Blindsided

Every situation in which we find ourselves that involves other people demands that we be acutely aware of what is happening around us.

We have to listen closely to what other people are saying... the nuance of what is being said, the words used, the tone of the other person's voice. We have to always be looking to see what is happening from moment to moment. Most importantly, we have to always be acutely aware of the relational connections between us and the important individuals who play a role in our lives. These people could be in our family or at our office. They could be in our social circle or among those who are among our adversaries.

It is so easy for us to be blindsided in life. No one wants to have to constantly be scanning the people who are nearby to divine somehow what are their intentions or motivations or mood. I do not want to live my life constantly concerned that I have said something wrong or have made a strategic error or that I am witnessing the prelude to the sky falling down. But after a really bumpy day at work yesterday, I am reminded that neither can I obliviously go through the day blind to the realities of the immediate human environment.

In any group, certain people build relationships. A cluster of people are connected, sometimes in very subtle ways. The nature of that connection is not always evident, nor is the depth of that connection. If one says something to one member of that cluster, what was said reverberates across the entire group. And if one is dealing with one member of that group, even if nothing is said, it must be assumed that the other members of that group are observing the moment and judging what they see or hear. A misstep with one person is a misstep with all of them, even if what happened has to do with only one specific person.

So how am I do I protect myself from being blindsided in for example a business situation. If I am working, for instance, with a small group of people, I need to be aware of the ineterrelational dynamics of that group. Do they know each other? If I am dealing with one person within the group, does that person discuss our business with the others? Is anything that happens to one member of the group essentially known to all the members of the group? And if I am dealing with different members of the group on unrelated matters, does a problem with one member of the group become a problem with some of the other people in the group?

The answer can be yes to any or all of the above questions. The trick is to assume nothing, when it is necessary to do business either separately or jointly with a close-knot group of people. Tread lightly whatever one does. If one makes a commitment to one member of the group, always follow through with that commitment, because failing to do so will have an impact upon one's relationship with the other members of the group. They are watching what one does and remembering when one fails to do so. One strategically critical misstep and one might as well not try to do work for anyone in that group.

So how do I prevent myself from being blindsided or making unnecessary mistakes? How do I create the impression that I am a credible person in whatever it is that I am endeavoring to do with other people? How do I successfully sustain relationships with other people that work? How do I get others to see me as a "successful" person? Ain't easy. And the most carefully constructed persona can be destroyed or severely damaged in a heartbeat. But it can be done.

I have learned that there are certain unwritten rules about what it takes to make it in this life. It is important to be on time when one makes an appointment. It is critical to be as honest and forthright as it is possible to be. It is critical that I do the best that I am able to do under the circumstances. It is always important to communicate effectively with other people and keep them posted about what is going on. When I have to work with a group of people, I need to know the nature of that group and what the internal relationships are within that group. I can assume nothing and must always be on my guard not to cop an attitude with people. It is important to be consistent, in the sense of just doing what one is supposed to be doing and not perform erratically, sometimes doing good work and sometimes doing sloppy work. it is important to value one's reputation, because a good reputation is hard to win and easy to lose. I suppose there are more of these rules than I have included here.

I am sometimes blindsided, like I was yesterday at work. Ultimately, I am beginning to feel that especially in the work place I can never let my guard down, even for a moment. I will break one of those unwritten rules, inadvertently, and I my pay a very high price for having done so. Something happened which I did not see coming.

What all of us have to remember, however, is that sometimes we will be blindsided, because certain eventualities are simply not avoidable. Something may be taking place well beyond the scope of what we can know and we become aware of whatever is happening unexpectedly. When that happens, it is simply unavoidable. Ultimately that is how update our database and revise our understanding of our realities. At any rate, when that does happen, it is not a reason to get bent out of shape. The one rule of life that I failed to mention earlier is that shit happens. Oh well! When it does and we are knocked flat on our derriere, the only thng we can do is to dust ourselves off, pick ourselves up and move on.

An Addition to the Unabridged Geek Dictionary

This acronym is usually used when the the computer user cannot get the computer or the software to do what he or she wants them to do. The problem is that the computer and the software are working perfectly fine. It is something else which is gumming up the works.

PICNIC: Problem In Chair, Not In Computer

So What's The Deal With Global Warming?

I am halfway through the book, State of Fear, by Michael Crichton. He presents the scenario that the global warming phenomena is not supported by the existing weather data and other relevant data. Crichton asserts that factions in the environmental community have convinced the public and leaders in government that the phenomena is real and poses an imminent threat to mankind. Michael Crichton has the habit of telling cautionary tales about the limitations and misjudgments of science and scientists. Generally he carefully researches his material before writing his books, so I am tempted to lend some credence to his allegations.



This week in Time Magazine, the cover story is about this
very threat and offers 51 things that you and I can do to
head off what are supposed to be the devastating effects of global warming (G.W.) With the huge success of the movie, Happy Feet, the penguin on the cover is sure to resonate with everyone these days. The popular press is fully on the bandwagon to sound the alarm and this particular issue of Time is just one example of this support for the notion that G.W. is, in fact, an unfortunate reality that most of us would really like to ignore if at all possible.

Frankly, at this point, I don't know what to believe. I know only enough about G.W. to be really dangerous. After having read a fair chunk Crichton's book, I am beginning to have my own doubts on the subject. I feel like I need to drop all the extraneous stuff I am doing and do some very serious research on G.W. Right! Like I actually have the time to do that these days when my life has started to accelerate, sometimes beyond my control.

Vice-President Al Gore's book, An Inconvenient Truth,
compounds my confusion. Although the book is heavily
graphic and uses very trendy page layouts, it still makes some pretty persuasive arguments for dangers that G.W. poses to the world. But then I don't have ready access to the data that supported the allegation of sweeping changes on this planet caused by global warming, so how do I know if even Al Gore's work is not a piece of slanted hype on the subject? Well... I don't. But this is important enough of an issue that I really feel that I need to get a better handle on what is true and what is just plain self-serving hogwash.

I am dismayed by this dilemma. It is important for me to know what is really happening out there on the planet Earth. So now, if I were suddenly to find myself in possession of a sweet amount of money so that I could support any one of the factions on either side of the arguments over G.W., I would probably hold off on doing that, at least for awhile.

So what do I think about global warming? I don't know. I still don't even have a clear sense which side is more right. It is evident that something is happening all over planet Earth that bodes badly for all of us. What is that something? It is a combination of a lot of things all happening at the same time. The forces that drive what is happening are a complex set of phenomena that mankind is only beginning to understand.

What am I going to do about this? I am going to educate myself about Global Warming. I need to know what is going on, because if I am going to start prepare myself and my family for the potentially devastating effects of global warming, I need to determine for myself that G.W. exists and that it poses a certifiable threat to all of us. Because I just don't know what is true and what isn't just yet, I am going to just go on living my life as best I can, become a bit more educated on the matter of our weather and if push comes to shove, head for the high ground when the waters start rising. However for the moment, you will find me going to work and doing the things that I have to do... and when I can squeeze out some time, I will be in the internet or at the library, trying to sort out fact from fiction when it comes to global warming.

Rejoining the Ranks of the Sleep-Deprived

My business is starting to take off now. Gone are the days when I wasn't working and could enjoy the luxury of getting a good nights' sleep. That, my dear reader, has become a thing of the past.

These days, I actually have to be someplace by at least 9 AM to meet with someone, time being money. So with too much to do and too few hours in the day now, it becomes a question of what sorts of things that I do am I willing to give up so that I can get eight hours of sleep. This is a process of reduction. Do I give up some of my writing time or the time I spend with friends/family? Do I watch less television? Do I look the other way when the house gets a little messy? What can I live without?

Someone suggested to me this is growing pains. Just think about it. If that statement is true, then growth in my life means that I will have fewer choices and options. That I have to pick and choose among the things, either professional or personal, that I want to do or to pursue. That's growth?

It all comes down to a choice between living a fuller live and getting less sleep... and learning to accept the limitations on the possibilities in my life and getting a full night's sleep. I guess I didn't read that clause in the contract for my life when I was born. This has taught me to read the fine print now each and every time now. I have learned that live is never easy, but having to make this choice is downright difficult and sometimes very painful.

A Little Known Fact About Passover

Lines That Were Cut From Wicked, The Musical

Wicked, The Musical, returned to Houston this past week to the Hobby Center. When the playwright crafts the play, he does a lot of editing and refining to create the final book for the play. What you see below is one of the lines that got cut from the first draft of the work. I don't know. It could have worked, don't you think?