Our Finest Moment...

So I had the meeting with my boss and it was...interesting. He's really proving that the Peter Principle is alive and well in the housing office. The only difference is that I thought it might be me, and well...I still might suffer from it but not nearly as bad as my boss. The problem is that he takes everything too personally. It's as though he thinks that HE is housing and we all work for HIM instead of the university. No sir. Not the way it is at all.

Anyway, I launch right in and tell him all the points in his email that were wrong. How these rooms he thinks were occupied are filled with discarded items from the school year. How he was unprofessional in the way he went about things. How offended I was that an email went to the Vice-President about me without anyone asking me about the situation. How I told him about my Graduate Assistant being in the building, and at that point in time it was HIS responsibility to put him out if he wanted him out.

My boss told me that his "surprise trip" to my residence hall wasn't a "site visit" but a "fact-finding mission." Once he knew the facts, he didn't need to consult me. That's when we really got into it. Fact-finding mission my ass. It didn't go well. I made sure I let him know what I thought of him as a boss. Sometimes I regret that we as a people have progressed so far that open-handed slapping someone is not a recommended way to end an argument. Too many people out there need some "physical corrective measures."

I remember last summer when we had an argument and I told him that he's changed since becoming Dean of the department. I was wrong. Now that I think back he's always been the same smug so-and-so that he is now. He just has a little bit of power now. I like him as a person, I just can't deal with him as a boss. Smh...

I'm leaning towards skipping my performance review this summer. If you read my post about it from last year, then you already know how I feel about the process. Once you add in the fact that now I know that this man is unqualified to judge me or any level of my performance, then you understand why I think it's a waste in time. Besides, practically, last year my review amounted to a $900 per year raise. That comes to $34.62 per pay period...before taxes. No thank you. It's not that important.

Legal Note: Opinions in this post are my own and not representative of the university I work for or the people I work under. All suppositions, presumptions, theories, hypotheses, etc. are my own. This blog is for entertainment purposes only, blah blah blah. There are purposely no names included in this post, and I have revealed nothing that violates either general expectations of privacy or the University confidentiality agreement, which, actually... I never signed anyway. All of that is to say...don't be trying to sue me.

Just Plain Childish...

Sometimes I just have to shake my head at this job. I spend all day dealing with teenagers who want to be adults but never stopped acting like children, but the worst part is when the adults I work with are guilty of the same thing.

Anyone who's read these posts know that I have a perpetual "difference of opinion" with my boss. We never seem to see eye to eye about anything. But as I am in the beginning stages of transitioning out of this apartment and away from this university, I can't say that I care.

The only way to tell today's story is to begin with the end of last summer. My residence hall is always closed, and it's supposed to be empty. I admit, I broke the rules last year and I allowed a small handful of people to live here. When my boss found out, I owned up to it. I took the reprimand and the associated condescension and...moved on. I've always been that kind of person. If I do something wrong and I get caught, I just take it. There's no need to make excuses.

With that being said, I knew better than to repeat that mistake this summer. I had people ask if they could stay and I told them all no. I just wasn't going to put myself through it. As much as I often feel the need to help people, it just isn't worth my job. I know my boss. I knew that at some point in time he was going to inspect my building and see if there were people in it. I've been waiting for it.

Right at the end of the school year my boss and one of my RAs were having a conversation. My boss asked him where he would staying for the summer, they talked, and my boss gave the "wink and nod." He also SAID (as he looked at me) "I know where you're going to be staying." Blah. A couple of weeks ago I also told my boss that there was a GA (Graduate Assistant) still in the building. I wasn't going to put him out because his particular program doesn't end when the others do. He's in the same classes from the spring, and I allowed him to stay. He also works directly with my boss over the summer. Everything seemed to be fine.

A few hours ago I received a phone call from a concerned birdie saying that my boss had heard something about people staying in my building and was coming to check it out. I thanked them and came back to check on everything. My RA had already seen him and talked to him. He says that on the one hand there wasn't an issue, and on the other hand there was, which is typical with my boss.

I don't object to the surprise inspection. I don't own this building. It's University property. I just manage it. He's the Dean of the department and should come over whenever he feels like it. I just disapprove of the way in which it was done. He came over to play "gotcha," as though we're both children. He didn't call me beforehand to say that he was coming, and he still hasn't called or emailed me to let me know that he was here. It's a common courtesy. He could have asked me if I was "harboring" people. He could have told me that he heard about people living here and wanted to check it out. Not a peep. I even made it a point to stop by the department after I heard he had been here. Nothing. Not a word.

I have a problem with men in their 40s still acting like children. I don't like people who are indirect in the workplace. I don't like flip-floppers. I don't like people who have power issues. If there is an issue then you should speak on it, not try to "catch" me. It's unprofessional and unquestionably a childish action. Sometimes I try to think better of people. Sometimes I realize that I shouldn't.

Legal Note: Opinions in this post are my own and not representative of the university I work for or the people I work under. All suppositions, presumptions, theories, hypotheses, etc. are my own. This blog is for entertainment purposes only, blah blah blah. There are purposely no names included in this post, and I have revealed nothing that violates either general expectations of privacy or the University confidentiality agreement, which, actually... I never signed anyway. All of that is to say...don't be trying to sue me.