Whoa, I think that commenter-involved Crappy Hour might be a little too complex for me. Although it would satisfy a long held fantasy that when Megan can't find a Crappy Hour partner she would just start gchatting me instead.
A mortgage holiday? So, let me get this straight. To... save... the economy, let's eliminate a major source of revenue for banks, which we have just poured tons of money into so that we could save them. Then, everyone can take the money that they would have been using to pay their mortages and "save" it, even though we know that the American consumer doesn't save shit and will just use the extra money to go to Wal Mart and buy crap that was made in China. Money that would haev been going to American financial institutions will be pouring into the economies of countries that produce cheap goods. Economy fixed!
@morninggloria: People will just take the money and pay down their debt, or use it along with the "Cash for Clunkers" program to buy a new car. So the banks will "suffer."
OK, before I read it: BWWWWAAAHHH!!! End of an era. Crappy Hour is my morning news show.
Megan, may good things come to you in the future wherever you go.
@morninggloria: One of my big jobs at work is sending out correspondence, and I am shocked at the number of returned envelopes I get with return to sender stickers on perfectly good addresses. Fuckers don't even try any more.
@Lymed: Damned Socialists! Propping up the banks and the auto industry! What?!?! They couldn't run their businesses? Let them eat cake! Or Jell-O... or Ramen...
Do you know the secret to why people think Limbaugh is smart? Because at least 4 times an hour, he reminds his listeners how smart they are.
Even as he's telling them how stupid they are.
I work in a field where most of my bosses have been women. Usually they are ok.
My current boss is an architect which is a field of a lot of men. I think she thinks she has a lot to prove. She overcompensates by being mean. There is no reason to be mean and all she does is undermine herself by her words and behavior.
I haven't had a male boss in a while, but some of them were jerks and some were great, too. The point is, anyone can be a jerk but anyone can be a horrible boss.
@linnyt is a walking cliché: I can identify with your boss, sort of. I currently manage a small team in a male-dominated industry and I often have to reign myself in. I am not mean but I used to micromanage even though I hated it whenever managers did that to me. I am doing it much less now that I know my team better and I am more aware of their strengths and areas for improvement, so I can delegate smarter.
I think I used to micromanage because I felt that as a woman, a black woman at that, there was less room for error. I was not allowed to make mistakes without it being seen as indictment on my abilities. Maybe it was all in my mind but it is the way I felt.
I've had passive-aggressive female and male bosses, gruff female bosses, kind male bosses, so it is more complicated than gender. However, I will concur that I have noticed that male co-workers love to hear themselves talk, while female co-workers tend to sit back and listen and only add something when they think it is necessary. Unfortunately, if you present yourself as someone with something important to say, many people accept as that, rather than paying attention to actual worth of the contribution.
My graduate school adviser was female. She is my gold standard and my benchmark for mentoring. She was also a great boss.
At least in academia, most male bosses are just plain odd and cannot relate to anything outside of work.
Wait, I thought we went over this two threads ago. Gender stereotyping is unhelpful. Men and women may carry certain characteristics of their gender, but they are individuals first and foremost and should be approached as such.
For what it's worth, my worst boss ever was a man. My best boss ever also was (is) a man, but he's my dad so I might be a little biased.
@colormeroutine: I've had the same experience. It's not about gender, IMHO, at all - it's that it seems as though certain "types" are allowed to become "bosses" and that seems to lead to similar problems ...
Smith is making too much of a generalization here. Sure, she may have had better experenices with women, but I think every person makes that kind of statement depending on the industry, the size of one's company, personality compatibility, etc. Gender plays a role, of course, but is not the deciding factor, at least for me.
My boss is a man, and is hands-down the best boss I've ever had. He is a neurotic, hyper-articulate gossipmonger, too, but a great boss. We get along swell.
@Mary McCarthyite: My two favorite bosses were men, and while I generally like working for and with women, they often don't have the power within our organization to get me what I need. That's because above them, the people with real influence are men. The guys know how to deal with that; the women don't have enough experience to figure it out.
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It'll be fun! Choose Your Own Crappy Hour Adventure by asking me stuff.
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Megan, may good things come to you in the future wherever you go.
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Even as he's telling them how stupid they are.
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My current boss is an architect which is a field of a lot of men. I think she thinks she has a lot to prove. She overcompensates by being mean. There is no reason to be mean and all she does is undermine herself by her words and behavior.
I haven't had a male boss in a while, but some of them were jerks and some were great, too. The point is, anyone can be a jerk but anyone can be a horrible boss.
07/27/09
I think I used to micromanage because I felt that as a woman, a black woman at that, there was less room for error. I was not allowed to make mistakes without it being seen as indictment on my abilities. Maybe it was all in my mind but it is the way I felt.
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At least in academia, most male bosses are just plain odd and cannot relate to anything outside of work.
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For what it's worth, my worst boss ever was a man. My best boss ever also was (is) a man, but he's my dad so I might be a little biased.
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My boss is a man, and is hands-down the best boss I've ever had. He is a neurotic, hyper-articulate gossipmonger, too, but a great boss. We get along swell.
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