Meeting The Most Hated Person

“A difficult conversation you have been dreading will go a lot better than expected today — it turns out that other people have been whispering in this person’s ear and have been warning her or him about the thing you have been wanting to talk about. So this person is ready to talk to you, and ready to work with you. There is going to be a great deal of positive collaboration in this day overall. Every idea will lead to another, more exciting idea. Keep going!” – Sagittarius Horoscope, June 19, 2007.

Working in a company that is (or was?) known for being a great place to work, it is surprising to know that there is one person that stands out as the most hated. He’s known as SH. I’ve been thinking the acronym happens to mean : So Hated(?). Well that was what it really seems to be, until the day we met him.

On June 19, I was one of those privileged (or doomed they say) employees to meet SH for a forum. The moment I learned he’ll be on the “hot seat” for this meeting, I had mixed feelings of eagerness and anxiety to be in it. Since he joined our company a couple of years ago, this person had created so much confusion and literally fear in most of the meetings he’s been into. Ask any person and more often than not, you’ll hear bad comments about him. This meeting will be my chance to meet him up front.

The time came. Upon his arrival in the room, everyone seems to tensed up a bit as he started calling the names of those present – getting to know the enemy, I presume.

I was the first one to shoot the question as others are starting to gauge the atmosphere of the meeting. Some are probably composing their statements, as it would have to be in English (easiest of the tasks at hand). SH is an expat.

For a first time meeting and to think being the first question, the phrases, “…I’ve heard terrible things about you…What do you think is the morale of the people working with you…” seems to have been shocking if not improper. But it had to be done. It had to be asked.

Almost without blinking an eye, he seems to have anticipated that a question such as this will come up. I guess he just knew he’s one hated man indeed. I won’t elaborate on his answers but I know he did well. It was direct, convincing and rational. He explained his side well on his strong policies and management style. He mentioned that the very least thing on his list of working as a manager is to be a pleasant and popular person. He’s one strong leader I can see. I look up to those kind of person.

After the meeting all 11 attendees seems to be a convert. All seems to have been enlightened. He’ll need to talk to 3000 more. Hopefully he can turn the tides for the company. But that’s another story.

Hooked With Numbers

I hate to admit it, but I hate numbers. Ever since I started going to school, I despised any activity that has something to do with it. That goes on without saying that I hate math.

As a graduate of a course related to electronics engineering (and just last year, as a computer engineer) I had to bear with the fact that I can’t escape the reality that I have to face and deal with problems involving calculations and computations on a regular basis. Thankfully, I didn’t fail any of those “numbers-related” subjects (That doesn’t include my previous Mechanical Engineering course which was spent learning BMX freestyles instead. Come to think of it, it deals with some Physics anyhow). But I didn’t excel in it either. So until now I’m still amuse every time I remember a classmate mentioning (every time we meet) that he’s been peeking at my Calculus test papers for “clues” and was able to pass the exams because of it. How I pulled it off, I don’t know.

By the start of this year, my wife bought this weird puzzle booklet from the supermarket and upon seeing that it was about matching several numbers, I avoided it right away. If it had been a crossword puzzle, I would have been her rival in an instant.

Since that time, I would regularly see her with this booklet and a pencil. I would wonder every now and then if what makes her attracted to it and if it is really worth the time. It went on even during our trip to Malaysia. She even convinced her brother into it. And he got hooked just like she did. Even worse.

A couple of weeks after we arrived from that vacation (that was wonderful, despite the Sudoku distractions), I eagerly asked for that weird puzzle and tried my hands (and brain) on it. Just like a car’s engine left idle for a long time, my brain’s number sector hesitated for a couple of minutes before engaging on the problem at hand - i.e., solve the puzzle rated as one-shuriken. In Sudoku speak, that is the easiest.

Time went by and after several mind-boggling hours, and after our floor (and bed sheet) collected mounds of eraser shavings, I suddenly realized I was hooked with numbers. Well in this case, with Sudoku. I timed my puzzle-solving and clocked 5 minutes or less on some one-shuriken problems. My wife said she has done better than that. I just don’t care. She’s not my competition. My rival is myself. I had likewise solved two- to four-shuriken problems. For how long? Don’t ask. What matters
is I solved it.

Last night we bought our third booklet. It is rated Intermediate. The first page starts with four-shuriken problems and I peeked at the last ones, most of it has diagonal-odd puzzles. In plain words, It can make one crazy. Hehehehe. Hahahahahaha. Huhuhuhu.

Am I drooling yet?