More Memories

Societal Paradigm Shift……

Just for fun, let’s say you worked for a female vice president, fortyish, in great shape, attractive and easy to work with. With all her good qualities, there was one that really bugged you. She scratched herself; not her head or her arm… she was always digging at her crotch.

So, what do you do? Of course in your mind, you wonder if you should offer to help.

The reality of the story was the vice president was a man. Now that puts a whole different spin on the events, doesn’t it? A woman scratching herself is not offensive; it’s funny. A man digging at his crotch is…. yeah, you get the picture.

Psychically you try to tell him to ‘use baby powder’ or ‘take a good hot shower’, or ‘date a better class of women……’ The situation is still funny, but a lot more disgusting. He scratched in front of men, women, employees and customers. It was as if he didn’t even realize he was even doing it.

It’s the same act of scratching, in the same body area. The only difference is one is a man and one is a woman, Yet with a woman it’s funny and with a man it’s just plain dirty.

Interesting, huh? I don’t dictate perception, I just comment on it.

The Velvet Hammer…..

We’ll call her ‘Martha’. She was a project manager in her early sixties, with a keen fashion sense, and totally self-centered. She was the centered of the universe… which is more typical of women in their early twenties. A self-proclaimed ‘perfectionist’, Martha had the best taste in clothes, makeup, hair, and just about everything else imaginable.

That by itself wouldn’t earn space in my rant except for her unabashed self-serving bullshit. You could talk to Martha one-on-one; no problem. But when anyone else was around, or happen by, watch out!

Martha and I were talking before a PMO meeting, when our director walked by. Suddenly she said (for no apparent reason) “I can’t believe what you said!” The director stopped and turned back and said ‘Excuse me?” She then said, “I can’t believe what (the Pundit) just said. I’m so embarrassed!”

“The director just shrugged and he walked away shaking his head. Luckily she wasn’t one of his favorite people.

“What the hell was that about, Martha?”

“Well, you always say embarrassing things. You know how you are!”

Martha embarrassed? Fat fucking chance! This is the same woman who gave advise to a group of women on how to give a great BJ— true story.

This was not an isolated incident, and the worst part was, I inadvertently got sucked into her fantasies many times over the next two years. Her timing was impeccable; she was the only one who ever heard my alleged obscenities It was a classic case of ‘making herself look good, but making others look bad’. Thankfully, the director saw through her cunning plan.

Each time it happened, I just wanted to say, ‘Go fuck yourself’, but I couldn’t afford to turn the whole thing into a ever escalating conflict in a company that believed that the PMO member were BFF. Yeah…