I'm told I have an attitude problem at work - usually by the boss who takes me aside to "coach" me (frequently) by starting off with this sentence or one very similar: "I don't know what your job is here, but you're doing it wrong." The conversation from there usually consists of him telling me how long he was a manager with another company for X many years and how easy it was for him to coach the people there because he fully understood the part they played in the scheme of daily life at that other company. Since I've been with my current employer for almost three years now and was given my current title, Inventory Specialist, about 18 months ago and he hasn't even completed his first year with this corporation, I can't help myself....
I tell him that, if he REALLY doesn't understand what that job title means, he needs to ask the corporation to include that position in his training so that he can fully understand what I do for the company....
So yes, I guess that gives me an attitude problem...
But in my defense, my attitude stems from years and years of being told "If you don't know what you're talking about, RESEARCH IT!!"
That, my friends, is why I have several reviews that speak of my ability to weave a tale that makes one feel you're there with my characters. I don't just write a story, edit it, and throw it out there for your consumption. For "Night of the Tiger", I conducted several interviews with my then brother-in-law, who was a long haul trucker for several years. Dana gave me intimate details about life on the road, such as how many hours a trucker can actually drive before he has to take an enforced "break". My sister-in-law, a former exotic dancer, gave me details about what that was like, as I've never been on a stage myself. For "The Tiger's Cub", there was research into empathy, tornadoes, the bayou, etc. For "A Wild Tiger's Heart", there were videos of the various places that Kelly Starbird wanted to visit, the tensile holding power of hotel windows and what could cause the sealant used to break, etc.
And, of course, there are hours and hours spent in the Maine Room at the Portland Public Library, searching for information on family members that continues to elude me even after almost 36 years of research....
So why am I considered to have an "attitude problem" when I'm simply suggesting what one of the most celebrated geniuses in history suggested for future geniuses?
Ah well. Such is my life until one of my books catches the kind of fan base that made Stephen King, J.K. Rowling and other such authors rich and famous. I guess I just have to learn to bite my tongue when it comes to the "coaching" and take the praise like he gave me last night, when I was continuing to straighten out the top stock in preparation for our "Black Friday" season: Back To School. (The warehouse has already started sending us items that we will need to be able to locate quickly for the summer to refill the "Power Aisle", so whenever I'm left to my own devices and I'm done with my regular duties, I've been reorganizing things that have been a royal mess for almost two years now.)
Last night, both my other team member and I got a compliment from the manager on how good the store looks, and how we're keeping more stock on the shelves than any other store in our district, and how happy the DM is with us....
But I still have an attitude problem. It's called "Obsessive Compulsive Disorder" and it makes me ignore whatever mess-making foolishness I'm asked to perform in order to make the store into the kind of place I like to go and shop...
I think I'm very happy with my "attitude problem".....*grin*
I tell him that, if he REALLY doesn't understand what that job title means, he needs to ask the corporation to include that position in his training so that he can fully understand what I do for the company....
So yes, I guess that gives me an attitude problem...
But in my defense, my attitude stems from years and years of being told "If you don't know what you're talking about, RESEARCH IT!!"
That, my friends, is why I have several reviews that speak of my ability to weave a tale that makes one feel you're there with my characters. I don't just write a story, edit it, and throw it out there for your consumption. For "Night of the Tiger", I conducted several interviews with my then brother-in-law, who was a long haul trucker for several years. Dana gave me intimate details about life on the road, such as how many hours a trucker can actually drive before he has to take an enforced "break". My sister-in-law, a former exotic dancer, gave me details about what that was like, as I've never been on a stage myself. For "The Tiger's Cub", there was research into empathy, tornadoes, the bayou, etc. For "A Wild Tiger's Heart", there were videos of the various places that Kelly Starbird wanted to visit, the tensile holding power of hotel windows and what could cause the sealant used to break, etc.
And, of course, there are hours and hours spent in the Maine Room at the Portland Public Library, searching for information on family members that continues to elude me even after almost 36 years of research....
So why am I considered to have an "attitude problem" when I'm simply suggesting what one of the most celebrated geniuses in history suggested for future geniuses?
Ah well. Such is my life until one of my books catches the kind of fan base that made Stephen King, J.K. Rowling and other such authors rich and famous. I guess I just have to learn to bite my tongue when it comes to the "coaching" and take the praise like he gave me last night, when I was continuing to straighten out the top stock in preparation for our "Black Friday" season: Back To School. (The warehouse has already started sending us items that we will need to be able to locate quickly for the summer to refill the "Power Aisle", so whenever I'm left to my own devices and I'm done with my regular duties, I've been reorganizing things that have been a royal mess for almost two years now.)
Last night, both my other team member and I got a compliment from the manager on how good the store looks, and how we're keeping more stock on the shelves than any other store in our district, and how happy the DM is with us....
But I still have an attitude problem. It's called "Obsessive Compulsive Disorder" and it makes me ignore whatever mess-making foolishness I'm asked to perform in order to make the store into the kind of place I like to go and shop...
I think I'm very happy with my "attitude problem".....*grin*
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