Author: Angie World

Wow, could not have said this better:

12 Things We’d Tell Our Bosses if We Could
Buzz up! 805 Print
Karen Burns, On Wednesday June 16, 2010, 10:47 am EDT
As employees, we are told to be diligent, to follow through, to be “self-starters,” to have a good attitude, to be flexible and patient and dependable and loyal and respectful. We’re told there is no “I” in “team.” We’re told, “You should just be grateful you have a job.” But surely bosses have obligations to us just as we do to them. And surely one of the biggest of those obligations is to seek out their employees’ point of view.

Of course, not all employees feel free to say what they’re actually thinking. You know who you are! That’s why in today’s column, the employees of the world get to speak up. What would you say to your boss if you could say absolutely anything at all? This is your chance, people.

Here are a dozen to get you warmed up:

1. “Give me the tools I need to do a good job.” If you’re unsure, ask me. But, basically, time, materials, information, maybe even a little authority–these are what I need to succeed.

2. “Admit it when you make a mistake.” It shows you’re not afraid and is the best way to earn my respect. Whatever you do, don’t act as if you never make mistakes. That’s just ridiculous.

3. “Don’t treat me like a cog on a wheel.” I’m an individual. If I screw up, tell me. If someone else in my group screws up, tell him. Don’t blame the whole team.

4. “Ask for my opinion from time to time.” I might be able to offer some good ideas if you listened to me even half as much as you expect me to listen to you.

5. “I truly need frequent feedback.” Please don’t wait till the year-end performance review. I can do a better job for you if you let me know what I’m doing wrong, and what I’m doing right, on a regular basis.

6. “Don’t leave me hanging out to dry.” When things go south I need you to be a leader and back me up. If you are not loyal to me, it is impossible for me to be loyal to you.

7. “I can’t hear you when you shout.” Maybe someone once told you intimidation is a good management tool. But seriously, yelling at employees just makes you look weak and ineffectual.

8. “Don’t make me work with idiots.” I realize it’s not easy but if there’s a problem person in the group it’s your job to resolve the situation. Don’t let it drag on and on. It poisons the whole workplace.

9. “Have a clear agenda.” If you don’t know what you want, how do you expect me to? I need you to understand your own goals, and communicate them to me clearly.

10. “Don’t lie about deadlines.” There is no better way to lose the trust of your people than to set “fake” deadlines. Trust me enough to be honest with me and I’ll do a good job for you.

11. “Be predictable.” If you behave erratically I will spend more time and energy worrying about what you’re going to do next than working.

12. “Mentor me.” Ask me my goals. Give me projects that help me develop and grow. I will do a fabulous job for you if you take an interest in me and my career. And that’s a win-win.

Karen Burns is the author of the illustrated career advice book The Amazing Adventures of Working Girl: Real-Life Career Advice You Can Actually Use, recently released by Running Press. She blogs at http://www.karenburnsworkinggirl.com.

Trust, a small word with huge connotations, trust is something I give freely, yes, even after all the things I have been through in my life I still trust. This past weekend I allowed, and there is that word again, someone to enter my head and that caused me to behave like a crazy person, and not in a good way.
I am going to say this right here, right now, I don’t care who is on your friend list, and I don’t ever want your password to your email, facebook, or myspace pages. I have no desire to go through your wallet, no urge to look through your text messages. I trust you so completely it is not even funny. So having said that I promise to never, ever, allow outside influences into my head ever again, and no these are not my wedding vows. But they should be….
I don’t know what was wrong with me this weekend, was mercury in retrograde? Something was up, I don’t know what it was, but I am all better now. Lately I have been vulnerable to outside influences, I have allowed people to influence the way I feel, not just in this instance, but others as well. So, I am going to drink more coffee as I know the caffeine will protect me from, well, everything, oh and Flintstones vitamins. Those protect me as well.
Ok, done with that episode in my life. I want to thank my friend at work for trading days with me next week so I can watch Tessa while Jeffrey is having a procedure done to his back. Prayers much appreciated that this works, because if it doesn’t he will have to have surgery.
Short entry today, a lot said using few words.

What a cram packed, for the most part fun-filled weekend. It started Friday after work; first, off to Dr’s office to get prescription for Elizabeth, then, pharmacy to get it filled and pick up Alex’s prescriptions. Then it was off to Alex’s work to drop off his medicines then to Macy’s to pick up an on-sale item. Finally after over two hours of driving in the horrible heat, I make it home.
Friday night my upstairs neighbor decides to party down, first it is just the music so loud and bass on so hard the apartment is vibrating. I take two Tylenol p.m.’s to help me sleep. I wake at 4:30 a.m. to loud people, people who are so drunk they are fighting; someone called the police to break up the party.
Elizabeth came over Saturday, so I got to update her laptop and visit with her, plus we ordered Freddy’s birthday present. He wanted the new iphone 4; it will be delivered in July that is how backordered they are.
Next was grocery shopping with Alex, he has been so sick lately, he has lost so much weight. His throat is very sore, so we got soft food that was high in protein and vitamins, also bought protein powder so he could make protein shakes. He said he felt better yesterday, still sick, but finally on the mend. I hate when they are sick, and when they no longer live with me, I cannot check on him every 5 minutes!
Sunday was spent with fiancé and his girls, we went to the Dallas World Aquarium and then bought ice cream from a street vendor, it was very urban! It was a great day, the girls were so much fun and we had a lot of fun hanging out. I know you are wondering where his son was, well he is on an adventure, he took a road trip with his Aunt out to San Francisco, stopping at every tourist site on the way there. I know he is having a ball and it is a trip he will remember all of his life. I know you are also wondering why the girls did not go, well they had their own road trip last week, they flew to San Francisco and drove back with their Aunt, once again stopping at every tourist site along the way. I have to admit I am jealous! It is a trip I would love to take.
Well it is Monday morning, I am exhausted, but it is a good exhaustion. I hope everyone’s week starts out with total greatness!

Today is Father’s Day so of course it makes me think of my own Dad. He is gone now, he let this plane of existence in 1993, however, he continues to be a huge influence in my life.
My Dad was a strong man, both physically and emotionally, he was not loud or boisterous, but rather jovial and wise at the same time. He loved to argue, not fight mind you, but debate. Pick a topic, pick a side and go for it. My Mom hated that, I think she as secretly happy he found a debate partner in me, although if we got to the point where she could not take, she let us know her displeasure in our behavior!
My Dad lived by a strict set of rules, do unto others as you would have them do unto you, treat animosity with kindness and never do intentional harm to anyone. Live your life as if Jesus was standing next to you. It is a hard act to follow, for anyone, he and my Grandfather were cut out of the same cloth, and I have yet to meet any man who can equate to them.
My dad loved the land, he loved farming and hunting, I remember the one time I went hunting with him and it was disastrous. He also had a love of books, and learning, my Dad would read anything he could get his hands on. He and I had that in common as well.
I miss my Dad, it is that simple, I miss his wisdom, I miss his sense of humor, his sense of fun, I miss being able to go to him for advice.
So, Dad, I hope you have a wonderful day in heaven, tell Mom I said hi and go argue with someone for me, remember you have to keep your skills sharp for when you and I can debate together again!

I would like to share with everyone out there how I learned the art of patience. It was in Owasso, Oklahoma, on Main Street. Main Street is 4 lanes, two on each side, very wide for a small town main street. I know you are wondering how I learned patience there.
Well, there were a couple of retirement homes back then in Owasso, also, there were just a lot of old people. They loved that four lane street, you see they all had huge metal cars and they drove then down Main Street and took up two lanes. You couldn’t pass them, as you could not go into oncoming traffic and well if you decided to take the chance, the sheriff’s office was right there on Main Street. Did I mention that all of the older people in Owasso at that time drove 10 miles an hour down Main Street? If you got behind one you would be there for however long it took to drive the length of the entire town.
So you see that is where I learned patience, there are some things you can control, some you cannot. You cannot control old people in cars, you can control whether or not you are smart enough to take a detour around them.
Just some food for thought.

I have decided to become an Advice Columnist… Please send your letters to rachelgreen196@yahoo.com

There is a woman I work with that actually starts work before I do. When I get to work she and I talk about old television shows. And I mean old, we are talking 1970’s and some were even from the 1960’s. I am going to name a few and please tell me if you remember them:
High Chaparral, Gunsmoke, Starsky and Hutch, The Love Boat, Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters, Barretta, Have Gun Will Travel. These are just a few to get you started. I remember so many of the older shows that I loved, I Love Lucy, OMG, and The Andy Griffith Show, who could forget that. Best opening sequence ever.
I will check back to see if anyone has added shows they have great memories of. This is has been another strange week, full of strange occurrences. I am incredibly happy today is Starbucks Day. Let me tell you, I received a Starbucks Gold Card! Yes, I have done it; I have achieved Starbucks recognition for all of the coffee treats I drink there. I will be stopping on my way to work this morning. On Friday mornings there is no one on my side of the building whatsoever until 6:30 a.m.; it is a very peaceful yet eerie occurrence. I love it.
Well that is all I have for now, don’t forget to tell me your favorite old shows, I would love to hear about them.

This has been an incredibly long week, I look forward to Friday, and sleeping in on Saturday morning. Now that will be a treat. I will get to sleep until I wake up naturally, usually 6:00 to 6:30 a.m. I know what you are thinking, that is not sleeping in, however, when your usual wake up time is 3:30 a.m., well, trust me, the other is heaven!
I feel as if I am being bombarded lately by all of the earth’s sad news; the natural occurrences are so much easier to take than the man made ones. My heart breaks every time I see a photo or news report of the massive, catastrophic, oil spill in the Gulf. Can we call it an oil spill? Isn’t it more of an oil pouring? I won’t get into the politics of the thing or point fingers, as I feel we are all responsible somewhat, I will just say that my heart breaks for the people, the loss of revenue, the loss of lives, and the animals. Just sad.
On a happier note I get to see Elizabeth on Friday evening. Now that I look forward to. I don’t get to see her that often as she is now 55 miles away, so any time spent with her is a treat.
I have been thinking a lot about lying lately, as the management in my office practice this art every day, all day long. It is really something to see, of course these are the same women (yes, women) who walk around professing to be Christians and play Gospel music all day. Blaring I might add. Now, I am a Christian, I was raised in a Christian household, I was taught God does not differentiate between lies. If you lie at work He will see you, fair warning for when you have to stand in front of him and explain yourself.
What I was thinking about are the acceptable lies between men and women. And there are some, for instance: Woman: “Do these pants make my butt look big?” Man: “NO!” anything less would get him killed. And it works the other way around: Man: “Am I the best looking man you have ever dated?” Woman: “YES, way better looking than that ex-model.” See how it works. I have been thinking about relationships and what it takes to make them work in the long term. I have decided it is a sense of humor and an ability to laugh at your significant other’s jokes, you know, the jokes you have heard a gazillion times. My parents and my grandparents pulled this off seamlessly. Since I think I am the funny one, I sincerely hope fiancé finds me as amusing at 90 as he does today. Or he is good at pretending he does.
All joking aside, I try never to lie, sometimes I skirt an issue or will avoid, and if I give misinformation due to what I have been told, when I learn the real deal I always correct what I have told someone. Lies are hard to keep up with, you will always trip up, and you will forget what you have told someone and tell someone else something different. Keep it simple, tell the truth, learn to be tactful with the truth, which is something I am still learning. I have gotten better at that with age, though.
So for the day before Starbucks day, I wish you all a great, honest day!

I like my vampires with bite and attitude, very much unlike Twilight’s Edward. I also like my werewolves to be sardonic and monosyllabic when human. I think certain people know who I am speaking of.
I don’t think the supernatural beings live in Texas, and here is my theory on why they don’t.
A. If they did I would have seen one by now, waking as early as I do.
2. It is too hot, even in the night time hours they would burn up. The vampires would turn to dust and the werewolf’s fur would cause them to burn from within.
III. It is too big of a state. They travel at night. They would never reach their destination in the night time hours. Even if they were traveling within the state itself.
There that is my theory and the reasoning behind it. I believe it is sound, deductive reasoning. I can see why they reside in the south east and the west coast. Louisiana is even probable, but not Texas. Even the Gulch brother’s left Texas as soon as they were turned.
I don’t think the aliens will land here either. Same reason, if someone from Texas tells you they were abducted, do not believe them. It is way too hot here for anyone to want to visit, let alone take a crazy person who chooses to live here back to their air conditioned, comfy, space ship.

So yesterday I had an experience with a manager who works for the same large telecommunications conglomerate that I work for. Now she is not my manager, and she felt the need to send me a rather unprofessional email regarding something that was none of her concern. I allowed her to upset me so much I had to leave work, allowed, that is the key word. I often tell people that you cannot control what other people do you can only control your own actions. Yesterday I admit I lost control, I rarely do that, I rarely allow other people to have that kind of power over me.
The realization that I did that is daunting indeed. I will not allow myself to be in that position again. Once we are aware of the behavior we can modify it. Once again, our own not anyone else’s; I cannot control this horrendous human beings actions. Only my own.
I have only met six women in my lifetime that I see as unredeemable in any way shape or form, three of them are in this building. That is truly frightening, what does that say for this corporation? Does it breed these women or are they like a heat seeking missile, the women, coming to this company to wreck their havoc? These are the questions to ponder today.
Enough moroseness and enough giving these women press.
I was thinking about Forrest Gump yesterday, not the running part nor the ping pong part, but the box of chocolates thing. I remember when everyone was saying that, they thought that was the wisest thing they had ever heard. Well, I do not buy into that, I never did, I love chocolate, Godiva Chocolate to be exact, and those boxes are always full of amazing surprises. Life is not that way, all of the surprises are not amazing nor are they good. So, Forrest Gump’s momma was so totally wrong! Stop buying into that people! Stop the madness!
Yesterday was Chewie’s birthday, he is fourteen years young, and he got a treat, extra loving and tons of attention. For years I tried stealing that dog from Jess, for years he deflected, I am truly honored that he allowed Chewie to come live with us when he needed a new home for him. He has added so much to all of our lives, he is a loyal friend and a wonderful companion. Except when I am trying to take a nap, apparently only Chewie is allowed to take naps, not Angie!