Thanks RAS and Moonlight. I'm excited to see how this new chapter unfolds.
Late last year, the Marketplace broker support moved onto our floor and the difference was immediately evident. They casually visit together, there's a moderate amount of horsing around between three guys who are friends, and nothing gets out of control; nothing explodes, etc. It was an eye opener, to say the least, considering that we have a boss who shuts us down when we visit between cubicles. She has changed a little bit since MP moved here, but initially it was "use your chat!" and she'd give a holler if we talked "over" the cube walls (they were high, but...we were also in a corner of the floor. Even talking over the cubicle walls didn't disrupt anything anyone else was doing.) So, she had us trained that we must be quiet all the time. Then MP arrived with their easy going visiting and some laughter. It made our sad little team look so...sad and little
But then I started noticing something else. All of the signs and sayings that are posted around the team I'm on are work related, and hand made out of freaking craft paper and glued on sequins or stickers. SO sixth grade! "Work Hard and Be Nice" in black block letters with teeny tiny bee stickers on it. "What Bus Are You On?" (what even does that MEAN?) better: "Focus on Your Blue Chips"
??? It took me a while, but I finally figured out that my boss went to a company management training or some such, and heard these motivational sayings and she CUT OUT ALL THE LETTERS and stuck them to POSTER BOARD and LAMINATED THEM and hung them up for our benefit. It's sad, because she clearly put a lot of effort into these. She even made names for our walls, IN GLITTER! shiny! and so so sad.
Then MP arrives. They have two giant stuffed giraffes in one corner, there's a montage of pictures of the team near the manager's door. There is a Mandala dominating one wall, and in the giraffe corner, plaques like you'd put around in your own home "Follow Your Heart" and a list of cheerful "commands" : Wake Up Smiling BREATHE Have Hope Be Strong Laugh Loud ... etc. Right now, it's decorated like a summer beach. It's friendly and homey, and seeing that highlighted how rather dreadful our poor little office decor is. There have been times where walking in the door to see these weird lame sayings and poster board home craft things was the worst part of my job. The giraffes! They are my favorite animal, and the manager who is developing this team also adores giraffes
and she's just...I dunno, jolly. She's a forest person, while my current boss is a tree person, and not even trees, per se, but the detritus lying around on the forest floor at the foot of the trees.
And I do feel SO bad for my boss. She isn't a troll or an evil person, just someone who knows the technical aspects of our job better than anyone I've ever met wit ZERO leadership skills.
Her team is kinda being taken away from her and she looks sad today.
Still going strong with compliance. I did have chocolate over the weekend, and had a couple of Riesen's chocolate toffees that I stole from Wylie.
but otherwise, everything I put in my mouth was unprocessed. Made a batch of split pea spread (not soup) and baked 10# of potatoes for ease of grabbing on the go. I want to do something Ethiopian, a la Well Your World, so I bought berbere spice at the store.
Working out. Oh lordy, I've had a time waking up this morning. I came THIS CLOSE to saying screw it on working out, but then went anyway, and put in 30 minutes on the recumbent. I didn't have it in me to do weights today. And I'm glad I stayed out of the circuit room...that old dude actually stretches ON a machine. Like...stands on a part that is low to the ground and stretches his dang calves. Up, down. Then puts a foot up on the seat and stretches his hamstrings. WTF dude? there's an actual STEP on the floor, you know? with a hand rail for stability. So anyway, the recumbent was good for a moderate cardio today. I don't regret it, but I wasn't into it at all. And I'm still yawning my face off. Wonder what's happening.
My gray jeans that were feeling snug on my butt now fit just fine. Happy about that. The scale is stuck again but whatever. My energy is fantastic and I have stamina. I feel good, I knew that I would!