Office Politics

I’ve been spending time in an office environment as I learn more about being a journalist (and figuring out if this is what I want to do with the rest of my life – it’s not quite). I must say, I am not keen to be working in an office for the rest of my life.

I am never comfortable, the office climate is just awkward (both hot and cold, and not matching the outdoor weather, which makes dressing for the day complicated), and there is nothing to look at. We actually learn about it in HKE: we need visual relief, like a pot plant, or more windows so we can have contact to the outside environment. This place just feels so unnatural!

It’s also noisy. This is an open plan office, and my mom works in an open plan office. You can hear every person’s conversation all the time. And the cellphones with their weird ring tones, and people who aren’t at their desk when their phone rings endlessly, sure, maybe I could get used to it, but man that’s an irritation!

One of the reasons I chose to specialise in Writing and Editing rather than Television Journalism was because TV was forecast to involve a lot of group work. Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind working in a team, so long as it’s a team and everyone pulls their weight, and group discussions can go down constructively and in a timely manner rather than unproductive banter. I don’t even have to like you to work with you. But as soon as petty politics comes into play, that’s when I take issue.

When you do group assignments there will always be that one person who does absolutely nothing, and they piggyback on the rest, never contributing. Whinging in those situations is irritating: they should just suffer some sort of repercussion and hopefully they learn from their mistakes, and improve next time. This is where office politics comes into play.

So this post may have become a rant of some sort, and I haven’t gone into the issue of office politics enough, but it’s going to take quite a while to convince me that this is the right kind of working environment for me. Some day soon I will share my dream office plan with you, and trust me, it will revolutionise offices for everyone. Or just me. Whatever, I don’t mind.

Why can't I have my cake and eat it too?

Do you have to choose one or the other? Why should we have to choose? If there is more than one option for something, and all the options are good, then why can't we just go for it?

The fact that there's consequences in life really bothers me. It's an inconvenience that can make life boring and complicated. But these consequences keep us safe, so I'll bear with it and endure the deliberation between choosing my cake, or eating what's given to me without complaining.

On a literal note: I want cake to be calorie-free. I wish I could just eat everything without the consequence of putting on weight, or having to do excessive amounts of exercise just so that I don't put on weight (which happens...). Food is delicious, and I look forward to next weekend when I get to eat ALL THE FOOD for four weeks straight... And no one can tell me off or warn me of any consequences. Follow my food blog for details of my escapades: thekendz.com

Has IM made us more spontaneous?

I have a friend who refuses to get a Blackberry, which, I suppose is somewhat understandable. He has an iPhone (far cooler, I guess, to the point where I will be joining i-Ness in the very near future). But, he also refuses to download an instant messenger app like WhatsApp because he doesn't believe that people need to be able to get hold of him 24/7, and if it really is an emergency, they can phone him, or send him a message on Facebook. As a loyal BBM-er, or IM-er at the very least, I struggle to wrap my head around this.

My loyal curve

The point of advancing technology is to make life faster, simpler, easier, and, I find in many cases, cheaper. Because I've grown to have full on chats with people, one message isn't enough, it will be a stream of conversation, otherwise I guess I would just send an Email. So when I want to talk to someone who is not connected like this, I have to spend money on many messages, when I already spend money on data, and the phone itself. I am not saying I resent having to spend money to talk to this person, but it really is an inconvenience.

Another thing I do: because IM is instant, I'll type out a message and press enter to send it. When I have to send a text (SMS), I press send, before considering if that's all that I wanted to say in the message. And if I forget to mention something, I have to send another message (which is fine over IM), but which costs money, again. There is just such a commitment to the sending of a message: are you sure you've said everything that you needed to? The length of the message is limiting as well.

I really enjoy the instant nature of the IM. Particularly with BBM, if I see someone's update, it nudges me to talk to them; it's a conversation starter. It's also easier to make plans with someone if you can do it via a conversation: plans can be adapted and moulded as you learn about what the other person is available to do, or even as inspiration hits, or when brainstorming for plans. You don't have to commit to an idea or solid invitation, but you can play things by ear a lot more.

I'm not saying this is impossible to do without IM. But I find that I am less likely to message someone randomly if they aren't quickly and easily available. I find it with my friends as well. It's easier to get things done faster in this evermore connected world, and I feel that we should take advantage of it where we can.

I can't find my pen...

You know it's exam time when...

Now, where did I leave my pen...?

I was just holding it before I picked up my laptop, I'm sure I just put it down on the book I was making notes in, how could it have gone so far away...

Oh... There it is... Please excuse me if you find chewing on the back of a pen offensive. This one does not have much life left anyway. I'm studying like a boss, but going through ink incredibly fast.

My current predicament

I love exam time, which I understand not everyone can understand, but each to his own, right? What me and my fellow student colleagues do all have in common is the impending decision time: what are we going to do with the rest of our lives, and are we ready for the big bad world?

I am majoring in three pretty different subjects, because I couldn't decide which path I wanted to follow, not much has changed, but now I actually kind of have to pick a path... Man I hate making big decisions! Faced with so many choices, I keep telling myself that I am lucky to have choices at all. I just have too many options. I also can't choose the one that will make me happiest, the one I really want to do, or the best one, because I know they will all make me happy, or work out really well in the end.

Option 1: Stay at Rhodes next year and do Human Kinetics and Ergonomics Honours (Then possibly option 2 after that, which we can combine into "Option 3")...

Yay, exercise! 

Option 2: Stay at Rhodes next year and do Health Journalism Honours (provided they actually offer it for 2014, which there is rumour that they won't do...)

I took this photo for a health journalism piece last year.
This is also the studio where I instruct indoor cycling,
which is something I am loving doing.

Option 4: Go back home <3 study Sports Science or Biokinetics at Tuks or at UJ (provided I get accepted...) (this is a bunch of options in one. I miss home so much, I am truly torn as to whether I should go back or not...

Some of my favourite people that I miss terribly in Jozi

An old photo but probably the early days of one of my
closest friendships. I miss this girl so much! 

Option 5: Move to England

One of the streets leading away from Buckingham
Palace. I'm pretty British, I look forward to a
bustling London lifestyle

Problem: I miss home, I have jobs and independence in Grahamstown, I don't know what I want to do with my life.

So I have to make some of these choices soon, so that I can start applying for them and applying for "funding", which will be a challenge as well, people haven't been too clear on the process, so amid my exam prep I have to look into it perhaps.

In the meantime, if I do apply for Honours (which I will do "just in case" I do decide it's what I want to do), I need to have the marks earning me a position, which will be these marks from these exams now...  You could say I'm a little stressed right now, or you could understand by the fact that I'm eating 3x my "daily calorie allowance", which is steadily pushing "looking good"for my 21st in 5 weeks out of the equation...