The Retributive Workplace, or WHY do I still work here?

So, I had this very interesting conversation with my big boss. I (of course) questioned some inappropriate behavior on the part of some middle management folks. What I consider the using a hammer rather than a flyswatter approach, and got his rather specious explanation.
It seems, since we in gubbmint are under so much scrutiny, what with all the public disclosure requests and such, we are going to see more "definitive" approaches to direction. Rather than get a warning or a discussion about what is needed, there will be more written reprimands and performance improvement plans issued.

Evidently we are so afraid of what happens when a few really bad managers/directors make the news we are going to over react so that we can document that our butts are covered. We can't seem to get rid of a management team that is openly passing dirty pictures around on office email until they are outed for such egregious behaviour in public that the local papers bring it up in every article, related or not, but we can now punish people for minor infractions so it looks like we really took care of business.

I, of course, find this approach not only antithetical to all of our supervisory trainings, but unprofessional and unethical. If we are going to go ballistic for minor things, where is there room for progression if major problems occur? Where is the respect and assumption of professionalism? We are working in an atmosphere of nerves and suspicion. An increasingly hostile and retributive environment that batters staff morale and grievously affects production.
I have been attempting to counter this pervasive mentality with an affirmative outlook, but I find myself increasingly feeling depressed and helpless.
Is this everywhere? Is this the new professional workplace?

Sometimes When We Touch

This was oridinally written on June 7, and for some reason dropped ito my draft box and not recovered and final edited until 7/29. But, it says it was written on May 13 - I don't get that at all. So, here it is....


"You ask me if I love you, and I choke on my reply.


I'd rather hurt you honestly than mislead you with a lie.


But who am I to judge you and what you say or do,


I'm only just beginning, to see the real you."
[Dan Hill]


Yesterday was our anniversary and this is the first line of "our song" from when we started dating in 1976. Our first date was for coffee at Tony's in Fairhaven. We had known each other for well over a year, and were least likely to get together, all of our friends told us that, and kept pairing us up anyway. We were the only single people invited to so many dinners and such, and then the primary instigator was soooo mad at me for years after we made it official. Funny how that works.



It has not been an effortless run, there have been enough challenges that I have often asked God for a "little talk", and several times have wondered if I seriously harmed someone in a past life .

I never trained to be a nurse, but I sure have a lot of OJT



But, you don't get to choose what you get. Like having children, being married is an ongoing evolve-ment of coping and accommodating. occasionally it needs a moderator, or translator, and we have done that, and will probably do so again.



Commitment is a funny thing, if we knew how things were going to turn out we probably wouldn't get into this in the first place.

On Mother's Day

I had a really great Mother's Day, as those things go, I got to spend most of the day with people I love, doing things I enjoy. pretty super actually.
I went to church in the a.m., and was pretty frustrated at the antics of the kids, but overall a good morning and then a brief chance to connect with adult friends and exchange Mother's Day greetings.
I was home to eat lunch and pack up himself and some contributions for dinner, and we were off. We picked up our son and then continued to the closest Haggens so the guys could get an extra lunch for himself and brunch for son. And I could get a card for my mother since I had neglected to do so earlier. (I know, but it's now an ingrained habit).
On arriving at the parental residence we found them in the back yard, Papa having decided to try a walk and it was so nice he just sat out there for an hour or more. We visited for while and Papa said he'd like some pruning done, so Himself and Son grabbed loppers and set to work. this is not an unusual pastime for Himself, he likes to fuss with landscaping and such when he feels well, but I think it was a first for Son, I know it was a first for him to use a pitch fork.
And I got a BIG first - Papa let me drive the tractor!! I can drive, of course, but hadn't been offered the controls of the special toy before. What fund, I had to get a crash course in shifting and the hydraulics, and I was off ~ at about 2 mph, but....
In any event, the guys cut and then loaded the brush into the bucket on the tractor and I drove it back to unload. Twice!!
All that and sunshine :-) (and the Mariners won, helping Papa's outlook).
Oh, and I was still wearing a skirt and flip-flops, so tempting fate also, but didn't rip anything or grab any stinging nettles, or any of the other feats I often manage when confronted with wild
fauna and such,
Son and I filled the bird and squirrel feeders, and all the time we were outside there was a family of red squirrels eating and chirping at each other and us. The red squirrels are the preferred attendees at the feeders, the grey squirrels are the "bad guys" that the parents try to discourage.
We had a nice summer type of salad supper with a lot of good stories. Capped by carrot cake. Mom's favorite.
There was lots of discussion about the upcoming Tuesday trip to the UW for a cardiac consult regarding the possibility of Papa getting a new procedure for heart valve replacement, and the Thursday visit to the local cardiologist. Papa seems pretty much resigned to the possibility of open heart surgery if the UW review doesn't pan out.
Then - reality Monday - - the trip to the UW is off. It seems that the GH referral was flawed, the named cardiologist was wrong, the one who was scheduled isn't approved by the insurance carrier, or some such, and the capper, the appointment, although arranged by my sister, and confirmed by Papa himself, was done in the wrong name, which further flummoxed GH. OF COURSE, it was just his first and last names reversed, but that is evidently insurmountable, and the wrong Dr. part is completely unimaginable in the GH world.
Poor Mom, she spent the whole day on the phone trying to straighten the mess out and it appears that there is a layer of depression sinking in up there.
Time to pray for the Highest and Best outcomes and let it go? Probably, but that will likely work better for me than for them.

Yes, as a matter of fact, it IS my road!!

OK, so it's a "public highway", but at least you could use it correctly. Here are a few hints on how you could at least make my drive better, and right now, I don't particularly care about your point of view.

If you are changing lanes, please use the new fangled things called turn signals before you move over. If your car dates before 1950 you are excused, it's too late for me to talk about arm signals tonight.

If all the other cars on the road have their lights on, turn on yours, otherwise (especially on really rainy days like today) you disappear.



And, if driving in rain makes you nervous, consider: 1) not driving, or 2) moving to somewhere dry. It rains here about 300 days a year, sometimes very hard, it's not a surprise.


Wet pavement produces a lot of spray, if you are traveling too close on dry days it's dangerous ('cause, really, you can't stop) but on wet days, you also can't see. So, with double the dry day's emphasis - BACK the Hell OFF!!!


Flashing lights behind you mean move RIGHT, onto the shoulder if necessary, and slow down to a stop until the emergency vehicle passes - always. If it stays behind you while you pull over, stop, it's likely for you. (Note the buttons on the WSP uniform next time).


Did you know that it is illegal in Washington to drive in the left lane unless you are passing someone? Entering the freeway and immediately crossing over 3 lanes to plant your car at the speed limit in the fast lane is also stupid. All of the people who want to go faster will then do very stupid things to get around you. And, when your self righteous need to control other people's speed causes an accident, you might not be physically involved, but you certainly share moral responsibility. And, why do you care anyway, let the speeders go their way, and pay their fines when they get caught.


And, if you have a deep seated need to go 5 mph below the speed limit, do it in the right lane, period.


Remember the saying - lead follow, or get out of the way? I guess, in brief, just get off my road.