Grazers Beware!

They wait outside a catered meeting, hovering around the door like moths to a flame.  The subtle smell of food slips out from underneath the closed door.  As the appointed end time approaches, the jockeying around the door takes on a frenzied pitch as people try to figure out how to get into the room while not running down the exiting participants.


The meeting is over.  The door opens.  The first person out the door is met by a crazed crowd of food poachers. They throw up their padfolios in a defensive posture, bulldozing their way through the stampeding throng.  The chaos in the doorway between the entrants and exitants is tense.


A hew and cry of torment is given when the poachers realize that the much anticipated free meal has been eaten by the intended party.  Not a crumb to spare.  The hapless  meeting attendees have already scurried back to their various desks, safe.


For the moment.


You can't tell me it doesn't exist in your company the professional grazer, that goes from event to event. Uninvited, ever poaching what is not theirs.  The really bold ones, actually walk into the meeting helping themselves to food that hasn't included them in the count.

The ever vigilant admin has to watch the food like a hawk for the catered meeting.  Making sure that the intended audience received the meal.  Catered meals do not come cheap.  There are budgets and head counts involved.  When people start poaching, they start wreaking havoc on carefully laid plans.

Thus, invoking the wrath of the Admin!  And frankly? It can't end well.

Feeling Judged

Mid-Year Reviews time has hit.  I have to admit that this time of year always feels like a crap shoot. 

I know that I've done a good job during the year. I've listened to any coaching I've received and applied it. Working to create a better environment for myself and those around me.  

But, actually sitting in the review is nerve-wracking. How I perceive my work is going through the lens of another's perception. It can go either way.

I am proud to say that I was spot on with my assessment of my work so far this year.

Half a year down, half a year to go.

Go Team!

Food is in the Air

To the office staff in general:

I, Admin Gal, send a plea of epic proportions out to save my olfactory sense. Preserve this delicate sense of smell for the flowers that bloom beyond our concrete jungle, for the sweet smell of baby powder after a bath, for anything other than the malodorous offense of fish and some other indecipherable substance that has been heated up in the microwave.

Oftentimes our midday meal is the main meal of our day. But to bring something that will send a stank through the floor, ruining everyone else's meal is just plain rude. Some businesses actually have rules as to what can be brought to work to be heated up, so not to offend the general populace.

I implore you to be considerate. If you must have your super spicy jambalaya (which I adore), your fabulous curry that your grandmother makes, the fish that only the cat should eat, please take into consideration the people you work with. Their stomachs and noses may not be as fortified as yours.