I'm entirely too weird for this place and they'll never figure me out. "

Oh sister. I feel you on that.

And? Snake Oil and burgandy patent leather boots? You are just plain TOO FABULOUS for that place.

PS

Congrats on the presentation.

PPS

"big girl panties" HEE HEE

You're my hero

PPS

"big girl panties" HEE HEE

I giggled at the same thing.

As you were describing your boss jumping in to grab attention for himself when it was going well, I was immediately reminded of a man who used to do that at my old office. He was the big boss, and he had the small brain. He talked a lot but didn't really know anything. He'd jump in to rephrase whatever the previous person had just said in order to make it look like it had been his idea all along. It was completely transparent, and it didn't fool anyone.

Strangely, I had a completely different take on gender dynamics based on where I worked for the past six years. There were a couple of men there who very strong, incredibly smart, loyal to their teams, and extremely beloved by the staff. The other men in the company (who were corporate drones and not loved at all) did basically everything they possibly could to take away power from those men and turn people against them. Every meeting turned into a pissing contest. You could almost see the thoughts "What does HE have that I don't?" in these guys faces. They were insecure, jealous, and threatened. They made the whole environment there unbearable. (However those of us who were staff spectators had lively conversations about alpha males whenever the managers weren't around.)

As for women? Competent smart women were treated as a mild thorn in the side. Women were, for the most part, ignored. Any time a woman pointed out a real problem and said it needed to be addressed, someone would inevitably ask whether she needed some chocolate or if her children had given her a rough time at home. I'm not kidding. It was disgusting. And if you happened to be an attractive woman who was competent, some manager male latched on to you and got you to do all his planning for him, as though you were his work wife in charge of throwing his dinner parties to make him look more important. Like a trophy wife.

Um, yeah... I don't work there any more.

A very long time ago, in a galaxy far across the country I used to work with a guy who wrote not only his full name but his degree on his time sheets!WTF? It was a small office, this was pre HMO billing stuff, and everyone who worked there with the exception of the afmin, had an MSW-so why did he have to write it affter his name?

Oh,and BTW- break into everyone's presentation.who ever said I forget any of my grudges:))

Glad some of you enjoyed the "big girl panties" comment!

And as for the men in my office, my boss tends to prefer to hire men, and he likes his male employees docile. There's a guy in my office who's not that way, is one of the smartest people I've ever met, incredibly good at his job, funny, has a good moral compass, is a bit of a manly man (lifts weights, works on cars), and he's treated like he's a second-rate dumbshit by management. They make fun of him behind his back; never mind that this guy should be running the office instead of the people who are. Male pecking order is kind of a scary thing, IMHO.

And I've gotten that "trophy" treatment from certain senators. They like to have everyone seeing me step and fetch for them. It's pathetic. Of course, every now and then I turn it around and get them to consider or present ideas that I have, because if they're going to be that prehistoric, I might as well get them to do something worthwhile. Of course, I get them to think it's all their idea, because if they thought it was my idea, they wouldn't do it. Pathetic, just pathetic.

In general, it a lot of dick-banging, and when you get too many together, it's just a drumming session. And I'm betting most of the dicks are really teensy!!!

This is muchly belated, but I LOVE that quote, and I think I shall marry it.

You are all invited!

I this whole entry!