Skip to main content

Do you also talk to inanimate objects?

I caught myself apologising to my GPS for not following her instructions and I swore at SIRI.  She wasn’t happy!

Saying “Excuse me” when I am trying to get past my dogs amused my brother-in-law some years ago, because my sister does it too!

Then there’s explaining to the ants covering the kitchen counter that I don’t really want to kill them, and couldn’t they just stay outside where they would be safer.

I realise that dogs and ants aren't inanimate, but you know what I mean.

I signal to turn into my driveway and garage even though there is nobody within miles and that’s just the stuff I can easily remember.

The GPS is the worst though, because she completely intimidates me.   Especially if I have a route in mind, and she has to keep re-routing until I get to the part where I really need her help.   I am always worried she will get so irritated, she will decide not to assist me, so I tell her gently that I am going a different way, but will use her advice closer to the venue.   So far, she has tolerated my behaviour, but come the day……

Sports fanatics on PVR are another strange lot.   They yell at the TV, exhort the players to focus, work harder, run faster, yell at the ref, and the game finished at least an hour before.   Of course, it is equally strange to do it when watching TV live, I guess.

Investing inanimate objects with feelings is a further manifestation, begging your car to just get that extra 5 kilometres on zero petrol, pleading with your cell phone to let you finish the call on 1% battery, insisting your microwave heats items faster than the timer and the power can do are all strange, but even stranger is believing that they are on our side when things go right, and against us in some overall dastardly plan to make our lives difficult, when things don’t go to plan.

And I just caught myself politely responding to a voice message on my cell phone…

Although, telling a bottle of wine, as you open it at the end of a long day, “you are just what I needed” might be OK,  as long as it doesn’t answer back at any time!


Links and References
email:      tschroenn@accsys.co.za
twitter:   @TerylSchroenn

Note

Thank you for reading Teryl@Work.   Should you wish to use any of the material, please acknowledge this blog as the source

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

3 things to do BEFORE you resign

or sign a new contract… 1.         Confirm your notice period ·          A lot of companies allow 30 days from date of resignation, but many ask for a calendar month 2.        Check your restraints ·          If you are joining a competitor ·          If you are joining a client 3.        Find out when your last payment will be transferred ·          Companies have been burned by paying over on the 25 th , and people not returning, so they may delay payment transfer until the last official working day, or even the first day of the following month.  You may need to make special arrangements regarding debit orders …. Both your current company and your new one deserve to be fairly treated.   Knowledge of ...

When did having it all become doing it all?

Or being all things to all people… Ruth Bader Ginsburg , U.S. Supreme Court Justice: “You can’t have it all at once. Over my lifespan, I think I have had it all. But in different periods of time, things were rough.” As a mother, a wife and a business woman, I have thought a great deal about this.    My article about #OutsideWork generated some personal mail that asked me, inter alia: “How?” “What do I need to do to satisfy everybody that needs my full attention when I am with them?”  My children, my boss, my partner – they all need me to be the best that I can be, and I am barely keeping my head above water.” “I don’t want to be selfish, but there is no time for me.” And a poignant comment: “This article made me remember that there must be time for “self” but I am not finding it.  I am mentally and emotionally exhausted and nobody seems to care” There is no one answer.  It’s different for those in a committed partnership, compared to sing...

Employment Tax Incentive Bill (ETI) - Q & A (3)

The last part of the article on ETI, and we are still waiting for some finalisation, which I will post when I receive it. How does an employer deal with part pay periods? The incentive must be pro-rated to match the calculation of remuneration.  For example, if an employee starts on the 15 th of the month, and earns R2000 in the first month with the company: His remuneration must be grossed up to R4000 per month The ETI on this value calculated (R1000 in the first 12 qualifying months of employment) This results in a R500 ETI for the employer on this employee for this month Does it run for 24 Months from Date of Employment? Confirmation of this is required, but it appears that the Employer may claim for each employee for up to 24 months, even if they are not consecutive (ETI qualifying months, not months of employment) What happens if an employee leaves the organisation? Assuming all other qualifying factors are in place The next employer can start ...