Taking it back...

Thank God That's Over.

I'm not always ephemeral. In my real job, I work to support the protection of our country vs. terrorists, among others. (I am not Jack Bauer.) I am very aware that there really are people out there that wish our country harm. That being said, the last 8 years have been a trial. Warrantless wiretaps. Suspension of habeas corpus. Denial of applicability of international treaties. Hi, ends. We're the means. Maybe we should talk.

I am quite surprised at how relieved I feel. Though one of the major reasons I voted for the man, still I guess deep down, I was afraid that he would get the super-secret briefing with area 51 and the aliens, and come out saying "Well, let's not be too hasty. Maybe we can keep it going, just in a different way."

Conversation Clarity

Today in class we discussed conversations for understanding, possibilities, and action. The idea is to be more clear about why everyone in a conversation is there, and what they hope to get out of it. That way, there can be fewer misunderstandings. The class dragged, but I appreciate the basic concept. One thing Schiperman said which I really liked -

Unspoken unstated expectations equal premeditated resentment.

I think this was a great point to make. At work, we see this all the time. We do not recognize people's expectations and address them directly and are thus faced with resentment. I wonder if this spills over to home with S_? I think it probably does. I guess that I should be more aware of this.