Better human interactions

Some of the "difficult people" I deal with right now were not so very difficult today; either I'm misinterpreting their tone or someone told them to shape up in how they treat people or maybe they were just awkward at first. I can only hope.

I find the people part of my job the hardest part. I find the people part of any job the hardest part. I've had people (after hearing me teach Sunday school or something) ask me if I've ever thought of going into the ministry and when I thought about it, I came up with my answer: I can handle the "God part" of it fine, but the "people part" would be v. difficult (for example: having to counsel a couple having difficulties and arguing. I know there are classes where you can learn techniques but I also know my particular personality would not be well-suited to that sort of thing).

And piano went fairly well, despite - as I said on Twitter: "Antoine-Henry Lemoine's "Etudes Enfantines" (esp. #35) can TOTALLY suck it." Oh, it's not an awful piece - it's actually rather pretty. But it hits two of my bugbears: maintaining a steady staccato and also "jumping" my hands around (doing inversions).

And my teacher asked me to serve as a reference in case she applies for a job at my uni. She used to work there years ago, but her office was downsized, so she's bounced around doing different things. (I'm hopeful that even if her job changes she will still keep teaching me).

And then it was AAUW. Even though it's an effort to go out, I got fed (salad supper) and also some of our scholarship recipients were there (including my former student). And I got fussed over a little bit, which I kind of needed.

Understand: being fussed over is not the same thing as being fussed at. Being fussed at means someone telling you you need a haircut, or you've done something wrong, or you really need to go and put all that glassware in your lab away, or something like that. Being fussed over is people telling you nice stuff or getting things for you or making you food.

And I did get fussed over a little.  Several people commented they 'appreciated' me (I am the recording secretary, which frankly is an easier job than it looks to be: you have very little decision-making pressure, you just have to be good at taking notes (minutes) and typing them up, you get excused from some other less-pleasant duties by virtue of You Are Already Doing Something)

And yeah, I like that. And yes, I get that that's how people get me to keep doing these tasks. But it's nice once in a while to hear you're "appreciated," or, like one other woman said "Oh, I adore you" and even discounting for hyperbole, it's better than a sharp stick in the eye, or what my younger self experienced (being excluded and teased by other girls). Either the mean girls grew up and saw the error of their ways and got nicer, or they went off and formed mean cliques and the people I hang out with as an adult were the "nice girls" in the school....