As most of you know, I went to WeHo on Saturday. For those that don't know what WeHo is, it's a nickname for West Hollywood - the gay mecca of Southern California.
I went there with my cousin and her boyfriend, mostly because she's been nagging me to go for a while. Mind you, West Hollywood is not my most favorite place on the planet, as I don't feel very comfortable there and I most certainly don't fit in. I only share one thing in common with most of the visitors to this place.
So, we hopped from bar to club, checking out "the scene". I still don't like it all that much, probably because I haven't had much exposure to it. There's a certain club there called The Abbey. Since this club is the most popular place in WeHo, and because WeHo is the most popular place where gay people gather in LA, you will find the most gay people in this place at any one time (aside from Pride events, that is). It's huge, noisy, crowded, and very, very dark.
So dark, in fact, that you often cannot see who is grabbing or groping for you as you try to push your way through the crowd in a vain attempt to get a spot to sit down.
I was ready to leave, and informed my cousin and her boyfriend of this fact. As we battled our way out, I was literally crossing over the exit barrier when someone out of the darkness grabbed my hand.
Granted, whenever I felt a hand on me, regardless of its location, I would quickly move away from it. This one, however, caught me. So I turned around and ended up eye-to-eye with someone vaguely familiar.
"I know you". He said.
"You work at [the company I work at], don't you"?
I was hesitant. "Yeah. In manufacturing."
"Ah. That's right." He furrowed his brow. "Tony"?
Mild shock of panic. "Yes". I answered. "And you are"?
He extended his hand. "I'm [his name]". "I hired you - I'm the director of HR".
First thought? "Holy f***"! "The director of HR"? Here? Great. Now he knows that I'm...
Then rationality crept in. So is he.
"Hey, let me get your number, Tony." He said calmly.
I gave him my cell. "I'll be calling you". He said.
"And..." He continued. "Don't be shy. Contact me. Send me an e-mail and we'll meet up".
"Sure thing". Was all I could say. Then my cousin, her boyfriend, and I left the club.
I got an e-mail from him today asking about us having lunch so we could talk. Now I'm wondering - is this for a friendly conversation? To discuss my future career plans? Or something else?
I am so pissed at one of my co-workers right now.
I know that I'm not the most favorite person in my department. I know that some people would rather not see me in my position anymore. I also know that with the removal of my previous supervisor, any security that she gave us is now gone.
The remaining supervisor is starting a liquidation campaign against the rest of my group, and believe me, it's obvious - but no one is saying anything.
Normally, a sane person is supposed to wait for the shitstorm to pass before sharing any counter-opinions with someone who has the authority to terminate your position. My plan is to lay low, do my job, not make any big mistakes, and not complain - like always.
Unfortunately, one such individual that risks liquidation decided to "have a talk" with the ruling supervisor - "about the way of things". That was the absolute _worst_ thing to do. This co-worker threw around names, opinions, feelings, and blame. Now, I'm not the type to fly off the handle easily, but I'm very, very, very upset. I think that he just dug us all a nice, deep, dark, mass grave.
Sifting through the morass of emotion and inner turmoil that fill most mundanes' minds can be disquieting.
Too bad that there aren't any kind of formalized non-holistic psionic training programs available to us. Usually, there are schools or other services available to people that show an extraordinary aptitude for something - like music, mathematics, etc. What about those of us that are very good at reading into the true intentions, motivations, and thoughts of others?
It's been kind of strange how I've been able to preempt what everyone is going to say today. At least, a lot more today so far than I have usually been able to. And on that note, I've been able to tell how people are feeling before they even speak. Perhaps it's some kind of latent/growing ability that I have that needs training or further refinement before I can take full advantage of it.
I mean, it's not a super power or anything, but it has been an ability that I've been able to unconsciously use as I've gotten older. Sometimes I just know what people are going to say, or what they are feeling, before it becomes apparent.
Now, I know that some will read this and immediately start a flaming thread or something (as Bug comes to mind), demanding proof, or to tell me that I'm full of it. That's fine. There's really no way that I can prove it to you.
I would just wish that there was some kind of training for it, that's all. Maybe I can start something of my own...
One of my old professors (and I mean old) passed away the 8th of June.
This particular professor taught me organic chemistry during my last summer at LMU. He was a patient teacher and a good man. I looked up to him, and though I have to say that I found most of the material boring, he at least made the attempt to make it interesting.
In any case, though I did know a few things about what made him tick, I wasn't very close with him. Still, I feel rather sad to hear about his passing. I was invited to a funeral service at the school coming up the 15th (Tuesday).
I'm going to see all of my old teachers and schoolmates there, and I have to admit that it's going to be kind of hard for me to do that, mostly because I bear a lot of resentment for some of my past teachers (they were really, really disagreeable individuals).
However, I'm reminding myself that I'm going to be there for one of the few professors that I liked. I don't know what I'm going to say to any of the faculty, but at least I'll be able to pay my respects.
Trouble is, I'm still on the graveyard shift, and I have to work Monday night (the 14th) to Tuesday morning (the 15th), from 9PM to 8AM... and his service starts at 10AM. Not only that, my old campus is right next to LAX airport... that means I have to drive into L.A., which also in turn means that traffic on the 101 and 405 is going to suck - big time.
There has to be a better way. I mean, the best thing that I can think of is taking Monday off; that way I can drive to L.A. at night and stay the night with friends or something. Then I can attend the service in the morning and drive back before my shift starts Tuesday... ugh.
I don't know anyone around that area anymore that I can call for a place to stay, except for an old flame that never really manifested as a flame, so to speak. Should I call him? I don't know.
Gah. I don't deal well with death... or traffic... or former-almost-boyfriends.
I think that all of my hard work is paying off even more than I previously thought.
First of all, I had a meeting with my supervisor this morning that was rather informative and very... interesting, to say the least. We went over my overall Development Plan again, and I told him that I had been thinking about seeing departments other than clinical manufacturing. I think that it was fair to say this, mostly because I can't say how great my job is compared to others without actually visiting other departments and witnessing what they do all day.
He said that clinical manufacturing was a good place to be, and and even better place to stay. I told him that I was meeting with a Process Development scientist for lunch today to discuss my options. Then, my supervisor surprised me and started talking... differently.
He said, "You and I have a lot more in common than you think". I didn't know what he was getting at, but it did strike me, so I just listened. "You know, I used to be just like you." He continued, "You're very intense, and I know that you like to get into a lot of things at once".
"Let me tell you something; you may or may not think that this is the best job ever, but I know that you do appreciate it and that you do, in fact, like it." He was right, but I didn't say anything. "I can't make you stay, but I would like to arrange something where you go over to Process Development or something so you can at least see the bigger picture, and hopefully make a better decision based on what you'll learn".
I didn't know if he wanted a response or not, but I felt that he wanted me to let it sink in before anything. So I did. Then, as I left, he said, "my door is always open, G. If you need to talk or anything, I'm here."
It was odd, and more personable than my usual exchanges with him.
Anyway, lunch today was the real kicker. Evidently, my name fell on a few ears with the scientists over in Process Development. They want to recruit me for some kind of "ambassadorship" program that links Process Development more with Clinical Manufacturing. This is a good thing.
If I want to get into PD, or at least raise my visibility here in manufacturing, I can help out with the program and act as a resource for both departments - a liason bridging the gap between the two. It's kind of cool.
So, this scientist asks me if I'd be interested, and then he tells me that I can contact him for anything. He gave me all of his contact information, then said that I can use him as a resource if I have any questions at all about the field, about companies, people, projects, departments, anything. He also added that I can use his name if need be if anyone tries to stop me. That sounds somewhat frightening to me. In any case, I have a real mentor now. Cool.