Quite eccentric and borderline crazy

Traits on the strange

There is a trait I can find so useful and at the same time quite debilitating, beyond seeing, I have a tendency to observe to the point of obsession, my senses are somewhat attuned to a low-spectrum autistic level that I could combine pedantry with facetiousness without thinking of how burdensomely boring or silly it might appear to others.

On the other side of this, I might see things in a particular way, either rightly or wrongly and fail to persuaded of another perspective, which sometimes means I will rather keep my counsel than give an opinion. The worst part of this trait is when I am quick to react to things I should have been slow at deciding on and slow to react to things I should have been quicker to react to.

I embrace this all as part of my humanity, the successes and the regrets whilst trying as much as I can to improve myself.

Noticing the errors in notices

On my visit to Yorkshire two weekends ago, we stopped over in Leeds before spending the night in York, I saw things I could not ignore. I have a penchant for reading notices, plaques, signs, instructions and much else.

Not that I read to find fault, but where there is fault and you will find a lot of that on my blogs because I rarely proofread my drafts before posting and only get to correct errors in grammar and construction much later, but where I find fault, as I was saying, I cannot seem to ignore them.

In the Leeds Corn Exchange, I found the toilets in the basement just as my bladder was indicating it needed emptying. Having done the business and washing my hands, I was drying my hands when I looked up and saw the notice that seemed to start off well. [Wikipedia]

The Oxford comma and after that it all went downhill from there, normally hyphenated words missing the hyphen, American spelling, phonetical spelling, personalisation and number agreement errors. Three sentences on a notice and these many problems?

Assemble on Assembly Street

The Leeds Corn Exchange is a magnificent Victoria building, we were quite taken by the ornate design of the ceiling and obviously, for modern times there are health and safety regulations to adhere to. [LCE Website]

On the landing of the upper floor, having been through some of the shops, not too far from the vintage camera store, there was a Fire Action notice which anyone should take seriously in the event of a fire. Somehow, this notice looked funny and almost like a joke because the assembly point if we were to evacuate the building was Assembly Street.

On first reading, one would really have thought they got it wrong, however, there really is an Assembly Street in Leeds and don’t mess about if you are caught in an emergency just because the designated assembly point looks unusually funny or strange. I also hate to report that stranger things and crimes have happened on that street too. A woman was raped there in June. [Yorkshire Evening Post]

Teasing shower nipples

Now, onto one of the more bizarre traits I have. The bathroom of our not-so-well-appointed room at the Royal York Hotel had what you might call a rainfall showerhead.

A stationary ceiling fixture that apparently rains on you with controls on the wall for flow rate and temperature. However, this also had rubber teats extending from the metal surface that was supposed to distribute the rain shower evenly.

Yet, as with many shower heads with rubber teats, I cannot help but look at the flow and in that identify which teats are not working or distributing water out of alignment with the general flow because of blockages, usually limescale.

Then I pinch those shower head teats which seems to free them of blockages until all the teats were working. I somehow cannot stand the sight of the water flowing out of the teat out of alignment without doing something to fix it.

You can call that finicky or pernickety, but I end up with a good rain shower and it also shows that no matter who well things seem to be cleaned up, some things are just not up the standard expected. In this case, the showerhead, and to someone with my kind of fixation, well …

Dusting off my marketing literature

Never changing recurrence

Did I attend a meeting twice and find that one of the people who should have done something came to the meeting without having progressed any further?

It was the very last straw that broke the laden camel’s back, as I returned from Stockholm on Wednesday evening, it had come to a head for me, it was already reminiscent of every other endeavour we have tried to undertake – someone just cannot be arsed to do something.

At which point, I phoned my project manager and informed him that an email would be arriving the same night with the decision to seek other challenges.

Anyone would have seen this coming, the question would have been when; only that some had thought I had settled into a complacency that allows for these things to be ignored or treated as par for the course – they know different now.

Done or almost done

I would clear my desk at the end of November if no one has been hired to understudy me and take over what I am doing, else, I would consider suffering this ordeal till the end of the year.

Maybe, I am too demanding in my requirements that people deliver on what they are supposed to do, probably, I apply too much logic to scenarios requiring immediate resolution, apparently, I am impatient with organisations that are so clogged up in bureaucratic morass, we cannot get anything done.

This would normally not be evident because large organisations are able to cover a multitude of sins because their sales figures allow for other management deficiencies to be excused.

In any event, this job no more represents a challenge and more a running frustration; it would require a root-and-branch realignment of perspectives to change things, however, since I am just a contractor/consultant, my kind of professionalism might be creating business disruption in what is essentially the corporate culture of this organisation – it is time for me to move on.

This might momentarily leave my team in a bit of a quandary, but I hear from certain sources that a fresh-from-school guy might be hired in my place – and really, you can get anyone to do the job; but getting someone who really knows what to do, why it is done and how to fit it in that organisation requires experience – that is what I am selling to anyone who wants real solutions to chronic problems in the enterprise.

Demanding Courtesy

Escalate this!

After the utterly spiteful mail I received from my boss on Tuesday, I had gotten to a point where I would not stand for any of it any more.

There has to be someone in the company to whom I could appeal to redress this situation and make it right, just and good. The idea that occurred to me was to forward it to both the CIO and HR Director, but on the insightful advise of a colleague I included the CEO in the circulation.

Do not get me wrong, all I wanted was for someone to attend to it and create a situation where I could leave the company in the best of spirits, having not burnt any of my bridges. Copying in the CEO was for the effect of having him wonder why he mailbox received this nonsense and have the other parties sort it out forthwith.

I sent the email under the title of Managerial Conduct on Wednesday evening and even copied in my boss, lest he be surprised at what I was stirring up.

By Thursday, afternoon, I was invited for a meeting with the HR Director and CIO. Not knowing what slant it would take, I asked if I could bring a colleague. The meeting arranger paused and then returned later to suggest that the meeting was going to be friendly and completely non-confrontational.

So, giving the benefit of doubt, I had my friend on standby but attended the meeting alone with some biscuits for coffee.

The meeting was pleasant, heart-warming and very positive, apart from condemning the lack of courtesy on the part of my manager, they offered to let me go immediately if I so wished. I however, decided I needed to finish a few tasks before leaving and so set the date for my last working act for the next Tuesday - 3 working days away.

I also asked that the CIO arrange a meeting with my boss to ensure that we met and parted on very amicable terms and that happened this afternoon.

Face-saving addict

As usual, in the persistent, interminable and obsessive face-saving nature of my boss, he consulted with one of my close colleagues, suggesting he allowed the CIO and HR Director to meet with me without him being present. It speaks volumes; as if I would have agreed to attend if he was to make a showing.

The CIO and HR Director had already said they would overrule him with regards to whatever redress I wanted, he either reports to them or the meeting and assurances were a farce. Sometimes the effrontery of the man blows me away.

He also suggested that my need for recognition was excessive, considering there are many more who have done a lot more and have received no acknowledgement or recognition. My point exactly, what is wrong in expressing gratitude to help increase productivity, goodwill and effectiveness at work?

Anyways, I am of the view that I would be well regarded when I leave and apart from referring to my boss, my activities are in a better light with everyone else but probably him.

The Letter what done it

Dear Lady/Gentlemen,

After much reflection, I am compelled to highlight what I regard a gross injustice in relation to my tenure of service at this company which runs to over 2 years.

I illustrate in some detail three particular grievances

1. The way my resignation was handed and how I am being treated by my manager
2. The inability of HR to mediate and adjudicate in conflict resolution
3. The laissez-faire attitude to what could have been a better handled exit and handover process

I decided to seek other career opportunities immediately after a meeting with my manager Mr Boss which included 3 other attendees to defend my implementation of SMS in the Enterprise following standard Microsoft guidelines and 8 years of experience providing this service to conglomerates.

That meeting which was chaired by Mr Boss was a display of the most unacceptable and untenable use of language, innuendo and threats, none of which I have ever encountered on over 16 years of employment.

The way we were treated disrespectfully, shabbily and without integrity was legendary, it was the very last straw in a litany of events that forced a decision to leave.

When I handed in my notice of resignation, it was received with disdain and no acknowledgement of whatever I might have done in service to this company, even though I do have 2 performance review statements that commend my service, loyalty and professionalism.

In working out what is effectively going to be 7 weeks notice, I appealed to the good nature and reason of Mr Boss and well as the record of my service to allow either an early release or a 4-day week of 40 hours to no avail.

This was complicated by the fact that HR was unable to offer any mediation or conflict resolution. The medical opinion of my doctor was that this was creating a stress level impacting negatively on my health and ability to work, but I returned to work anyhow to complete my assignments as best as I could.

I am seriously concerned that nothing was being done to ensure that my activities and responsibilities are effectively handed over to some other personnel.

I suppose there is a difference of opinion between my colleagues who think my leaving would create a vacuum and my manager who by inference contends that my presence or absence is of no significance.

This is just an opinion, but I believe I deserve better than this petty attitude and use of reckless communication.

Whilst I am not under the illusion that anything would be done to redress this matter with a person so high in the management structure of the establishment, I am putting this on record as the view that the company represents of my service until refuted by a competent authority.

I have also attached for your perusal all email exchanges with Mr Boss, starting with my Letter of Resignation of the 10^th of June 2004.

Thank you for your forbearance and time.

Yours sincerely,

That did it and did it well, I feel vindicated and everyone else who can see through this whole charade knows that it is best not to stand for discourtesy, no matter how high up the cadre the person is or how old-fashioned it seems.