eydi

[eydi]

College entrance exams are cancelled. My chances of getting accepted by a good university further lessen. Why didn't I work hard back then?

[eydi]

Office Survival Tactics

Saw this going around on Twitter, thought I’d share some of my wisdom here. I’ve worked in some sort of office for most of my professional career, and it’s run the gammut from delightful to downright horrendous. So, keeping in mind that this is my experience and Your Experience May Vary, here are some of the things I’ve learned along the way. (Feel free to add your own!)

- Keep medicine on hand for head and stomach ailments. Few things suck more than trying to tough it through the afternoon with a bad headache or an upset stomach. Keep it in a drawer or keep it in your purse or messenger bag or whatever, but better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

- If it’s allowed, have a snack drawer or a snack bin. Breakfast bars, crackers, nuts, whatever nonperishable thing it is that helps you get through the day. Try to have healthy choices if you can. Make sure everything is properly sealed so it doesn’t go stale or stink or attract pests. For this last one, I also recommend small plastic storage bins that fit in an empty file drawer. And if possible, put a lock on it.

- Energy shots or fruit > coffee or sugary snacks for the afternoon slump. Coffee and sugar can mess up your stomach or just lead to another crash. A small sip of an energy shot (don’t chug it, that way lies heart palpitations) or some fruit like an apple or banana can give you just enough of a boost to refocus and make it through the rest of the day.

- Always know the fastest route to the bathroom and the parking lot. It takes a lot of anxiety out of the day if you know where to go when you have to GO. Also, know where the closest emergency exit is in case of trouble, and have a plan for getting clear of the building as quickly as possible.

- Have a filing system that is clear and consistent. This is for everyone else’s sanity as well as your own. You should be able to find things quickly and easily, with as little fuss and frustration as possible. If you’re out sick or on vacation, someone else should be able to find that project you were working on if they need to. Label folders, date-stamp documents, keep things together. Create your own system if one doesn’t exist.

- Ask for or create a set of instructions. If there’s a set of written work instructions for your position, have it handy while you’re training. Print it out and make notes on it, because there are always nuances that don’t make the final draft or changes that happen after the document is created. If there are no work instructions, make your own. It’s way better to have something to refer back to than to have to go and ask questions every time you hit a roadblock.

- Ask for a copy of your job description. This will help you keep track of your responsibilities, and help you update your resume if you decide to leave. It also helps keep people from dumping things on you that aren’t part of your job.

- Document EVERYTHING. Was there a meeting? Take notes and file them. Did you have a discussion with your boss or a coworker about a project? Email them after with a brief outline of what you discussed and what the plan is going forward. Don’t trust yourself to remember everything. Write it down so you don’t have to.

- Back up EVERYTHING. If you’re handing over a report or a project, make sure you retain a copy. If shared drives are available, save your work there and not just on your own computer. That way, if your machine breaks, you don’t lose work.

- Manage your workload with reminders and a To Do list. Don’t let deadlines sneak up you. If you‘ve got a lot to do, write it down and prioritize things. Again, don’t trust yourself to remember. Write it down so you don’t have to. That doesn’t mean you need post-its all over the place though. Use a notepad doc, stick a steno pad in your drawer, whatever works. Set reminders on your Outlook calendar too.

- Try to be polite and pleasant if you can. You don’t have to be a morning person or obnoxiously chipper, but don’t be a grouch either. Complain as little as possible, or at least do it with a sense of humor. It makes you easier to work with and elevates people’s opinion of you. And make sure you back it up by doing your job as well as you can.

- Learn how to say no firmly but kindly. Give and receive criticism with tact and grace. If you bring up a problem, try to suggest a solution at the same time. Again, this makes you easier and more pleasant to work with, and it makes you look intelligent and capable without setting you up to catch a whole lot of extra work.

- If you’re working in a team setting, make sure you do your part, plus just a little bit extra. Try to anticipate what needs to be done and do it ahead of time whenever possible. Make sure your ass is covered and show your work. So if something goes wrong, it will be very clear that it wasn’t because of any failure on your part.

- And this should go without saying but…save your shit-talking about the job or your coworkers for OUTSIDE the workplace. And NEVER put it on your social media. Venting is fine, but not if it creates a hostile work environment or gets you fired.

[eydi]

girls complimenting you is truly next level. i don’t give a fuck if a man even recognizes my existence, but girls telling you you’re pretty is life changing

[eydi]

Grades

I have a weird relationship with grades. I don’t necessarily care for them, but I also don’t want bad ones. I just want them to be average. Get them high enough, so hopefully, some university would accept me. But also get them low enough, so I wouldn’t feel any pressure to do well in real life. 

I just want to be able to mess things up. Do dumb things. Be irrational. Be stupid. Be indecisive. I want to live freely. 

[eydi]

[eydi]

Everything is more beautiful because we are doomed. You will never be lovelier than you are now. We will never be here again

HOMER, THE ILIAD.

[eydi]

Almond by Son Won-Pyeong

Below are my favorite quotes from the book above:

“I won’t tell you whether it has a happy ending or a tragic ending. Because, first of all, every story becomes boring once the ending is spoiled. Second of all, not telling you will make you more engaged in this one. Lastly, and I know it sounds like an excuse, but neither you nor I nor anyone can ever really know whether a story is happy or tragic.“

“Books took me to places I could never go otherwise. They shared the confessions of people I’d never met and lives I’d never witnessed. The emotions I could never feel, and the events I hadn’t experienced could all be found in those volumes.“

“But books were different. They had lots of blanks. Blanks between words and even between lines. I could squeeze myself in there and sit, or walk, or scribble down my thoughts. It didn’t matter if I had no idea what the words meant. Turning the pages was half the battle.“

“To me, that’s like being asked, Why do you live? Do you live for any purpose? Let’s be honest, we just live because we’re alive. When things are great we’re happy, and when things aren’t, we cry.” 

“I do not know how this story will unfold. As I said, neither you nor I nor anyone can ever know whether a story is happy or tragic. It may be impossible to categorize a story so neatly in the first place. Life takes on various flavors as it flows. I’ve decided to confront it. Confront whatever life throws at me, as I always have. And however much I can feel, nothing more, nothing less.”