Out with the Old

I've been told often that I'm just like my dad in many respects. Most times I don't mind the comparisons especially when it has to do with his dedication to health & fitness. Well, at the close of 2010 I reminded myself of him with his coined phrase of, "_______ isn't making it into 2011." The blank line would be filled with whichever of his associates or friends he was cutting off in the new year. Usually a person made this list of my dads because they let him down one too many times of the current year and beyond and he was tired of it. Sometimes I admonished my father for cutting off friendships, in particular with those he'd been friends with for most of his adult life. In those situations, unless a person has done something monstrously out of line, I'd tell him he should cherish those friendships and be a little more forgiving.

On the other hand there does come a time in certain friendships or associations where it is completely justifiable to cut people off. Sometimes people show you that they are just not deserving of any form of close relations with you. I have two such people in my life--both in the workplace. One of them I was warned about when I first hired into the department. Still I called myself befriending the woman. Over the course of 4 years, the woman has caught unexplained attitudes with me, usually getting loud, calling attention to whatever the issue was, at least 4 times. With the last one, sometime in October, I was DONE. Mainly because that last time, she had gotten under my skin to the point where I was about ready to pretend that we weren't in the workplace and I don't have time jeopardizing my job for anyone. Needless to say, she and I haven't spoken sense and I have no plans of saying anything more to her than "Good Morning."

The other person has been a pretty cool person to laugh and joke around with at work. It helped the day to go by faster. Unfortunately, this person--a man--has clearly been severely affected by working in the company of so many women for some many years. He acts just like them, if not worse. First let me say that two years ago, he got mad at our little group of friends and stopped talking to all of us for months. Eventually, he came to his senses and began to talk again. Most recently, he interjected his opinion into a conversation that I was having with another coworker THEN had the nerve to catch an attitude with me when everybody involved in the conversation pounced on his opinion. The conversation occurred 3 weeks ago and he hasn't had much to say to me. Well, you know what, the last thing I have time to deal with at work, of all places, is a BI&*HY man. So as far as I'm concerned I won't be saying anything to him outside of anything related to work.

With both of these individuals, it's their loss, not mine.