I work hard for my money. I must make enough to pay for food and for vices. And for bank charges. Sometimes I even do some extra work – I must if I want to maintain the level of wine to which my liver has become accustomed. So, when someone wastes my time, my precious wine-money-making time, I tend to become markedly less jovial than usual.
Read moreWhat if they had been kind?
I once heard someone say (it might have been Gareth Cliff) that all the problems in the world can be traced back to money. Money makes us greedy. Money (or the lack of it) makes us hungry. Money makes us insecure, secure, able, unable, safe, vulnerable, superior…entitled. Get rid of money, and all the world’s problems are sorted. Hunting-and-gathering can recommence. Hypothetically.
Read moreRoot cause of great service
Every six weeks or so, as mentioned in a previous story, I develop a marked grey halo around my hairline. This is the manifestation not only of my genes (my mother did, after all, turn grey by around the time she was thirty), but also of my level of maturity (read: age).
Read moreOffer me the avo, dammit!
Every so often, when the grey demands it, my sister and I visit the hair salon for the sake of those forced to look at us. We order wine from the pizzeria next door to the salon, then we sip that wine and catch up while some of our favourite people do their best to make us look respectable and feel good. (The latter always works. As for the former…there’s only so much they can do.)
Read moreA step in the right direction
In September 2015 I received my official (voluntary) retrenchment notice. Wonderful people, who I had built relationships with in the 14.64 years of working for my employer, arranged a farewell for me. When one of my colleague-friends said that she hoped I would soon come back to the company, my response was, “I hope I don’t come back. Hopefully I move forward, not backward.”
Read moreFive basic things people get wrong on their CV
Offering people a job they applied for is one of my great joys. I get to fulfil a hope and put someone in a position where he or she can thrive and make a difference. A large part of what brings me into contact with the people I will eventually appoint, is the document they submit to showcase themselves. I have worked through so many curricula vitae in my career. In most cases I make notes of why I dismiss a CV, so that I can give feedback if anyone ever asks. But so few people do...
Read moreThe day I was invisible
I recently stood in a coffee shop stirring copious amounts of sugar into my cappuccino, when I became aware of a conversation between two of the coffee shop employees. I only caught the English bits, especially the somewhat surprising use of “motherf#$%%”, which made me pay attention.
Read more