It wasn’t easy but it wasn’t that bad. Life is all about learning, right? I just drove to McDonald’s which is about 10 blocks away from me. Than I came home and did my once-a-week cleaning of my car. Vacuum rugs, take trash bag out and empty it and wipe down seats with soap and water. It’s a chore but I actually liked it today. It took me back to when I was 17 and I had my first car and I used to keep it clean and hand wash it.
Anyway, so I have a clean car now. The score is 5 points for me for a job well down. I came home and rested but I went out again an hour later and ate lunch at KFC. It went alright. Let me see. I think my score is twenty points now. Then I came home and organized my space in my room.
I have some suspicions that may be well founded or not. I may be headed for a train wreck but I just can’t see it. I’ll do my best to stave it off.
A funny thing happened at work. I work with a guy on my janitorial crew who is this 67 year old, tough. Harley-Davidison riding biker. We’ve been working together for almost two years now. He looks like this typical intimidating biker and he spent years in prison. But the guy is the funniest guy I know! He always says the funniest things to me.
At first I thought he was insulting me or laughing at me. And that is true occasionally. But now I finally learned that he’s just plain funny and he just likes to kid around. And it took me awhile, but now I joke back and make him laugh too.
But here’s my tip to y’all. For about 9 months I somehow got in this pattern where I was so self-centered at work that I was only thinking of myself most the time. And this guy I just mentioned noticed it and he was bugged by it, and rightly so. I guess he felt ignored and not validated or whatever. I tried to change myself but to no avail. But about a month and a half ago. I walked into work in the morning and just looked him in the eye and ackwoldged his presence.
And the problem evaporated and it cleared the air. So I learned a valuable lesson in human relations… Getting along with people doesn’t have to be this big committed, emotional do or die thing. Just something as simple as a friendly respectful gesture or a few kind words can make everybody happy and help you get along.
OK class. You can put away your notebooks now. Elvis and the teacher have left the building.
Salutations and Happy Saturday night.