Back again, discussing an annoying contact on a couple of apps

I have been taking extended time away from my blog. It's partially because I'm still trying to determine whether writing about regular topics about my life is a good fit here. 

I feel that it is. I don't have anything spanking-related to say. It's still dormant -- both my drive and the dating scene. I'm still not ready to engage in a relationship, romantic or spanking, with anyone.

All is good with me. I took a week off from work earlier this month to do a road trip to Ottawa. It was nice seeing three people whom I haven't seen in a while. It ranged from four years ago to when I was in high school when I last saw these people. Eons ago!

I am on a social platform that allows me to post photos of businesses, review them, and check in when I'm at them. There is one friend who has decided that she wants to rule all of Toronto, to the point where I think she checks in without really dropping by the actual business. It's kind of like a drive-by check-in.

Well, she has rubbed me the wrong way. Because she's friends with me on this app, she knows exactly where I check in. When she sees that I have overtaken her with check-ins to specific businesses, she will go there just to be the leader. She frankly sucks the fun out of checking and I don't appreciate her monitoring my check-ins that closely.

The whole point of checking in on this app is to indicate that I'm physically there. I'm buying something. I'm browsing. I'm supporting a business.

For her, it's a competition. It's being on top. It's annoying. It's not my style.

Well, she decided to overtake a neighbourhood where I have been the leader for years. We are also friends on Instagram. 

I'm pretty sure that both app give her full perspective on what I'm doing. In Ottawa, through a series of check-ins between me and our mutual friend on the review app, she sent me a message on IG to have fun with this person. Her monitoring was a bit creepy.

Yesterday, after she took over "reigning" my neighbourhood on this app, she commented on some sugar-free gummies that I had made and put up in an IG story.

I got new gummy moulds that featured cute animals. Most folks would say that they were all cute. She pinpointed to me two of the animals that she felt were cute.

Um, okay. Why did you have the need to be that specific? Do I really care what you think?

I frankly feel that she was rubbing in the fact that she took over check-ins in my neighbourhood. She was exercising her dominance by saying that she only liked some of the gummy animals.

I wrote back and said that ALL of them were cute. Two of my closest friends said that they were cute. Inclusive.

I learned that I can hide videos, photos, and live videos on stories for specific accounts that follow mine. I decided to hide them from this woman. She doesn't need to follow me that closely. I don't need to receive comments from her that annoy me.

Hiding stories from her instantly made me happier. It shows that social media can be detrimental with people who ruin the vibe and fun. She has ruined both for me. 

I don't need to interact with her. I'm glad that she no longer has access to my stories.

Update on my friend leaving the company, but moving to a new career elsewhere

Last Friday was my friend's final day at work. My team is horrible at sendoffs. I ended up creating an online meeting for us to say goodbye to her and solicited donations towards a farewell gift separately, if folks wanted to donate.

To explain the situation, my friend originally got a job as a project manager within the company. She was to move to a different department.

I had warned her about her soon-to-be new manager. She was toxic towards me and isn't a nice person. Sure enough, she never finalized my friend's contact and how much she would be earning. She also wanted my friend to work both was a writer and project manager for two months at her current pay.

My friend appreciated the warning that I gave her. She decided to quit. She deserved better. I don't blame her.

She does have a new job lined up and starts just over a week from now. I'm happy for her.

As a team, before this pandemic, we would normally get together for a farewell lunch. My friend isn't comfortable being in a large crowd. Instead, she'd rather have a meal with me and one other colleague. We'll be doing that soon.

I have collected enough funds to get her a spa gift basket. I need to figure out how to get her mailing address to get it delivered to her. I may need to ask my manager first. Otherwise, I may need to ask her directly, which kind of ruins the entire vibe.

Canning delays and relaxing with Airpods

I am hoping that this post is the last one about the toxic diva for a bit. She is still going to be canned. My manager has already initiated the process. The downside is that there is a legal process within the company. As a result, she won't be gone on Monday, so there is a delay.

I can only hope that she is gone sometime next week. She worked from home on Friday. Her e-mails got me so annoyed that my manager hinted that I should watch my blood pressure. Although he has the occasional, odd lapse in judgment, his heart is generally in the right place. He stepped in and replied, putting her in place. I de-stressed by getting a cup of hot chocolate.

He had a conversation with my mini-me, in private. He basically hinted that he was going to give her a number of added responsibilities, which she welcomes. He asked her to keep it confidential until he works out all the details. In other words, he has not let her know about the diva being canned, which I expected.

He proceeded to tell her that we need to be respectful with others and be professional. He added that there have been a ton of negative comments and rumours taking place about others. He confided in me, saying that judging by the look of my mini-me, she nodded. He knew that she had been affected by such negativity recently.

It's interesting that I don't see my working relationship changing with both my mini-me and my student after the diva's negative comments. My stance still holds true. If you have worked with me and know me, you know the truth. I don't need a diva to poison their minds with false, negative perceptions about me.

Thank goodness it's the weekend. I am unwinding. 

I recently got a pair of AirPods. I don't think that I have paid so much for a pair of earbuds. However, the sound is incredible and I am enjoying not being chained to my device. The fact that they automatically connect and disconnect when you put them in their pod case is pretty cool. And, yes, I have them paired with a non-Apple device. They work well.

Turfing the diva... yay!

My manager and I had a confidential talk about our troublesome new writer. Before I dive into those details, this writer decided to indicate that she was taking a sick day on Thursday.

Having her away from the office felt good. None of us had to deal with her diva-like tendencies.

My manager indicated that he had spoken to his manager about this writer. They both agreed that she needs to be canned. She has her own agenda, doesn't listen, and is a loose, unproductive cannon.

Her workload won't go back to me. Rather, the other writer who has already taken over a portion of my work will take over her work. Essentially, this writer is my mini-me. She works well and she is okay with taking on my workload, minus the other lead tasks that I do.

That's good. I can continue working on processes and other details.

My boss got word from another colleague that the diva has been saying negative things about both of us. I asked him not to tell me what they were. I don't need to know.

My view is that whenever someone has something negative to say about me, not only is it untrue, but it signals insecurity. The diva gives the impression that she knows everything. She doesn't. Instead, she needs to say horrible things about folks to make her feel better.

She also seems to buy her way to being liked. We recently had a colleague from Brazil visit for three weeks. Although the diva didn't know her, she bought her a parting gift last Friday. Odd.

During her first week, she said that she would buy me a tea. The following week, she did the same thing. She never did. Perhaps she was waiting for me to make the first move. I don't fall for such a trap.

Anyway, my boss is planning to can her either on Friday or Monday. The latter looks more promising. Either way, I feel a weight being lifted.

The diva has been a bad influence on a number of writers. I have noticed this week that as soon as either my boss or I walk into the lunchroom in which she is in, she immediately looks, gets up, and leaves. Ah, such maturity!

The diva is closer to my manager's age. I am wondering whether she feels threatened by someone like me, who is equally as seasoned of a writer, but who is far more competent, be her team lead.

My manager describes her as a poison. I agree. I actually said to him that she is toxic. I avoid toxic folks at all costs.

B is for being me #AtoZchallenge

I have a unique relationship with my manager. We have a respectful employee-manager work relationship. It has also developed into a friendship, which still feels new to me.

Last Thursday, I had my performance review for 2016. Don't ask why it came so late. My company is messed up that way.

When it came down to what I could do to improve, my manager polled a rather toxic individual who naturally gave negative feedback. He hinted that both he and I dislike this person.

I flat out told him how I felt. This person seems to always have something negative to say about me and cannot back up her comments with factual information. She is highly toxic and is probably acting this way because I seem to be a threat to her. I ended saying that I would take her statement with a grain of salt, as she doesn't even know me.

I never asked why my manager asked this individual for feedback. We don't work closely with each other. After saying my two cents, he nodded in agreement.

My performance review was positive. My manager confided in me. He said that there are two writers whom he can count on to meet deadlines and get our work done. I am one of them, which is a nice compliment. The other compliment was that I was the only one on the team who received a comment saying that my work is of high quality.

The younger me would have been upset over the toxic woman's negative remarks. The person writing this blog post now is not. I am pleased with my performance at work. I balance the workload of at least two writers. These days, it seems like three. I will not let one idiot's negative remarks with no factual information to back her accusations up dampen my spirit.

I like who I am and how far I have come. It's good to grow.