TGIF

well, it paid off to have a mother who's a family therapist. i learned a lot and it comes quite naturally...not that i welcome it.

Actually, Chai, I think you were very tolerant. A lot of people would've given her an annoyed look, or let her know, in no uncertain terms, that she was bugging the hell out of them.

But you managed to communicate that what she was doing wasn't cool -- simply by not responding to her -- instead of saying something that might've hurt her feelings or embarrassed her.

Hopefully, as she walked away from your office, she had a moment of realization, such as "hmm.....maybe what I just did really wasn't so hilarious." We can only hope.



OMG! That's just so, so wrong!

yeah, and osso called it "tissue nose" so I guess it's common enough to get a name.



lol

Never in my life have I met someone who replaces silence with banalities with more enthusiasm than Mr. Noddy's Home Health Aid.

I like silence. When Mr. Noddy has his bath, I'm perfectly happy sitting in another room, following my own thoughts.

Edwina wants to include me. She shouts down the hall, encouraging me to participate in the "conversation".

She and Mr. Noddy enjoy swapping observations about the perfidity of the universe and the folly of those who inhabit the universe.

I don't.

Wonderful that Medicare is paying to keep Mr. Noddy clean and sweet smelling, but there is no such thing as a free lunch.

Once again Edwina asked me, "Have you really read all these books?"

She's been coming for three weeks. At least twice a week she asks, "Have you really read all these books?"

The Mind Boggles.

lol. Poor Noddy. I can picture that so vividly!

When is Friday?! I got one word...Trainee.

brrr.

oh god.....

back during our remodeling, there was always this crew of stooges wandering around the house, 7 days a week. I felt like I couldn't even relax in my own home, so I stayed out as much as possible.

When I had nowhere to go, I would bury my nose in a book, trying to block the entire horrible state of affairs from my mind.

One guy, Trey, apparantly had an observation bottled up inside him for quite some time. He finally approached me with this look of distaste on his face and said "You're always READING!"

My home was no longer my own, I couldn't even read without someone's objection.

MP, Chai--

Thanks for the sympathy.

Today was "E's" last visit. I was grilling two packs of kosher hot dogs and she announced, "That's a lot of hot dogs." I smiled and said that I would freeze most of them for later--the microwave does very nicely with reheating charcoaled food.

"E" explained that as a woman alone, she couldn't buy pack of hot dogs unless she wanted to eat hot dogs for a week.

I smiled and smiled and smiled because this was her last day. We did not discuss my reading habits.

Once upon a time I had a feckless handyman who confided that he'd never before met a person who actually read for pleasure. He also marveled that some books were two and three and four volumes long. He learned a lot at my house.

Wooo Weee…. Here it is another Friday, and time for another vent.

This time, I'm intensely focused on something, literally unaware of my surroundings, until…….

In comes the boss lady, stands in my doorway, and says "yes m'am?" Then stares at me for an answer. I hadn't said a word to anyone for the last 45 minutes to an hour.

Caught me off guard, and completely derailed my train of thought. The thing is, she just as well could have come in and launched into something that did required my attention, and shifting gears. She never picked up the skill/habit of saying to anyone, "let me ask you something….or….hey, take a look at this when you have a second" . With her, it's leap right into the middle of a conversation, with no background, so not only do you have to keep up with her, but simultaneously figure out what the subject is.

This time, since my concentration was shattered, I said "Why do you do that?"
Her: Do what? She was serious.

Why do you stand there and say things like "What?", when I haven't said anything, and I don't know what you're talking about? Honestly, I have no idea how to respond to you when you do that."

Her: (her usual response) Oh, I'm just messing with ya…

Me: Well, to be frank, it's very annoying, and I really don't know what I'm supposed to do with it."

The fact of the matter is, the woman just cannot f*cking shut up. She can't stand silence, and even if people are talking, she thinks nothing of conducting a running commentary while others are speaking.

On a conference call yesterday, she had the phone on mute, and mumbled and nattered away, checking emails, commenting on them, pulling out her cell phone, starting to make a call, then realizing she was already on a call, etc. I'm trying to listen to the project manager, and kept trying to indicate to her by putting my hand up, that I was trying to listen….he asks me a question, and she starts talking to me in the middle of it. I say "I'm sorry Ed, I didn't catch what you said", he repeats, and at the same point in his question, she talks to me again. I said "Ed, sorry, which clinic were you talking about?" He starts to talk, and so does she….finally I lean over, put the phone back on Mute and say…"Edna, I really can't hear what he's saying when you're talking. Please!!" She gave me this really puzzled look, but finally shut her pie hole for about….oh, 3 minutes.

So.

How has has your week been?

Give her a Blackberry. It's great at occupying those folks that have to be busy at all times.

Does Edna have a boss?

Today the whole of 400-something kids at my school decided to be slightly insane. Maybe it was because of the rain.

I just took a three-hour nap. Now I can handle the weekend......

oh please....how do you think we communicate when she's not in the office?

This woman is so wired up, in the techy sense, you might mistake her for an android.

She's one of those that has to have whatever latest gizmo that comes out.



JPB, oh sure she's got a boss. But, this isn't something I'd take to him, really. I've known Edna for 10 years now, this is her personality, at work, home, play....in her sleep.

Over the years, we've had a number of sitdowns. Fortunately, there's practically nothing I can't say to her. But, if Jesus Christ himself (she's a fundamentalist Baptist, so this would be a big deal) came down and said, "Edna, you must stop your incessant commentary and leave-ith thy neighbor to enjoy their day" She couldn't go more than a week. I've seen her repent and slip back a dozen times.

Like I said, she's gone a lot, I like my job, and have recently been given a new area of responsibily, which I'm really jazzed up about...something right up my alley.

Sometimes, when she's around more than usual, I just have to blow off some steam.

oh...sorry....

DrewDad...all the gizmos she's constantly fiddling with are actually part of the problem.

Even without them, she's a bit of a, how should I put this, a bit of an idiot when it comes to dealing with people. She'll read this instant management books, how to deal with difficult people ****, and she thinks she's got it down.

She generally puts the needs of the buzzing, blinking equipment over a human being sitting 2 feet from her, as far as giving the priority with communication....I don't know how she was raised, but, she see's no problem with that....in a word, she's what people from the rest of the world call an ugly American.

As brazen I can be here, IRL I know how to observe and respect that we are all different, and love the oppourtunity to learn about different cultures and celebrate the web of life.....seriously.

She thinks everyone in the world is just like her, and acts accordingly.

Chai, I will come up with an inspirational Bible verse, just for you... :wink:

RH

(cue Debby Boone music)

and them religious mood candles

You.....light up my life Rockhead.



Oh lord in heaven, don't get me started on her religious beliefs.

Please make sure it's something about the jawbone of an ass.

PS The Map is kinda similar but will occasionally put down the B'berry, plus the Map is not a fundy (hard to find 'em around here anyway).

Coyote Women are meeting tonight in the Dark of the Moon. I'm howling with joy: The Visiting Nurses have discharged Mr. Noddy and Edwina will have to comment on someone else's library.

I'm in; I gotta complain to the moon about lunar stuff.

Artemis was created liberated, but she was assigned the moon fairly late in her career and the trickle-down effect hasn't reached Everywoman's ovaries yet.