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Full of Trouble
Oct. 19th, 2009 09:08 pmA few thoughts - feel free to ignore.
1. My heart is crying for Aldith. It sucks. I've been there.
2. If someone has an apology, don't hide behind your keyboard. Statistically, 93% of a message is non-verbal. So a key-board apology is only a 7% apology. Get off your butt and go deliver the other 93% in person.
3. Freeze Drying, aka, Lyophilization, is totally cool. I wish I had some liquid Nitrogen and a vacuum pump. Muh-ha-ha... the things I could do!
4. My girl asked for "Egg without Oke" tonight. heh. We are still giggling.
5. I am ready to fire up the sewing machine and put the students through their paces... errr... "ready to nurture and encourage with gentle enthusiasm... like always."
6. Huge congrats to Leotulf and Gillian. I am thrilled I will have someone to swear fealty to. (The current Misties are pretty rockin' too.)
7. I want my loved ones to take care of their health. I can't do it for you, but I won't ever give up on trying to lure you out onto bike rides and runs. And when I say I believe in "better living through chemistry", it means I can't live without Diet Coke, it does not mean I think we should be taking meds because we've neglected our well being.
8. I blew it at the Freeze-Drying seminar today. I am with a bunch of strangers at the Hilton in Burlingame. (Which is a 4hr/day commute, fyi...bleck). Over lunch Older Guy across from me is telling us how his daughter walked away from an internship "because she didn't like her boss."
He scoffed and said she was "a nut". I commented that it takes a lot of strength to be a woman in the science/technology community. He rolled his eyes and said he didn't really see why.
You know, I distinctly felt my big red button get depressed, but I didn't feel any anger or any rush nor any flush to my cheeks. I felt calm, strong and superior in the knowledge of my experience. Usually there's an emotional response in me, but there wasn't.
I didn't hesitate to respond, though. I leaned forward and stage whispered so that everyone else could hear us, "I bet no one has ever looked down your top, I'm sure you've never been sent to make the coffee and I doubt you are the first person people frequently turn to for recording action items and for the decision log. Perhaps your daughter recognized a boss who did not value her and she cut her losses before he could convince her that she was just a woman and not a person of intellect."
yeah... I totally should have said nothing. He bristled a bit. Honestly, there's no way I could know his daughter better than him and he totally deserved to bristle at me. He said that he's never experienced or seen such a thing.
"Well, people won't treat you the way they treat women. But perhaps you've always worked somewhere enlightened. We're not all that lucky."
blah blah blah. I know I pissed him off. That was just a bit of sop for his ego. I was impressed that he took the conversation in a new direction but 10 minutes later he commented thoughtfully that he's never judged someone by their gender and he didn't think that such things happened anymore. I decided to let it lay. Nothing new to accomplish, but maybe his eyes will be open. And maybe he'll be more approachable for his daughter. Or maybe he'll stop describing her as a nut.
And the rest of the table? Yeah, I think they pegged me as a fire-brand. I'm taking my running shoes tomorrow and going running on the shore-path. I'll just skip the whole social "pop quiz" over lunch.
1. My heart is crying for Aldith. It sucks. I've been there.
2. If someone has an apology, don't hide behind your keyboard. Statistically, 93% of a message is non-verbal. So a key-board apology is only a 7% apology. Get off your butt and go deliver the other 93% in person.
3. Freeze Drying, aka, Lyophilization, is totally cool. I wish I had some liquid Nitrogen and a vacuum pump. Muh-ha-ha... the things I could do!
4. My girl asked for "Egg without Oke" tonight. heh. We are still giggling.
5. I am ready to fire up the sewing machine and put the students through their paces... errr... "ready to nurture and encourage with gentle enthusiasm... like always."
6. Huge congrats to Leotulf and Gillian. I am thrilled I will have someone to swear fealty to. (The current Misties are pretty rockin' too.)
7. I want my loved ones to take care of their health. I can't do it for you, but I won't ever give up on trying to lure you out onto bike rides and runs. And when I say I believe in "better living through chemistry", it means I can't live without Diet Coke, it does not mean I think we should be taking meds because we've neglected our well being.
8. I blew it at the Freeze-Drying seminar today. I am with a bunch of strangers at the Hilton in Burlingame. (Which is a 4hr/day commute, fyi...bleck). Over lunch Older Guy across from me is telling us how his daughter walked away from an internship "because she didn't like her boss."
He scoffed and said she was "a nut". I commented that it takes a lot of strength to be a woman in the science/technology community. He rolled his eyes and said he didn't really see why.
You know, I distinctly felt my big red button get depressed, but I didn't feel any anger or any rush nor any flush to my cheeks. I felt calm, strong and superior in the knowledge of my experience. Usually there's an emotional response in me, but there wasn't.
I didn't hesitate to respond, though. I leaned forward and stage whispered so that everyone else could hear us, "I bet no one has ever looked down your top, I'm sure you've never been sent to make the coffee and I doubt you are the first person people frequently turn to for recording action items and for the decision log. Perhaps your daughter recognized a boss who did not value her and she cut her losses before he could convince her that she was just a woman and not a person of intellect."
yeah... I totally should have said nothing. He bristled a bit. Honestly, there's no way I could know his daughter better than him and he totally deserved to bristle at me. He said that he's never experienced or seen such a thing.
"Well, people won't treat you the way they treat women. But perhaps you've always worked somewhere enlightened. We're not all that lucky."
blah blah blah. I know I pissed him off. That was just a bit of sop for his ego. I was impressed that he took the conversation in a new direction but 10 minutes later he commented thoughtfully that he's never judged someone by their gender and he didn't think that such things happened anymore. I decided to let it lay. Nothing new to accomplish, but maybe his eyes will be open. And maybe he'll be more approachable for his daughter. Or maybe he'll stop describing her as a nut.
And the rest of the table? Yeah, I think they pegged me as a fire-brand. I'm taking my running shoes tomorrow and going running on the shore-path. I'll just skip the whole social "pop quiz" over lunch.
