Today was the first day of my work "retreat." It's not really a retreat as we aren't going anywhere away from work. We are walking across the street to a newer building on campus. How stupid is that?
It's such a lame ass idea and I'd really like to punch in the mouth the person that came up with it. Okay, I know who it is and it probably wouldn't be prudent to punch her in the mouth but maybe a little slapping will suffice.
We started the meeting off with coffee in a half-ass serving pot. I mean it was more like a thermos than anything and this thing probably can't hold more than 10-12 cups. Shit man, I can drink that much by myself yet I have to think of my 15 other coworkers in case they would like some. This just shows what they, the higher-ups, think of us staff members.
So, after about three hours of boredom and semi-irrelevant topics, it's lunchtime. What did they order for lunch? Salad from Central Market. Again, I say, "What the fuck!?" If I wanted salad, I would eat a salad. I'm a meat and potatoes kind of guy, especially if you are "making" me eat with my coworkers. Now, I don't mind eating with my coworkers...by choice, but at least give me the option of what meal I want to eat.
The salad wasn't actually half bad but again, options or opinions were not presented to any of us. The leafy salad had a lot of real, shredded bacon. We did have a pasta salad with balls of white cheese...mozzarella maybe...and some little miniature pie-type desserts. I guess it was okay but again, I like what I like and I like to leave the office for my hour of lunch.
Oh, back to the post topic, we covered the Millenials or Generation Y students that we will be dealing with in the immediate present and future. In case you didn't know, I work in the admissions office for a graduate program of which I have no real interaction with students because I'm the behind-the-scenes-techie-database guy. I'm not like your typical techie guy that is out of touch with real world and no pocket protector so I know about prospective students and what an admissions office has to go through.
I think I coined the term today "Gen Y-ners" after our meeting. I think it fits them perfectly as these kids have to be hand-held and told they are winners even though they are probably complete losers. I believe this comes from these "successful" parents that decided to make their money in the world FIRST and then wonder what is missing from their lives. Many feel that a child makes their successes complete. The problem with this is that these new parents are like fifty years old with kindergartners. They shower these children with gifts and praise because they are absent parents. The nanny is the child's real care taker. These kids are shipped to summer camps or even do community service as their parents don't want to have to entertain these kids all day long during the summer break. The kids have a sense of caring and want to change the world but they don't know how to do it because they don't ever have to pick themselves off the ground after falling or failing. They never are told that they need to pick themselves up because they are told they are winners no matter what the actual outcome.
These kids are disrespectful, albeit maybe unknowingly, as they refer to older people by first name instead of "Mr.", "Ms.", or "Dr". Every one seems to be equal to them even though it's just a sign of respect to refer to people with a proper title. Even those professors that don't have PhDs but are my teachers, I refer to them as "Professor So-and-so" because it shows a respect that they deserve. These kids don't see that as they are always put on an equal plane as everyone else no matter what they (the kids) have accomplished or are deserving of.
According to the presenter, the boss-boss of the office, we should help to cater to their neediness and become an enabler just like their parents. We should reward them for filling out an application. We should reward them for being admitted. We should send a letter to their parents letting them know that their 26-yr-old son or daughter has been accepted into our program or that they got a 3.7 GPA. At 26-yrs-old or above, I would think the parents would not need to know this as their child has been a legal adult for some time AND has already gotten an undergrad degree if they are applying to graduate programs.
Basically, we should sign on the kiss-their-ass train! It irks me to think of these people and how schools are catering to their continued ignorance and neediness. It's why other countries are making fun of American children and call us "spoiled." It's mostly true. Granted, there are still some parents that believe in instilling family values, hard work, loyalty and payoff from such but they are getting harder and harder to find.
So, I guess I should kiss their asses because these Gen Y-ners are probably the ones that will be taking care of my when I'm too old to beat their asses for their ignorant and shallow way of thinking.
I'm done. I've ranted too much about too little about too random.
It's such a lame ass idea and I'd really like to punch in the mouth the person that came up with it. Okay, I know who it is and it probably wouldn't be prudent to punch her in the mouth but maybe a little slapping will suffice.
We started the meeting off with coffee in a half-ass serving pot. I mean it was more like a thermos than anything and this thing probably can't hold more than 10-12 cups. Shit man, I can drink that much by myself yet I have to think of my 15 other coworkers in case they would like some. This just shows what they, the higher-ups, think of us staff members.
So, after about three hours of boredom and semi-irrelevant topics, it's lunchtime. What did they order for lunch? Salad from Central Market. Again, I say, "What the fuck!?" If I wanted salad, I would eat a salad. I'm a meat and potatoes kind of guy, especially if you are "making" me eat with my coworkers. Now, I don't mind eating with my coworkers...by choice, but at least give me the option of what meal I want to eat.
The salad wasn't actually half bad but again, options or opinions were not presented to any of us. The leafy salad had a lot of real, shredded bacon. We did have a pasta salad with balls of white cheese...mozzarella maybe...and some little miniature pie-type desserts. I guess it was okay but again, I like what I like and I like to leave the office for my hour of lunch.
Oh, back to the post topic, we covered the Millenials or Generation Y students that we will be dealing with in the immediate present and future. In case you didn't know, I work in the admissions office for a graduate program of which I have no real interaction with students because I'm the behind-the-scenes-techie-database guy. I'm not like your typical techie guy that is out of touch with real world and no pocket protector so I know about prospective students and what an admissions office has to go through.
I think I coined the term today "Gen Y-ners" after our meeting. I think it fits them perfectly as these kids have to be hand-held and told they are winners even though they are probably complete losers. I believe this comes from these "successful" parents that decided to make their money in the world FIRST and then wonder what is missing from their lives. Many feel that a child makes their successes complete. The problem with this is that these new parents are like fifty years old with kindergartners. They shower these children with gifts and praise because they are absent parents. The nanny is the child's real care taker. These kids are shipped to summer camps or even do community service as their parents don't want to have to entertain these kids all day long during the summer break. The kids have a sense of caring and want to change the world but they don't know how to do it because they don't ever have to pick themselves off the ground after falling or failing. They never are told that they need to pick themselves up because they are told they are winners no matter what the actual outcome.
These kids are disrespectful, albeit maybe unknowingly, as they refer to older people by first name instead of "Mr.", "Ms.", or "Dr". Every one seems to be equal to them even though it's just a sign of respect to refer to people with a proper title. Even those professors that don't have PhDs but are my teachers, I refer to them as "Professor So-and-so" because it shows a respect that they deserve. These kids don't see that as they are always put on an equal plane as everyone else no matter what they (the kids) have accomplished or are deserving of.
According to the presenter, the boss-boss of the office, we should help to cater to their neediness and become an enabler just like their parents. We should reward them for filling out an application. We should reward them for being admitted. We should send a letter to their parents letting them know that their 26-yr-old son or daughter has been accepted into our program or that they got a 3.7 GPA. At 26-yrs-old or above, I would think the parents would not need to know this as their child has been a legal adult for some time AND has already gotten an undergrad degree if they are applying to graduate programs.
Basically, we should sign on the kiss-their-ass train! It irks me to think of these people and how schools are catering to their continued ignorance and neediness. It's why other countries are making fun of American children and call us "spoiled." It's mostly true. Granted, there are still some parents that believe in instilling family values, hard work, loyalty and payoff from such but they are getting harder and harder to find.
So, I guess I should kiss their asses because these Gen Y-ners are probably the ones that will be taking care of my when I'm too old to beat their asses for their ignorant and shallow way of thinking.
I'm done. I've ranted too much about too little about too random.
No comments:
Post a Comment