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... I learned from Captain Kangaroo: The Banana Man
The astute reader will note that this is the colorized version. Those of us who were born before color was invented did all of our learning in black and white. I will not speculate on how seeing the world in black and white affected some people's thinking as they grew up.  D’yer balloons hang low?
Do they drag along the ground? Do they fizzle in the drizzle, Do they sizzle in the sun? Are ya talkin’ kinda funny when all yer work is done? D’yer balloons hang low? Do they stage a bold escape? Do they try to get away While ya try to tie some ribbons ‘Round their puckered little tails? Are ya cussing those high ceilings while yer work is running late? Do they stage a bold escape? One of the more annoying tasks I had while working in model homes was having to blow up balloons and tie them onto the signs out front. It was annoying because I couldn't employ some of my more creative ideas when dealing with problems - such as recapturing those helium-filled little delights after they'd escaped and were bobbing up against the ten-foot ceilings. Man, did I ever want to use a slingshot, but my employer would have had Thoughts if I'd shot out a window (or a potential buyer). Employers like to say that they encourage "outside the box" thinking, but they totally don't like outside the box thinking when it plays out in real time... "Lord Ronald said nothing; he flung himself from the room, flung himself upon his horse and rode madly off in all directions." -- from the story ""Gertrude the Governess"" by Canadian humorist Stephen Leacock
... I learned from my birds. Unstructured time, not a thought in their heads. Humans dress this up as mindfulness or No Mind, as the Buddha taught us. Om.  So a group of my fellow community association board members were talking about the challenges of dealing with the folks who thrive on conflict, which community associations seem to attract.
What I've learned is that you need to remove the emotional payoff they get from starting trouble. This means controlled interactions and often scripted communications. Written communications are better because when you're reacting in the moment, it's too easy to go off script and undermine your efforts. But consistent behavior on the part of board members and the community manager will eventually convince the problem children that they're not going to get the desired explosions. Basically I aim to have the emotional expressiveness of a rock when dealing with these folks. This isn't too hard since I'm a no-drama type anyway. It occurs to me that I'm boring as hell. There was an opinion piece in yesterday's Washington Post in which the author said that the uptick in mass shootings has resulted in a change in his behavior: he essentially is still in covid lockdown. Many commenters said that they too were still locked down... and surprise! They kinda like it. I feel the same way. I enjoy the slower pace of life and don't miss the constant grabs for my attention. At the beginning of the lockdowns I said that I could do this for as long as necessary. I didn't think that I'd actually choose it. It sort of reminds me of past changes in my life. When I left college I decided that I was done with parties, stupid behavior, and lousy beer. When I hit 40 I decided I was done with dating. And now I'm apparently done with something else, although I'm not entirely sure what. Yup, a rock.  It's all too much for the cockatiel.
 I seldom miss the workplace, but then something like this comes up and I'd really like to be back at it.
A recent post on the Ask a Manager blog featured a letter from someone who was being pressured by the cleaner to stay late because the cleaner was afraid that the building was haunted. I've had my share of jobs that made me want to run screaming from the building, but never because it was haunted. I feel that my career is incomplete. |
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