Office Gossip: Take It Where You Shake It!

The meeting I spoke about in my previous post wasn't such a big deal but we did get a lecture on gossiping. Here's the thing: the guy who sits beside me is going through mid-life crisis and he did some things he shouldn't have done. Also, he's decided his kids hate him and his marriage is over. To make matters worse, there's somebody else involved who works here. Long story short, I've been his sounding board for every minute fragment of scandal and angst arising from this situation.

According to our boss, even if you are listening to somebody else ramble on, you are guilty of office gossip and NOBODY WINS. To revert to the popular vernacular of the day, it's time to tell the office gossip: "Hey, take it where you shake it!"

I don't know how I feel about this, really. If a person is sharing his complete mental breakdown with a trusted associate of almost 20 years, could that really be defined as gossip? Well, it depends upon whether or not he is dragging another person into the scenario and, for instance, calling her a tease and a whore. Then, yes, it is gossip and must not be tolerated.

Anyway, mid-life-crisis guy took a couple of weeks off to deal with his shit so I am, for the moment, clean and law-abiding.

I have to admit, when all is said and done, finger pointing and sex scandals ease the tedium of a bleak winter day at work. If only it wasn't happening AT WORK, where somebody is always ready to jump on your ass and accuse you of being part of the problem when you're only trying to part of the solution.

Amid chalk scratches from a days-old hopscotch session...

...I came upon this profound pondering. In a very affluent neighbourhood, somebody named Vangie is struggling with some big questions, apparently.

A Twig Menagerie

As part of my Grab the World by the Heart health regimen, I have incorporated a half-hour walk into my morning commute. I really enjoy walking through my area when there are few people about to piss me off. Here, in the quiet space just after sunrise and just before the first mini-van driving suburbanite cranks up one of his many motorized conveniences, we have a kind of serenity.

I frequently pass this array of sculptures at a property in the area of Grosvenor and Oak. I don't mind them at all - they are a fun addition to this otherwise ordinary neighbourhood.