Things for which college does not prepare you

Sometimes you run into situations for which no amount of education prepares you. A couple weeks ago I was working with a customer. She was seated, and I was standing behind her helping her navigate a website. I looked down, and something about her hair looked funny. After a few moments, I finally figured out what was going on- her weave was coming out! Oh my. I wasn't sure what to do. If I noticed it, someone doing an interview would as well. I didn't know what the etiquette was for an instance  such as this. After my customer left, I did what I always do in such a situation- I requested a consult. I e-mailed a former coworker for advice. Here is her response:

I’m not sure how you can casually mention, “your weave is coming out”. I guess it would depend on the person and their “attitude”.

Personally, I would want to know, but some “chicks” may not appreciate it. I guess if you feel that she would be receptive and NOT offended, then yes, please mention it as tactfully as possible.

That was my thought process as well, but it was nice to have independent confirmation of my idea. As I told someone, there are some things that college doesn't teach you.

How my mind works

When I got home from work on Friday, this was sitting on my front steps.

What most people would think
1. Wow, those are so pretty.
2. I wonder what sweet person sent them to me?

How my mind works
1. Those things are hideous.
- I hate the color pink
2. Great. What kind of stalker do I have?

The flowers had no card, so I still have no idea from whence they came. I thought maybe I could stand to have them in my house, but I couldn't. I gave them to my Mormon missionary neighbors who were thrilled to rehome them. Three different people to whom I've told this story have said the same thing "This person obviously doesn't know you very well." My hatred for pink is well known. One person even told me she was thinking the stalker thing before I mentioned that part. Great mind think alike. ;)

I get why Twitter millionaire cut momma off

Last week a customer came in the office looking for work. We discussed her job history and future goals. It was determined that due to the medical restrictions she has, a partner organization with whom we work would be the best place for her to seek services. She mentioned during the course of our conversation that she had been unemployed for several months after leaving her last job due to medical reasons. She said her son had been sending her money each month, but he told her that after August he would not be doing so any more.

As she was leaving my workspace, she said her son lives in California and works at Twitter. After Twitter stock went public, he is now a millionaire. She said her friends and family have been saying things like "if I were a millionaire I'd take care of my mom", etc. Obviously she's been telling all her friends and family her business. I have a different take. I understand exactly why he cut her off. She is capable of working, but she wasn't looking as long as he supported her. Now that he's stopped, she's earnestly seeking employment. Funny how that works. Suze Orman always says that you have to examine whether your generosity is benefiting someone in the long term. As she succinctly puts it "Are you helping or are you hurting?" 

How to make your boss's head explode

Monday I was talking to the Executive Director of the building in which my employer is housed. He had "that look". It means his head is about to explode. When he told me the story, I understood. I think you will too.

On Monday he asked one of his employees where she was Friday afternoon. No one had been able to find her. Her response: "I've asked for a raise, and you didn't give me one. Daycare is expensive. I'm now working 9-3." Yep, that's what she told him. She has, on her own, reduced her hours by 1/4 while drawing the same pay. It's a sweet gig if you can make it work. However, I don't think it's going to work for her. I'll give her this- that took some guts (and stupidity).

Lies people tell

I have come to the conclusion that lies are epidemic in our society. I also think that people don't understand that they aren't fooling people as much as they think they are. Two work examples from last week.

Example 1
My organization is having a steps challenge this month. They have a website where you can enter your steps each day. We got an e-mail stating that as many as 9 million steps had been recorded by one person. The e-mail went on to say that it would have required averaging 187 steps/hour for 24 hours/day to achieve this. Oopsie. The e-mail requested everyone to review their numbers and stated that anyone whose numbers that were not possible would be removed from the competition.

Example 2
My coworker was meeting with an unemployed customer who had been assigned to work with her in order to continue receiving unemployment. The customer told my coworker several lies during the short meeting, but the most whopping was this one. She said it cost her $25 in gas to get to the meeting. This person lives near where I live, or about 11 miles from the office. I immediately divided this dollar amount by the price of gas/gallon, then utilized this data to calculate what mpg she would have been getting had this been true. The answer? 1.8 miles per gallon. Um, no. She stated she was driving her husband's truck. I know that large pick ups are gas hogs, getting as little as 10-12 mpg. Even at that, it would have been 1 gallon to get to our office, or around $3.70. Math, my friend and the enemy of liars.