I had a hot week this week and I am not talking about the weather here.

First, being a member of a QA/QC team in a salary survey have made me realise how naive I was in submitting data. Looks like the other participants did not follow the rule 100% so why didn’t I do some tweaking as well? Well, I discussed it with my boss first, of course. The result will still be the same, in fact it will make it more accurate. My boss did not mind. So after having a late meeting on Tuesday, I spent Wednesday and Thursday doing job re-matching, re-calculating and re-submitting followed by lots of e-mails and phone calls to clarify here and there. By end of Friday I could feel hot smoke seeping out of my scalp. The result of a brain being fried after seeing too many numbers and excel spreadsheet.

Second, having such a busy boss who spent all week in another country had put me in a hot seat. Mind you, I was not even the one who got Delegation of Authority but still I could not just push any managers that were coming on my way, could I? Oh how I wish I could…

It started with a heated discussion with one of the senior manager who just found out that one of his fellow senior manager may get an exception. Please note the word may as I was too down the line to know why somebody got something that he did not get. But did he care? No. He boiled me for 30 minutes, cornering me with question and pouring his grief over me. Which something that I can understand as I know him as a by the book player. I am too.

Unfortunately there is nothing I can do but promise him that I will make few calls to get clarification. And I indeed clarified it. However, it was obvious that he was still torn apart knowing that Company may make an exception if he asked. I explained to him that even if Company made an exception, it must have been made under a valid reason. It tore me apart too seeing him in grief as actually I really like this manager. He was one of the smartest, easy to work with and most sensible manager I ever came across in this company. Although I agreed that he has valid reason to feel angry, I still could not help feeling dissappointed that he even contemplate to be an awkward person to get what he wants just because that was what somebody else did.

I was so dissappointed and frustrated that I finally closed our discussion with voice an octave too high saying that is that the kind of person who he wanted to be? Does he really want to be an awkward person just to get what he want? And even if he got what he want, how would that make him feel? Would he feel good about him self? Oh please don’t sink your self that low! That has silenced him. So I continue that I did not like exception as well but hey, some people decided to make an exception based on circumstances and who are we to expect that they will explain to us. It is called management’s discretion. What happened to the other manager was not the first exception and will not be the last. He was quiet afterwards. I did not know nor care whether that was a good or a bad kind of quietness. All I know was I was so sick and tired being scrutinized why somebody got this and he did not and I did not regret that I was being brutally honest with him. I really am not a good liar. Sorry.

And other than that steaming episode, I got another request to find a way to terminate somebody for something that he did in the past. Not only in the past, something that he did many years a go in another company. WTF. This caused another late tele conference with my boss where we both agreed that this particular function or supervisor need to have some kick in the a**. It is somebody else’s life we are discussing here, hello?? Do you have things so called sub conscious?

In regards not to cause my brain more damage I left the office at 4 o’clock sharp on Friday to embrace weekend. I did not regret it even that would mean I may have long Monday next week. I just love being home with the kids and hubby at this kind of moment. Seeing them playing and quarrelling. Seeing their appled cheeks and innocent eyes. Hearing their daily banter and laughter They really put my mind away from work. Oh how I love weekend!