’s that. I think the most important thing to take away from all of it is to look at how to deal with people in general, not just the difficult ones (or those who are frequently difficult). Use compassion and patience, and try not to lose your cool under all circumstances. There are a lot of books and seminars out there about acting professionally but when you look around it’s easy to see that most of it isn’t really sinking in. We concentrate on how to bend people to our will instead of looking inward and seeing what’s wrong inside ourselves. It’s time to take a step back and instead of learning how to deal with difficult people, we should deal with our own shortcomings and watch as the good behavior spreads.