Bosses, Managers, Supervisors, and Leaders......

I have been in the work force since I was 18.  That's 50 years.  A friend and I recently were discussing the bosses we have worked with over the years.  During these 50 LONG years, I have worked mostly with "Managers",  but have had the pleasure of working with 3 "Leaders".  

So - what's the difference?  Well first look at the definition of each word:

MANAGER - 

• "a person responsible for controlling or administering all or part of a company or similar organization"
• "a person who controls the activities, business dealings, and other aspects of the career of .."

LEADER -

• "The person who leads or commands a group, organization, or country."

SUPERVISOR  - 

• "a person who supervises a person or an activity.

  synonyms:

  manager,

Looking at those definitions make it clear to me that most of the men I have worked with in the "Boss" capacity have been managers - men who have had to Control.  Managers often delegate and are most assuredly the head finger pointer.  Meaning - they are the one who will point the finger of blame in a situation, but will take credit for the "win" in another.

The Leader on the other hand may delegate as that is his (or her) privilege, but they will assume blame for the person (or team) and will not take the credit for the "win".  It's a much nicer work atmosphere to work for a Leader!

Managers and leaders are both friendly, but a leader does not want to be your Facebook Friend or party with you.    He (or she) is your Boss.  Managers tend to lean on people harshly instead of being constructive.  They're quick to blame, berate, tear you down and hardly EVER let you know that's you've done a good job.  

Have you worked for the good "buddy" who laughs it up with you?  Maybe going to happy hour with you?  I'm not talking about company get-togethers --  I'm talking about individual meetings and outings.  Do they sit there and make "comments" about other workers?  Hmmm...you know if they are "commenting" on your co-workers, they are doing the SAME thing to you with them?  

Unfortunately offices that have managers usually have people with bad attitudes.  I really believe if the managers behaved like leaders it would foster a better attitude all around and everyone might get along better.

Just a thought.   

Online Shopping and EBATES

I am an online shopper.  Working two jobs doesn't give me a lot of  free time to do otherwise.  At first I was hesitant - wasn't sure how safe it was.  But then convenience won out over everything else.  I no longer had to find a parking spot.  My parking spot was wherever I laid my laptop!  

One positive thing I can say about shopping online is that I only get what I need.  Since I am not wandering the aisles of Target or Walmart, there is NO threat I will throw something in the cart I just can't resist.    The joy of shopping online at Walmart is they deliver most items in two days - right to the door - so I don't have to carry anything to my car.  I can just lug it into the house -   So I can buy the ginormous size of Tide and Downy!  And of course we can't forget Amazon!

But the BEST thing about shopping online is EBATES.  If you shop online and are not using EBATES, then all I can say is Your LOSS!  I don't remember how or why I signed up - it was free - and I know I didn't actually use the site at first.  When I actually LOOKED at the site I realized they listed ALL the stores I shop at - so if I was going to actually shop at Walmart, why not let EBATES pay me?   So I gave it a try and the next thing I know I got an email saying money was added to my account.  They put money into a Paypal account for me since I didn't want a check mailed.  YAY!  

AND - they even offer you money to shop in certain stores - all you have to do is link up your credit card and you will get paid.  

Now I have an extension added to my Chrome browser that will automatically come up whenever  I am on a site that is connected to EBATES.  All I have to do is click on the activate now and it will log in my "shopping trip".  

The great part about money going into a Paypal account for me is that it's become a savings account of sorts - I don't touch it.    Since March of 2017 I have earned $160.00 while sitting on my ass shopping!  No gas used, didn't have to wait in any lines, and didn't have any "impulse" buys. 

As an added incentive they pay me for everyone who signs up and gives the new account $10.  

So - if you do shop online and aren't using Ebates I guess you have all the money you need.  Otherwise - shame on you!




                       
                       
                       

Pet Peeves

There are SOOOOO many pet peeves I probably could go on for hours, but after kicking them around with a friend, this is the basic list we came up with:

People who use words out of context because they sound good. 

People who can't figure out words like "they're", "there", too, & to (and the list goes on)  

People (especially in business) who send out illiterate emails - 

    (spell check is available for free people!)

Loud cell phone conversations (in public).

People who can't form a sentence without saying "like".

People who say "oh nevermind" or "whatever!".

Drivers who don't move into the intersection to make a left turn.  (or a right for my UK Friends)

Drivers who don't use turn signals.

Drivers who crawl in the passing lane.

Drivers who think it is their God-given right to merge into you.

Adults who crack gum.

People who abbreviate words to sound hip - Adorbs!
   (imagine Khloe Kardashian's baby voice - gag 😜 )

People who stand too close to you in line!

People who leave their shopping carts in the middle of an isle or unattended in the check-out lane.(then get pissed when you move ahead)

Those wonderful people who "bag" your groceries.

And for those of us who have to deal with the retail public.....

MEN who come through the drive-through without a shirt on. 😱
    (it's a keg fella - not a six-pack!)

People who come in 5 minutes before closing with an order that needs to be filled right then. (we've been here for 9 hours - where have you been?)

I guess that's all I have to bitch about today.

Whatever.

Facebook

Ahhh.....years ago I joined Facebook so I could keep in touch with friends (and some family) who lived in other States/Countries.  It was - and is - a Social Networking Website.  Lately it has become anything BUT Social. 

When I first came on board I was like many and got enamored of all the "games".  I had a Zoo, a Farm, a Prairie and played Words with Friends.   At it's peak my friends list soared to about 600 "friends".  WHAT?    So it was time to take a serious look at this gaming.  I found in order to catch up I had to spend HOURS tending to these little worlds.  It all became a chore to keep up with and of course could get costly when you wanted to "buy" little perks!   Nothing about this seemed "Social" to me.  So I stopped playing and unfriended all my gaming friends. 

Next up was to look at my remaining "Friends".  I'm not much of a social butterfly so what am I doing with 200 friends?  Seriously?  So I have weeded it all down to just under 100, which is a more realistic list of people I care to be "Social" with. 

This is supposed to be SOCIAL forum.  Most days I have to plow through all the "Fake News"  that pops up and/or tons of political Bullshit.   First let me say - I DO NOT CARE  if you are a Trump supporter or Trump Hater.  I DO NOT CARE if you are Republican, Democrat, Christian, Muslim, atheist, illegal alien or alien from Mars.  Just do me a favor before you post - check it out first to see if it is FAKE NEWS.    Do you really believe some of the crazy shit you post?  Really???  Here's a good site - "SNOPES" - please check it out first!  If it sounds incredible (or too good to be true) then it probably is!

I've spent way less time checking my feed because it takes so long to go through all the crap.  I'm sure I've probably missed out on someone's birthday, or some other event I would have enjoyed hearing about (or seeing the photos of).  If that's the case, I am sorry - Belated Happy Birthday- Belated Congratulations.

Still Cable Free

Another year has past and I am happy to report I remain cable-free.  

Another year gone and no service calls or emails necessary to Sling or Hulu.  

That in itself is a major blessing!

So over the past year I have tried other streaming services to see how they measured up to Sling - and here I go......

YouTube TV - Tried it for two months.  More Pricey than Sling, and I had to re-enter a code just about every time I logged on.  Not to mention I had to un-install the app then reinstall the app a number of times.   For the two or three stations that I don't have with Sling, it wasn't worth the aggravation.

Philo  - A real deal at $16 a month.  I particularly liked that for the "Free Trial" all you had to give them was a legitimate cell # - not a credit card.  Actually it was a great promo!!  So the upside is the cost.  They don't have a lot of channels, but a few different ones that I don't have with Sling. I like you can save shows to watch without paying anything extra.  Their online app is easy to navigate, but on the TV I'm not fond of the Live TV screen.  I'd like it if they had a "grid" to choose from.

DirectTV Now - I wish I could remember what problems I had with this one - I know they were more expensive compared to Sling.  I think I may have had buffering problems.  I couldn't watch anything on the computer either (I have a Chromebook and it was not compatible).

HULU Live - Again the cost was more than Sling and the channel line-up was only a few more than I was getting with Sling.  The biggest problem was the buffering.

As far as the "buffering" problems go - I didn't feel the need to have to UP my Mpbs with Verizon when I have absolutely NO problem with buffering with any other streaming channel.   

That's just my take on it - you can compare for yourself though here.

Judgmental

Maybe it has something to do with getting older, but over the years I know I have become more judgmental than I thought possible.   I was always pretty laid back and didn't let people bother me.  I never held grudges.  Not anymore.   Does age really come into play?  Have I been around so long that everyone is getting on my last nerve?   I keep telling myself it's because I've been working in "customer service" all my life and today's "customers" expect you wipe their asses and then thank Them for the opportunity.  See.....there I go again....

I've blogged before about how customer are - or are not.  Most pretty much treat anyone in the service profession as their own personal servant.  It's that "I'm better-than-you" attitude they all seem to display.  Customer Service people are "beneath" them.  

Yep - I'm pretty sure that it's the customers I have had to service over the years (and presently) that have made me the judgmental bitch that I am.  I just pray that Karma will kick in soon! 

                                                                      😉

CBS Soap Operas

Thanks to CBS All Access I can still watch one of my favorite soap when I come home from work every day.     Nine years ago - almost to the day - I vented about YNR.  I think it is the Summer Story-lines that set me off.   They want to draw in the youngsters home from school for the summer, so we have to suffer through these teen-age stories.

The first thing regular soap fans understand is children age rapidly on Soap Operas - so the fact that Summer was just a child nine years ago doesn't mean a thing now that she is an adult (??).   She is much like her half-sister Abby Newman, a spoiled, self-absorbed, obnoxious brat.  At least the writers use the same template for the female siblings.  Although Faith hasn't been affected yet.   Maybe because her Mother is Sharon, and not the fiery Phyllis or Ashley.   And speaking of Faith - she hasn't been around in awhile.  I think the next time we see her she will be returning to High School or ready to head for college.  Now would be a good time - with the summer story-lines on the burner.

Now that Abby is seeing Arturo, I guess it's time for the writers to have him get involved with Ashley?  Isn't that the way it goes?  Love triangles with mother and daughter?  He's already had the Step-mother.  And we have Summer hitting on Billy.  I'm sure they will end up in the sack before "summer" is over. 

I wish I knew where they were headed with Devon?  I think the Devon/Hilary story line was a breath of fresh air.  Why couldn't they just "replace"  Hilary (sorry Mishael Morgan) but they did replace "Adam".  Or are they going to focus on the problems that arise from the accident and the brother/sister break?  

I guess it's not easy being a Soap writer when you think of it.

Just nine years ago Cane just recently turned up and now his grown children are in the thick of the story lines!  And all that happened to him?  Was he dead or was it his "twin" brother? He went from a bartender/owner to running Chancellor Industries!  He had a one night (drunken) stand which he didn't really remember and was put thru hell by his "angelic" wife.  (I guess it was OK for her to be unfaithful).

Just nine years ago Colleen was still alive,  Sharon and Ashley were both in the mental hospital, Adam was going blind and having an affair with Rafe, Nick was with Phyllis, Nikki was with Paul,  Chloe and Billy were getting married......sheesh.  😩 

So - when I get home from work at lunchtime I do get to see the last 20 minutes of YnR and the first 15 minutes of the Bold and the Beautiful (one of my Mother's favorites).   While they are basically the same - beautiful, successful, Rich - and mostly white, BnB doesn't hold a candle to YnR.  

Back when it first started my Mother watched BnB and I was aware of the story lines.  I thought Brooke was a slut back then, and I'm afraid I haven't had much of a change of heart watching again.  In the past year she was on her way to marry Ridge, cancelled, weeks later she is married to Bill, divorce, married to Ridge.  😖  

And her daughter - Hope.  😡.  No two people deserve each other more than Hope and Liam.  The wishy-washy twins.  Oh My God.  Steffy - marry Bill.  Two master-maniuplators deserve each other as well.  Are we really Certain that baby isn't Bill's?  

I've only been watching less than a year and I don't think I could stand much more than 15 minutes a day of this one.  It's all over-the-top acting!   But it's like watching a car wreck you know.....you just can't tear yourself away.