A Working Theory
My current ‘supervisor’ is an ego-driven power-hungry monster that has recently started to lose his grip on reality. My cohorts and I have been discussing the issue of his mental health at length and we came up with some interesting possibilities. At first it was just a fun little bashing session on the boss, but as we went on a bit, we think we may have hit on something that fits like a glove.
There is a condition that exists that has been described as a “mild form of autism”. It is known as
Asperger’s Syndrome and the more we look at the case studies of the condition, the more it seems to fit my ‘supervisor’. I want to say right off that I do not wish any ire on – nor am I making fun of – those afflicted with this condition. That said, when you combine the general personality traits of a person with Asperger’s Syndrome with the absolutely asinine behavior of my ‘supervisor’, the result is a highly contemptible and utterly unlikable bug floating in the gene pool known as the human species.
Instead of complaining about him, we have been scheming on ways that could make life more “interesting”, at least for us. One of his little traits is a hang up on loyalty – to the extreme. He can’t seem to understand the difference between being loyal to the family vs. being loyal to a company. Also, he doesn’t distinguish any degrees of separation on the topic. This is why we suspect he ran to a shrink and melted down for 4 days when I told him that I wanted out of his department. This was obviously not in order with his views on loyalty and he didn’t know what to do with it.
Another little quirk is that he must have rules to abide by. He can’t function without them and requires all of us to use the same rules as he does – at least so far as he knows. The truth of the matter is that we all think he is whacked and do what we feel needs to be done to remedy a given situation. We later sort of translate what we did so that it fits into his little ‘rules schema’ and he is fine. Lately we have been having fun just doing things seemingly at random, which is totally screwing with his head. Understand that we still do our jobs to the same level of quality as before, but the boss’s head is swimming.
Subtlety is completely lost on him, as is humor of most types. He understands the mechanics, but just can’t get his mind around it and is therefore uncomfortable in situations where intuition, humor or subtlety is involved. His answer to this is to put us out in front of the people and he hides behind a desk, refusing phone calls from all but the managers that he is unable to blow off. Taking this into account, we have been having some fun here by talking in vagaries and alluding to things that don’t exist. Then we make a joke about it and assume he knows what we are talking about. Because his ego is so big, he won’t admit that he doesn’t understand what is going on and just smiles and goes along. Our ‘fearless leader’ is being ‘fearlessly led” whenever we see fit to mess with him.
If too many people hit my ‘supervisor’ with too many things all at once, he quickly becomes overwhelmed and incapacitated. This could be anything from a group of people talking all at once to multiple people speaking at once on a conference call. His reaction is classic meltdown and if he can’t get hold of the situation he quickly withdraws from it. Obviously, this is a fun one to do with him when we want him out of our hair. We just come at him hard and fast and don’t back off. Instant meltdown – off to the shrink. See ya!
Is it any wonder I put in for a transfer? I can honestly say that I have not learned a single thing from this so called ‘supervisor’ of mine since I have been on the job. He stands by as we make improvements to the systems and then takes credit for the work and concepts. He will make feeble attempts at something and when it fails miserably he pushes the blame off on one of us. As amazed as I am that this condition continues, we all still have a little fun at his expense whenever we can. As always, I’m open to suggestions on future torture techniques for my addled ‘supervisor’. In the mean time, I’ll just wait patiently for my transfer to go through and watch things unfold from a distance.
West Coast Kenpo Confederation
I have recently taken on training in another martial art that I am truly enjoying. Although I am still training in Taekwondo, my recent experiences in Chinese Kenpo have been fun and enlightening. The art is much more oriented to ‘street’ confrontation and self-defense and can be extremely effective – and perhaps a bit brutal, depending on how it is used. Taekwondo seems like an aerobics class next to Kenpo, for sure. There are a couple of sayings that sort of sum up the difference – In karate, there is a saying that says something like: “
Never be the first to strike”, emphasizing self-defense. In kenpo, the saying goes something like: “
There should be no second strike”, which tends to speak of the swift and final outcome of any confrontation – self preservation. Groovy.
My instructor (sifu) invited me to attend a conference with him in August called the
West Coast Kenpo Confederation. It is held in Longbeach, CA and is meant to be a hands-on and personal experience with several of the top instructors in the field. I belong to the
International Karate Connection Association (IKCA) and our own Grand Masters Chuck Sullivan and Vic LeRoux will be there providing instruction and answering questions about the art. There will be several other big names there in the same capacity as well and it should be a very exciting time. I’ll be flying out on August 5th and returning that same weekend after the conference. I’ll likely post more about my experiences there when I return.
The Transfer
Whew! It’s been a while since I posted anything here. Things have been a little crazy lately and time has been a premium. It will get interesting again here in a few weeks as I have requested a transfer to a different department here at work. My ‘supervisor’ was taken by surprise when I gave him my notice and it would seem that he may have ran straight to a shrink’s couch for several days before returning to work. He definitely has issues, which is the real reason I am leaving the department. There comes a time when you just say “that’s enough” and you make changes. For years I have heard from people that were not happy at work, and I always gave them the same advice: If you don’t like it, change it or leave. Simple. I decided it was time to take my own advice. As it turns out, the other two people in my department have said they would jump in a heartbeat too if they could. Interesting.
Of course, my ‘supervisor’ is taking his time getting my replacement found and trained. He gave me a name that is supposed to be my replacement, someone I know and will need to be trained. This was nearly 2 weeks ago. When said replacement called me yesterday and queried about a rumor that I was leaving, I asked him if he heard it from my ‘supervisor’. He said no, and that he hadn’t spoken to him in months. So, it would seem that my ‘supervisor’, though promising to “hurry things along and get through the transition as quickly as possible” was just spewing more crap. No big surprise there.
Please pardon me as I vent. How is it that such an ass (my ‘supervisor’) can hold a position such as his, and just bullshit his way through the job? I hope for the company’s sake that an audit is done by a professional that knows how things should really be. I have a feeling the owners of the company would be in for a surprise if they saw the real state of the department and how it is not in its current state by accident - but by design; specifically, my ‘supervisor’s’ design. (I keep putting the word ‘supervisor’ in this manner because he doesn’t really have a clue what any of us are doing and doesn’t supervise anything.) It has been hinted to me that I should take some action with certain agencies and such and report him to the appropriate people. I have refrained from this sort of action but I must say that it is tempting. I have a feeling that this house of cards is going to fall in from its own weight, and I just want to be clear of the rubble when it comes down.
Chinese Kenpo
I was invited to participate as a student in a small but traditional martial arts school known as the Triangle Kenpo Institute and attended my first session today. The instructor is very knowledgeable and has 30+ years experience in various styles and systems of martial arts. The instruction I am receiving in this class is referred to as IKCA Chinese Kenpo – the “lean and mean” school of Kenpo.
Before participating in the class, I was invited to watch a session and witness current students demonstrating what they have learned and what they are currently learning. I immediately picked up on the incredible accuracy of the maneuvers as well as the devotion the students had for learning. The class was very enjoyable to watch and I was eager to start training as a new student. I would like to thank my new Sifu for the invitation to attend his training. I look forward to growing in the art of Kenpo.
After only my first class in Kenpo, I can tell you that it makes Taekwondo seem like an aerobics class. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still studying Taekwondo and still intend on pursuing my black belt, but the differences are dramatic. My Kenpo instructor has stated more than once that “Kenpo is a thinking person’s art” and I certainly understand were this is coming from. A basic stance that we learned yesterday, the neutral bow, has 12 points to remember regarding the proper position of the stance. The specific placement and angles of posture all have a reason, and that reason is spelled out clearly during the training.
I’ll post more about my experiences in Kenpo as I move along. So far it seems like I’m going to enjoy it very much.
Smoke Signals
Another branch in the family tree has flamed out thanks to a lifetime of smoking. My father’s sister died a week ago in her early 50s from complications due to smoking cigarettes. She was on this earth for a single year longer than her own mother, who also died in her early 50s from complications due to smoking. Her father, my grandfather also had complications from smoking… as did my maternal grandparents. You would think that the loss of an entire generation in the family tree would send a signal to those that are still here. Think again.
I basically grew up with 3 younger sisters and I always thought we should take the knowledge we had access to and improve our lives with it. Combine this with technology and – Whamo! – the much talked about “Gen Xers” is the result. We are supposed to be ahead of the game because of our instant access to information past and present. So, where is all this wonderful intelligence when it comes to smoking?
Making laws that attempt to determine what a person can or cannot do to themselves is largely wrong, and I also believe that to be the case with smoking. I’m neutral on the public smoking bans. However, in 2005 we have the technology and the intelligence to know better than to do something as stupid as starting a habit like smoking. I often query those in my family that smoke and ask them why they are still smoking, knowing what they know. I get myriad answers - from lame humor: “I just like killing myself slowly. Haha.” to other more serious answers like: “I’m trying to quit, I really am. I just can’t do it… you just don’t understand”. Yeah…. Ok.
The question & excuse thing can go on forever and get nowhere. My father told me something though when I was a kid and for some reason it has stuck in my head to this day. He challenged me to name one good/positive affect cigarettes have on smokers.
.
Twenty-five years later, I’m still trying to think of just one good thing.
