My mother, a HUGE Jay-Z fan, was the one who had to break down the meaning of Jay-Z's song "I've got 99 problems, but a bitch ain't one" because the first time I heard it, I just didn't get it! But today after a meeting between my Supv, her Supv, and a rep from HR, I was BLASTING this song from my car as I left from work today! Only it was the plural form!!!
Now let's not get it twisted, I had the week from pure hell this week at work, but I LOVE reminding myself that people make a BIG mistake when they underestimate how well I play the "game", especially at work!! So the casualty this week was Devil tech, and an I'll advised tag team effort between Devil Tech and the Tech otherwise know as the one less with personality than an eggplant, LOL!!! Yeah tag team, WWF style!!! Apparently I'm rude and dictatorial, to which my response was and I borrow a line from Tom Hanks, "There is NO CRYING in science, LOL""!! Now I'll be the FIRST to say it, I'm tough to work for, but that very often depends on how lazy, triflin', and full of shit you are. And the fact that I was raised by a Marine and I recently worked on a military base, probably has contributed to my "dictatorial" style. But I get the job done as evidenced by the feedback I'm getting from PI's that I've work with. I can also admit that when you're used to working around superstars/wannabe super stars, it's a difficult adjustment to work with a devil who's ONLY interested in a paycheck and an eggplant.
Personally, I think it's the touchy feely world we live in today that's the problem. People want a pat on the back when they screw up which is so NOT me. Having been a teacher though, I do understand that positive enforcement is key. So in the spirit of let's see if what was reported to HR about me is true, I had lunch with 2 people who used to work under me who when I got done telling some of the story, probably wanted to salute me Hitler style when I finished, LOL!! (and to all my Jewish readers, I have Jewish ancestors/relatives too, so chill out on getting offended by my reference to Hitler). OTOH, I think I LOT of things are about intention and motive and since I had recently strongly recommended the Eggplant get put on a paper in addition to supporting and providing training for her to be promoted, I was quite frankly hurt and felt very betrayed by her. But I was never once surprised and know that one day sooner than later, she's gonna regret putting a knife in the back of someone who ultimately was trying to help. And by regret, I mean she'll learn real fast that not many people are gonna give a flyin' phuck if she gets a promotion and/or credit for her work because Science is real cut throat like that!
So given how bad things were at one point this week, I know it wasn't ironic that a VERY high ranking government employed mentor of mine informed me by email today that a position doing my exact same job is open at HIS agency. Can you say, fill out that damn app ASAP??? Not so fast........I need to really think this over because the position is so high ranking and pays well over 6 figures. Of course, I'd like more money, but not the distractions of very high pay. I also think fine tuning my management style in my current position would be good for me. More than that, my current gig does a very good job of reminding me that there's so much more I could do in my life where Pathology is concerned and for that reminder, I'm beyond thankful!!!
Hello Path,
ReplyDeleteI once had a student calling me the "Soup Nazi". I thought she was hilarious until I found out she was jewish... I have yet to post that story.
I have a question. Did the Eggplant know you were recommending her for authorship/publication credit and further training before she complained to HR? And what was the Devil technician saying?
Hey Mi,
ReplyDeleteRight after I recommended Eggplant have her name added to the PI's paper, I immediately told her. HR was unaware of me training her further, but both my Supv and her Supv were aware. I've just always been the mentoring type in my leadership jobs (especially toward women), but now I see I should get to know folks real well first (especially the women) BEFORE doing something like that again in the future. And trust me I'll never, ever make that mistake again. Devil tech said a ton more stuff I choose not to publish publicly (she's a HUGE liar), but for brevity's sake just say it boils down to 2 things: She's still pissed they didn't hire her in the position I have and two she doesn't come from a "culturally open" background.
As for a Jewish student calling you "soup Nazi" that sounds racists to me and I likely would have responded with something equally as crass. You know this thing about "challenging" your superiors is quite new to me especially in the sciences and to be quite honest, I'm still trying to formulate an adequate response that both nips the behavior in the bud but more importantly, keeps the stupidity in check moving forward. And I'll be sure to let you when, if ever, I achieve that goal, LOL!!!!