Just Another Friday

Staff meetings are always an excellent barometer of one's serenity. I find that they are a great opportunity for me to see for myself how much I've grown - or not.

"A meeting is an event where minutes are taken and hours wasted."
~ James T. Kirk

This morning's staff meeting here at work was certainly no exception to this. It began with the short session of musical chairs that always seems to result when a bunch of otherwise smart people are asked to arrange themselves in something resembling a circle. That accomplished, we began by going around the circle and introducing ourselves to the people that we eat lunch with and sit in restroom stalls next to - EVERY DAMN DAY! After this elucidative experience my boss, who means well, passed out pink pieces of lined paper with purple hearts on them (presumably in honor of Valentine's Day), to each of those assembled, for a writing assignment. Oh boy! The Icebreaker activity! On the top half we were asked to complete this phrase: "The one part of my job that I love is..." On the bottom half the phrase to be completed was: "The one part I can improve upon is...."

“Meetings are an addictive, highly self-indulgent activity that corporations and other large organizations habitually engage in only because they cannot masturbate”
~ Dave Barry

I chose not to share what I wrote, as we went around the circle - it was just harmless fluff anyway. In the past, blood would have been coming out of my ears by this point, but indeed I have grown. We went down the agenda items and I ate my bagel and sipped my coffee, trying not to be noticed, and not to notice what was being said. I think that most people view meetings as a place to get things off their chests or as some twisted form of group therapy, rather than as the working sessions of idea generation and consensus building that they are supposed to be. I mean, JEEEZ! - if it was just about information we could all just have written memos.



We discussed our class projects for Black History Month, We discussed what projects we were planning for Women's History Month and I sat thinking that when it was finally White Anglo-Saxon Male with Receding Hairlines Month that I'd really give it my all. The meeting ended with the obligatory "how can we improve our communications" nonsense and we adjourned, wondering if we had accomplished anything and not entirely clear about whether or not we had to do anything as a result of the discussions - so I guess it was a successful meeting, all the more so because my internal barometer was reading high pressure and sunny skies all the way. Looks like the forecast is good, right through the weekend.
Peace.