Dealing with difficult people

Conversation between me and my co-worker after both of us got yelled at by the boss.

CW: You don't really get upset over things. I wish I could be more like you. You're just so calm and collected all of the time.
ME: It's because I'm emotionally dead inside.
CW: ::laughs nervously::: Oh...

Honestly, I credit graduate school with both crushing my soul and simultaneously making me indifferent to difficult people (or most people). It turns out to be a curse much of the time, but a gift in the workplace whenever I seem to need it.

Sorry that's a lame update. In other news, I think I've caught a nasty bug, even after gloating to my doctor recently that I never get sick. Living alone and being sick is the worst. Over the next few days, my apartment will turn into a gross mess, and I will likely lose 10 pounds from not having energy to make myself food. If you don't hear from me, please check in to make sure my cat hasn't eaten me.

I assume she'll invite some friends over.

Teaching is Exhausting

For those of you who don't know (like I have strangers reading this blog anyways), I am teaching a five-week, super accelerated, advanced graduate statistics course. It is brutal. I come home from Saturday after talking for four hours and can't decide if I want to sleep, take a shower, or get wicked drunk. I'd like to do all four, but just can't decide on the order.

Teaching is exhausting and I have a ton of respect for people who do it regularly and do it well. I think the primary reason that my situation is so exhausting is the amount of mental energy and preparation that goes into every week. I can't even prep everything in advance, because I never know how much time I will have to spend on stuff. Today I spent 30 minutes walking them through a hand calculation because they kept asking questions.

The second exhausting factor is that these are grad students. For those of you who have never met a grad student, they are truly insane people. Most of them are super Type A, high strung, and neurotic. Grad students are used to succeeding at things, so when they are faced with a challenging class like this one, they literally lose their shit if things don't make sense the first time you go over something. I just want to shake them and tell them to calm down and trust that it will eventually click.

Or bring a flask to class.

Spoonless Thursday

Sorry to disappoint my loyal readers with my lack of an update. The truth is, things have been crazy busy this week. The class that I am teaching on Saturdays takes A LOT of preparation. Also, going drinking on a Wednesday night hasn't helped my productivity. I should have more material next week, as we have a meeting with a potential client. I'm excited to dress up like a grownup, wearing jeans to work everyday is kind of overrated.

Today I forgot to bring a spoon to eat my yogurt with. I found several metal spoons in a cupboard in the office that looked like they were recovered from an archeological dig. I debated going downstairs to the Starbucks to steal a spoon, but was worried that I would be tempted into buying a giant cookie. Instead, I attempted to drink my yogurt, much to the amusement of my co-worker. Hopefully that was the embarrassment I needed to invest in a box of spoons.Or forks.

Teeth Falling Out

Remember the time I talked about my creepy dream where my teeth are falling out? I watched a movie on Netflix this evening called The Giant Mechanical Man. There was a super creepy scene where Jenna Fischer has the same dream (thanks to the magic of CGI it is very vivid). There is also a philosophical discussion on the meaning of it. I couldn't find the scene online, but the trailer is below if you want to check it out.

Opa!

First off, this particular blog entry is dedicated to my good friend and partner in eating Greek food, Taleen Brady. She is currently living in South Korea, where there is a cruel shortage of Greek food.

Today our boss was out of town, so I was anticipating an epic lunch. One of my co-workers brought her lunch, and the other asked me if I wanted to order Chinese food. I was horrified because I had been looking forward to this particular Thursday. On our office "Summit" calendar, it was clearly marked that today was Greek Islands day at THE SUMMIT. Between the failing Greek economy, and my friend Taleen suffering from Greek food withdrawals, I felt that it was my duty as an American to indulge in some tasty Greek food.

I walked over to the Summit by myself, feeling very Mary Tyler Moore-esq. I even remembered how to get there. Fun fact, because First National is the tallest building in Omaha, if you get lost you can just look up and walk towards the tower. When I got there, the line was literally wrapped around the entire gift shop. It was insane. I probably stood in line for 10-15 minutes. When I got up to the front of the line, they had huge trays of gyro meat, chicken, and salad. And a giant tub of tzatziki sauce. Like a 5 gallon paint bucket of it. Seriously.

I took my food back to the office where I made a total pig out of myself. Katie's is my favorite Greek restaurant in Omaha (feisty feta!), but my Greek Islands takeout gave it a run for its money. Their sauce was amazing, and their Greek potatoes were phenomenal. At Katie's, you get two giant potatoes, but these were adorable little bite-sized potatoes. They must also cook them with big cloves of garlic, because I accidentally ate a clove of garlic because it looked like a potato. It didn't even phase me. Despite an intense food coma afterwards, I will be marking my calendar for whenever Greek day comes up again.

#heaven

More Lunch Adventures!

I embarked on yet another lunch adventure today. I was invited by some friends who work at ConAgra to join them for lunch in their fancy on-campus cafeteria. Let me tell you, it was fancy. But the adventurous part was my decision to walk there.

People in Omaha generally don't walk to places. It's a strange but true fact. At my previous job, I once drove my car to a lunch place that was across the street and maybe half a block down. I'm not proud of this, but it was really hot out and I was wearing uncomfortable shoes. Today, I decided to embrace the downtown Omaha lifestyle and walk to lunch. My lunch destination was about six blocks away, or just under a mile, according to my fancy pedometer. The main downfall was my poor shoe choice. I thought I was being smart by wearing flats, but they still hurt after a while. Next time I will pack some white Reeboks and fanny pack to change into. The second downfall was that it was COLD. My phone told me it was about 30 degrees, which isn't terrible by Nebraska terms, but the wind was a bit brutal at times. I'm pleased to report that I made it there in decent time without getting hit by a car. Even better, one of my friends was leaving early and drove me back to my office. I would have walked, but I probably had stayed too long between lunch and a fun office tour.

Be sure to check back for more lunch adventures. The boss is out of town tomorrow, so who knows what the day might bring...

Do you wash your hands with hot water?

I hope so. Especially if you work in my building. Because that is the only option you have.

 

Seriously. What if I want cold water?