I'll Just Listen

You ever had a total stranger tell you their life story? It happens to me a lot. Most recently, at Walmart in the men's underwear aisle. There I was, by myself, looking for underwear for my growing son, and along comes a gentleman in his late 50's. He decides to give me advice on what kind of underwear my son might find comfortable. Now, I didn't ask for advice, nor did I start the conversation. He seemed genuine so I just let him speak and I listened. The conversation went from underwear, to learning he's originally from the east coast, to where he met his wife, to how he got into his profession (contractor), to the meaning of the tattoos on his body, to his relationship with his siblings. This conversation lasted about 45 minutes with us still standing in the men's underwear aisle.

This happens to me all the time. I'm not sure why people feel the need to tell me their life story. Most of these people end up telling me at the end, "I don't know why I just told you all of that." But I don't mind. I listen because maybe they don't have anyone else to talk to. I listen because maybe it's part of their healing process and they just need to tell their life story to a random stranger.

Maybe one day I'll understand why total strangers like to tell me their life stories. But until then, I'll just keep listening with compassion and understanding.

No More Bonus Quizzes for Me!

Finally! It's over! I took the last of the bonus quizzes - BQ12 and BQ13. It took me at least 45 minutes to an hour to complete both quizzes on paper. And I studied. I printed out the practice guide and wrote down all my answers because I believe in muscle memory; if I hand write my answers, the more likely I'll be able to recall them.

BQ12 reminded me of BQ1 with mostly all fill in the blanks. BQ13 is where you needed to explain to the Hillbillies your answers, like most of the bonus quizzes we've had. I was provided with a screenshot of an Excel sheet to use as reference for the quizzes. It's just a screenshot, not actual Excel, so you won't be able to manipulate the sheet or anything like that.

The best tip I can give is to use the practice guide provided and write down your answers since this quiz is on paper. When the guide says to practice an action, please open the Excel program and practice because there are questions that ask what the process is or what's the step in the process. Also, know how to use PEMDAS and when to use absolute cell references. And lastly, there are questions that ask about functions. All the functions in the practice guide will be used (HINT: look at questions 3, 19-23). The one that I had the most trouble with was the SUMIF function. I already know I got that one miserably wrong.

Don't stress too much about these quizzes, as they are BONUS. The way I look at it is, anything I got correct is a plus. It was better to try to get bonus points than not try at all. I'm just glad it's over. No more bonus quizzes for me!

The Holidays are Here!

With the holiday season starting, so do the parties and get togethers. And I am probably one of the few people who aren't looking forward to any of that. Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of the holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. I just don't like having to go parties and get togethers. Family parties are fine, I don't have a problem with those. It's the parties like company parties and parties where I don't know many people. I prefer not to "people" when I don't have to. So, I will think of any excuse to get out of going. If I can't get out of going, you'll find me in the corner just people watching. It's a bonus if I have food to eat while people watching.

"But it's the way we've always done it"

If there is one phrase that irritates me most at work it is, "but it's the way we've always done it." I can't tell you how many times I've been told that phrase. Just because you've always done something a certain way, it doesn't make it right. My favorite question to ask people is "why?". Explain to me why. If you can't explain to me the "why" behind the process, and you tell me because "that's the way it's always been done", it just shows me that you don't truly understand what you're doing. And I recognize that you're just doing what you were trained to do, going through the motions that you were taught because "that's the way it's always been done." But sometimes the way something has always been done is actually in violation of an internal control which could cost the company tens of thousands of dollars. But I digress.

 

I love what I do, I just get irritated when someone tells me "but it's the way we've always done it."