The Secret

No, it's not a post about that secret. Or, well, maybe it is. Last night as I was leaving work, I was chatting with a colleague and mentioned I was doing yoga that night. She said, "Ahh, so that's your secret. That's why you're always cool and relaxed and nothing is a problem."

Oh, if only the people at the hellhole I used to work before coming to France could have heard that, they wouldn't have known who she was talking about. Because the person they used to work with was not cool and relaxed. That's because she worked in an organization that was anything but organized, where it was common for management to do big hires than, about 2 years later, big fires. In the month--yes, 4 short weeks--that I resigned, 10 other people did so, 1 by email. See ya! I worked with a fabbo group of people and sure, we had a helluva lot of laughs, but we were barely keeping the barbarians away from the gate. Of the 7 in the team, 1 is left. He was there years before I started and hopefully he won't die at his desk. Of the rest of us, Narissa, Stewie and Philippa work in other companies in Melbourne, Matt is in New Zealand, Wazza's in Scotland, Jenni's in Sweden and I'm here. No place was too far to run!

My level of agitation could be judged by the curses I was dropping. It's no secret that I love swearing, I have it down to a truly creative art form and nothing is sacred, but even for me that was too much. And I'm sure some people heard exactly what I thought of them. I don't do that here. That's because I truly believe the work we're doing is contributing to world good, not just to someone's pocket, and the people I work with are considerate and professional. For the most part. Two weeks back, I was running a meeting for someone who was more than a little precious. That, compounded by my new colleague being out sick for a week, and everyone running to me, had me heading back to old habits. As soon as I realized I was muttering "Oh, fuck off" under my breath, I went to my boss and asked for a week's vacation. Thank God she signed the form and I came back 10 days later, good to go. She's the same boss who, when I said I'd probably have to have surgery shortly and might be off work for 2-3 months, immediately said "Well, I can't help you with the hospital because my French is terrible, but I've got plenty of English-language books and DVDs you can have, and I'll hire an auxillary to do your work." Thus reassuring me that, even though my contract currently only runs to the end of June, I'd have a job to come back to.

And therein is The Secret. Just about any job is easy to do when the management is decent. It's really that simple. So I guess it is that secret. The law of attraction, proven once again.

And because I can't resist, here are some more shots from LOLcats. I'm especially loving the "lion".