Embrace the chaos

First, resolutions for the new year:

• I will not exhaust myself lamenting the inherent unfairness of the impossible systems and biased policies that dominate my nine to five
• I will not embrace the minset that I have to abandon my values in order to succeed
• I will reevaluate my definitions of success by my own standards and order my priorities accordingly
• I will make more of my time and opportunities presented to me - as long as they fall within my value system and don't disrupt the order of my priorities
• I will be less emotionally reactive and maintain a more tempered persona
• I will strive to be more watchful ("constant vigilence")
• I will take the stairs

Now that that is out of the way...
I'm all moved into my new (smaller) office, and I've started adding my personal touches here and there. I have my Hoops plush and my little Gir doll for moral support. My husband has been teasing me about the "Zombie Emergency Procedures" tacked to the bulletin board behind my desk, but so far no one else has said anything. Honestly, what exactly is offensive about zombie preparedness? It might just save your life!

My new office is at the end of a short hallway in the same suite of offices that HR occupies. I've been trying to be inobtrusive by using the back door and not standing up front gabbing away, since I'm not sure if the HR Manager is that crzy about having a different department once again sharing this space. A couple of the reps have made comments about how I must be lonely back here, and I should come down the hall and visit more. Suuuure. Like I need it getting back to my new boss that I spend my time standing around shooting the breeze with Human Resources. Of course, it's not me anyone has to worry about. The HR staff is notorious for suffering from "loose lips" syndrome. Speaking of which - one of my friends in the unit that I'm now (unofficially) a part of was just recently in the middle of a mess involving the spreading of gossip regarding the rumor of her boss getting fired (which, like 50% of all rumors, turned out not to be true...this time). She didn't start the rumor, but she did pass it on, and a claim that she did in fact start the story got back to one of the other managers who marched up to her boss to throw her under the proverbial bus. It's just a mess, and she's a little anxious about the whole thing. The lesson that can be taken away, I think, is that people who you think are your "friends" won't hesitate to sacrifice your reputation for their own potential gain. Which is part of the reason that right now I am very much in "head down, eyes open, mouth shut" mode. The goal is to maintain a low profile and just mind my own business as the corporate machine plows along...