I've been having some interesting experiences this week that tested my boundaries and worth. I've been assigned to a new team at work. Two members on the team well.. there is no other way to say it but than to just say it.. each of them is their own universe. One of them is the head of the team and enjoys embarrassing her team members with jokes at their personal expense. The other is a male who is on a power trip (those he wants to impress aren't noticing him). Both want what they want and want it now.  They are not to be refused. Guess who has boundaries?  You guessed it.. the one typing this post.  Of course this doesn't sit well with either of them who expect instant gratification and servitude.  LOL good luck!  So they did the whaa whaa routine with my supervisor who then went to my former boss from last year to get a take on whether I was the difficult type and heard only good things about me.  I'm not going to change who I am and accommodate a couple of tantruming babies.  I honestly try to do my best work and meet everyone's demands but I do have a backbone and won't be intimidated into dropping someone else's work and doing theirs instead unless that decision is made collectively and includes the person who was in line first to have their project worked on.  I think I made my points professionally with my supervisor and today was a good day of working Let It Begin with Me all day to show her maturity in my actions with these difficult team members to whom I'm assigned. I made her privy to things I would not have bothered to, to show her how I interact with them.  She emailed me "Way to go."  I replied, "Thank you for the compliment."  So I've done what I can. She and don't work in the same office so it's not so easy for her to get a sense of my work style with them other than what they complain to her about.  It's a new position and a new position for me. More will be revealed where it's all concerned. All I know is... I'm good with me and knows I'm interacting in a professional manner.

So... I also had 3 interviews this week with 3 companies. Well 2 and an almost 3rd interview.  I'll explain.  The third interview I showed up for but wasn't interviewed.  Oh it was so funny!  First, I couldn't get the front door open to this place where I had the interview. The receptionist had to come to the door to let me in.  She told me it was not locked. Next she wanted me to sign in and handed me a computer tablet. Now I am actually pretty tech savvy but I don't own a tablet or a smart phone (finances) and I thought maybe she needed to give me a stilus pen to sign in on the thing.  So she tells me to use my finger (later I wanted to when I exited the place but not at that moment).  So there I am trying to write my name with my index finger until I finally handed it to her and she pushed upward on a down arrow that was in the middle of the screen to make it scroll to a keyboard.  ha ha ha  So what! Shat up!  I'm a work in progress so are you :p   OK so I type my name.  Hooray!  I did it!  I hand the tablet back to her and she set me up in this room to wait for the executive vice president who is my interviewer.  Lahdee da.  Back when they told me I was going to be interviewed by the EVP I was scratching my head and wondering... really????  I was not going there to interview for a vp position.  Anyway, she puts me in this room in front of this enormous wall mounted flat screen monitor with a keyboard on the table and she tells me to fill in the job application. So there I sit typing and wonder if there's a camera on my face watching me.  It was so weird!  LOL  Then I come out to reception to tell her I'm done and she tells me to go back inside and wait. I dutifully obey.  Well time passes and no EVP. The receptionist comes back and offers me a beverage and tells me the EVP is on a call and will be with me in a few minutes.  Truthfully with the space age furniture and techie stuff I'm surprised she didn't show me to an open bar in the office for a drink.  I continue to wait and about ten more minutes pass and she comes in and says if I don't want to wait, I can go and she'll forward my application.  I'm thinking HELLLOOOOOOO I came for an interview???  I tell her it's ok I'll wait. Then after a total of 60 minutes from the time I arrived ( I came 15 early), I come out and ask what the situation is. She points to big glass enclosed office across the lobby and points to the EVP in there with people and that she's sorry.  I say, in a monotone voice well it's been 45 minutes I'm going to go.  She says again that she's sorry and adds "he's really popular!"  Now this is where if I was going to act on a big fat resentment I could have sarcastically said, yes I am too that's why I'm leaving.  I just smiled at her nicely instead and left.  I realized that I saw the EVP go into that room from where I was sitting despite it being from a distance. I recognized him from his profile photo. Darn if my chair had only been closer, I just know he wouldn't have been able to resist me lol  You know I'm kidding of course.

I gave them 24 hours to respond to what had happened at their office yesterday. No email, no call.  I then emailed and said "I am no longer interested in this position. Your EVP has no respect for other people's time."  In less than 10 minutes I received a reply.  I didn't open the email.  I deleted it instead.  This is not one of those benefit of the doubt situations. There are a number of choices that company could have made to be respectful of me.  The choice I made honored my worth and time. It doesn't matter at this point what they have to say.  Given the experience, the email might just be acknowledging my removal as a candidate but if they've chosen to apologize, try to reschedule, it doesn't really matter.  I say this because it's not personal it's business and ya know what .... I'm trusting my gut that it would just be the beginning of having to continually put boundaries in place that honor me as a person and respect my time.  I am already doing that with unhealthy people at my current job.  

When I stopped hooking up with charismatic active alcoholics, I grew.  "He's so popular!"  ROFL yeah... been there done that!   Thanks for letting me share with you. I hope you laughed :)  TT