Sunday, November 15, 2009
My new identity
This city girl has grown up and moved on....
http://housewifesf.blogspot.com/
See you there!
Labels: all grown up baby
posted by: SF Housewife @ 4:19 PM
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http://housewifesf.blogspot.com/
See you there!
Sunday, November 16, 2008
I am back
I am in need of an outlet for venting....stay tuned. Much more to come.
Labels: Return of the mack
posted by: SF Housewife @ 7:11 PM
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Friday, April 06, 2007
New home
Check me out at http://sfcitygal.vox.com/. Trying out a new hood to see how it is....
posted by: SF Housewife @ 1:19 AM
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Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Doing nothing, part one
When I initially decided to take my 5 week hiatus from the workforce, I was a little concerned that I would grow stir crazy from boredom. After completing my first week of doing absolutely nothing, I have concluded that I could do this for a year and not even feel an ounce of restlessness from not working. My hubby hasn’t taken this latest revelation too well, and has threatened to quit his job and do nothing with me if I decide to extend my hiatus past the 5 week period.
Today I drove to the South Bay to have lunch with my two former Korean co-workers, John and YeoSae. Back in the old days, John, YeoSae, myself, and our other former co-worker Aileen, would sit around in our cubes and throw crass jokes at each other. Boy, those were the days. 9 years later, we’re all a little older, a little wiser, with more life experiences under our belts. John, who had gotten married 3 years ago to a girl he met in Korea, is already divorced after 2 years of marriage. Apparently, his ex-wife, who barely spoke a word of English and had no social or familial network in the US, grew increasingly paranoid and possessive, frequently hunting John down at work in the middle of the day for no reason whatsoever aside from a hunch that he was up to no good. YeoSae, a lawyer and fairly attractive, broke up with his equally successful and attractive girlfriend of 8 years about 2 years ago and spent his first year of singlehoodom on a dating marathon involving a number of Korean women, who were looking for a US citizen to date and eventual wed (all for the sake of citizenship). After a year of being a manwhore, YeoSae finally found his true love at work (a full-fledged American citizen) and married her after 6 months of blissful dating.
Boy do I miss working with these boys. There was never a dull workday when you had a colorful cast of characters by your side for 8 hours a day.
After our 3 hour lunch, I took a quick jaunt to the Great Mall on a quest to find a flattering pair of designer jeans on the cheap. After foraging around unsuccessfully for a hour at Neiman Marcus’s new retail outlet Last Call, I was about to leave the mall, but decided to give Sak’s a try. Imagine my elation when I found a pair of Joe’s in a cut that flattered my large butt and muscular thighs, for the bargain price of $68!!! Feeling that I accomplished the desired objective of my trip, I rewarded myself with a double macchiato from Starbucks, and lounged around on one of the velvet couches reading the latest edition of Us magazine.
It’s now 7:30pm and I am ready to kick back with a glass of wine and a good book. With such a stressful day, I need to unwind!
posted by: SF Housewife @ 8:41 PM
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Monday, March 26, 2007
Flirting your way to the top
One of the biggest problems I had with my former employer, that shall now be referred to as HL, was the dysfunctional relationships some of the employees had with the partners. In particular, there was one relationship that I found utterly troublesome.
Before I started at HL, I had heard that “Inga”” (the female manager, and the potential nemesis I mentioned in my previous post) and “Mr. Italiano” (the crazy partner that I also mentioned in the same post) were very close. I had no idea how close they were until I started working there.
The first sign that their relationship was beyond normal was the fact that she was constantly in his office, ALL THE TIME. There would be instances were Inga would be in Mr. I’s office for hours at a time. If Inga wasn’t in Mr. I’s office, Mr. I would be in Inga’s office. In a 10 hour workday, I believe that they spent 7 hours together, everyday!
On top of spending gratuitous amounts of time together “working”, it was obvious to most who worked at HL that they had a very friendly relationship. It was clear that her main tool for bonding with Mr. I was to exploit her sexuality. Around the administrative staff and our subordinates, Inga was a petty bitch. But around Mr. I, Inga suddenly shifted into sweet girl mode, eagerly projecting wide-eyed admiration and awe, hanging adorably onto every word spoken by Mr. I, laughing at all of Mr. I’s jokes, developing a fascination with Mr. I’s recreational interests.
*Puke, Puke, Puke*
Adding insult to injury, Inga isn’t very bright, and as a result, many suspect there are salacious facts behind how and why she was able to climb the corporate ladder and be in the position she is at today.
My disgust is only exacerbated by the fact that, like most professional services firms that function in a manner similar to an apprenticeship system, work is handed out on the basis of personal relationships, thus leaving her with most of the plum assignments. Unfortunately, her intellectual brainpower, or more precisely lack thereof, made her ill-equipped to manage these engagements in a competent manner, leaving a bad taste in the mouths of those who worked under her, which fed into the gossip mill about how she ended up in her position.
After months of carefully observing how things operated at HL, I concluded that I could a) be myself, which is to keep my demeanor office friendly and nonsexualized, hoping that people would develop respect for me because of my strong work product and intelligence or b) start wearing tight, low-cut tops (like the ones Inga donned) and dish out wide-eyed flattery and sexual warmth that the male partners of HL seem to appreciate.
At the end, I decided to be true to who I was. If this is how female managers excel to the top at HL, well, I refuse to be in an environment that functions this way.
posted by: SF Housewife @ 8:39 PM
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Friday, March 23, 2007
Yes, I know I disappeared for a while, but now I am back. The reason for my re-emergence? Because today is my last day. That’s right, I am finally free of that utterly dysfunctional, delusional, self-esteem eroding, work environment. My experience was so emotionally traumatic, I am taking 5 weeks off between job to recuperate from the battering my mind and soul has experienced over these past few months. Excessive you say? Not if you knew what I went through.
I am so exhausted from being mind-fucked for 5 months, I cannot even write a long post to describe the hell I have been through at this moment. But I can say that I those 5 months have provided me with plenty of blog material that I will be sharing over time….
posted by: SF Housewife @ 10:22 PM
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Sunday, February 11, 2007
Duking it out with the boss
After 3 months of sitting in my windowless office, trying to figure out my place and purpose in my new job, I finally built up the nerve and asked Mr. Italiano to lunch to discuss my future. Last Wednesday, we had our lunch at Chaya. The hostess ushered us to a table right by the window, overlooking the San Francisco bay and Bay Bridge. Our view, while beautiful, was the only pleasant thing about lunch.
Me: So I heard you think I am hard to read.
Him: Yes, I think you play it close to the chest. (Stated in a very agitated manner).
Me: (sitting there uncomfortably)
Him: (vigorously buttering his bread) So, do you think you made a mistake by joining us?!? (even more agitated than earlier)
Me: (trying to think of a diplomatic answer) Well, I think that the management group here is head and shoulders above that of my previous employer.
Him: (taking a big bite out of the bread, looking half satisfied with my answer) Yeah, we do have a good management group here.
Me: (taking a big gulp) But, I do feel a bit out of place here. I could have joined another litigation consulting firm, like my most previous employer, or I could have joined another public accounting firm that has a high technology practice, which is what I did right out of college, and it would have been a more seamless transition.
Him: (putting his head down) Yes, yes, I know City Girl. But..I warned you this would happen!
Me: (staring at him incredulously)
Him: City Girl, you know what you need t do? You need to fight with the other managers to build your client base. City Girl, I look at you and I can tell that you are quiet and shy. You lack assertiveness and confidence.
Me: (absolutely ticked off at this point) Excuse me? I am not short of confidence and assertiveness.
Him: City Girl, I can tell. I am watching you, observing the way you bear yourself in the office…
Me: (cutting him off mid-sentence) You don’t know that. You don’t see me all the time. You don’t know me!
Him: (glaring at me indignantly)
Our lunch, 2.5 hours long, essentially continued in the same vein. We walked back to the office, in silence, so exhausted from our emotionally intense conversation.
I am looking for new job. Can you blame me?
posted by: SF Housewife @ 10:50 PM
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