Under the Bus

Every now and then, something happens in a workplace, and there's someone who tries to throw a co-worker "under the bus" to make themselves look good.  I realize that in a workplace world, everyone wants to look good in their performance, but what does it say when you're the person who gets thrown under the bus because someone else did something wrong?

I've chatted about my co-worker off and on again, and he's ... something.  Recently reprimanded for something he did incorrectly, he appealed to upper management to get the reprimand overturned.  And for some reason, dragged my name into the whole mess, even though I wasn't working at the time of the incident.

Every corporation has some sort of written guide for job performance.  Sometimes it seems the bigger the corporation, the more guides there are!  And that's certainly true for my own BigBox.  There are detailed guides for dealing with situations that include working with items that may contain hazardous chemicals (pool chlorine, gasoline, nail polish remover), and employees are expected to follow those rules.  We are given information then tested on that information yearly, making sure our knowledge is up to date.  Especially if it's a part of your daily routines.

There's nothing worse than having upper management pull you into a closed door interview, being asked questions.  (For me, personally, situations like this tend to aggravate my BAM and I end up in the bathroom!)  Answering honestly is always the best policy, and of course, citing the fact that when in doubt, it's our job to check the guide and make sure we're following procedure.  With no clue what my co-worker told upper management, I just answered honestly to what was asked.  I gave my opinion at the end of the interview, and now it's in someone else's hands.

I've been working in my same position for nearly 9 years now, and most times, enjoy the work that I do.  I just don't deal well with the people.  As you get older, you realize certain things.  Many years ago, I thought that most people were brought up (like me) and thought (like me) that there was only one way to do things:  the right way.  Much to my shock! and amazement! there are some who get by in life doing as little as possible, in as many shortcut ways as possible, and thinking that it's OK.

That's not me.
Never will be.

Start Now!

 

It took me nearly two years to get up

off the couch, so to speak, and join a

gym again.  But I started.

You can't wait for "the right moment"

which for me would have been some

other company taking over the gym

that's next door to work, that closed up,

because having a gym that close made

it easy to slip in during lunch break, left me with no excuses not to dash in for a workout

after work was done.  But it's still an empty building.

Two weeks ago, I joined Planet Fitness.  And I'm happy that I finally did.  Sure, there's all the benefits to working out and such, but I just like how I feel when I've a)  taken control of something and b) when I'm done with a workout, the physiology of whatever chemicals are doing their thing inside my body leaves me with a good feeling.  That sounds wordy and nerdy, but like they used to say "If it feels good, do it!"

Friday's workout was 1/4 mile on the elliptical.  My thighs were beginning to burn with the effort, and since it was lunchtime, and I still had another 3 hours of work to go, I decided not to push things.  After, I still did 1.25 on the treadmill, then slipped into the Hip Adduction machine, working those inner thigh muscles.  Back in the day, I could do 30 with the weight set at 135.  I did 25 @ 110 lbs.  That was enough for me do go "whoa" ... and I am still feeling it on Saturday afternoon!

Saturday morning, up with the birds, and hit the gym at 7am.  Got my 1.5 miles on the treadmill in 26:30.   I'm slowly getting there, but to increase the speed much more, I'll have to lose some of these excess pounds.  Which is why I hopped back on that Hip Adduction machine, set it at 90lbs and did 20 reps.  More of a muscle memory thing that a real workout, but I could feel the stress on my muscles!   Then I hit the Hip Abduction machine, working the outer thighs, 20 reps, 90lbs (Didn't want to overdo anything!)  Found the Tricep machine, 20 reps, 40lbs.  I could have done more, I'm thinking, because there isn't that intense burn from a "new" workout.  But that's ok, there's still time.

The important thing is ... I started.