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I had two dreams last night about people in Ireland.

In the first dream, Polly came to stay with me and Himself in our apartment in Toronto. And threatened to leave because Himself was so messy and she was sick of sharing a room with him because he insisted on walking around naked all the time.

????????????????

I think I was sleeping on the couch. I can't remember why.

In the second dream, Eileen and Stevo came to visit us here, just for a day, and I couldn't get any time off work. So I drew up a tour of Halifax for them to do with Himself but he wouldn't do it because he knew he'd get lost. So I had to explain it to him over and over again and then I missed work anyway. And Eileen was annoyed because I had ruined her holiday.

Thoughts, anyone?

Ammonite left a comment on my blog that reminded me that I am talking too much about the teenager. She didn't say that, but it did remind me.

Of course you just blog about what's in your brain.

Also, there is a lot of stuff going on in my brain that I can't blog about for privacy reasons of one sort or another.

Some day, maybe.

But I won't blog about the teenager today. Particularly as I have my first ever Parent Teacher meeting tonight, so I shall hold off and tell you all about how much fun that was some other time.

I'll moan about work instead!!

Hurrah, says everyone.

I always have an up and down relationship with work. I am one of those people who feels that if I am to spend eight hours a day in an office with some people moving paper around, then it should be meaningful and fulfilling. There should be efficient communication, and consultation, and a certain level of consensus about the day/week/month ahead.

Unfortunately, life's not like that, is it.
Also unfortunately, I used to teach people how to do that in a previous life.

So I'm probably more fussy than most.

But Jesus on a bike carrying Mary on the crossbar, is it too much to ask that someone walk down the corridor and have a conversation with me about work? Why do I have to get endless emails that obviously took four or five minutes to type, when a little trot down the corridor would do. Plus there would be eye contact, and body language, and all that non-verbal communication that helps to prevent conflict, because you understand where the sentiments of the communication are coming from.

And respond accordingly.

And shoot the shit a bit too. Thereby imparting important information on what's going on really.

WHICH IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENT OF MANAGING KNOWLEDGE WORKERS IN A KNOWLEDGE INDUSTRY.

Unlike cold, impersonal emails. Which cause my hackles to rise and my back to go up and all that other non-verbal stuff that results in a snotty response. Or none at all.

I am blessed in work that there are a lot of good people in the office, who are great individuals, who share life's ups and downs and make the day go by a lot faster. I am also blessed that I have a 'board of directors' as diverse and colourful as the Nova Scotian weather, but who are not there all the time, thereby ensuring we never get tired of them.

But I find the fact that certain people, who live just down the hall, who would prefer to send me twenty emails a day rather than spend five minutes talking to me, profoundly depressing and demeaning. Is my company so bad? Am I so boring? Do I drone on and on and on about stuff?

It means that there is no sense at management level regarding what's going on in my private life. Unless I say something. And then of course I am ASKING FOR HELP and there has to be an intervention and more emails. When really I just need a pat on the arm and a 'don't worry, it'll be fine'.

And of course it also means that there is none of that in the other direction. Which is also important.

And the overall outcome is that the staff either join together in feeling crap about the situation or snipe at each other. Which is what happened yesterday.

I hate being an annoying bad-tempered bitch in work.

But when that's your experience, it is inevitable that there will come a certain stage at which you stop feeling undervalued and start feeling bolshie.