I’m a huge National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) fan – specifically for the Thorn, our local team.  After a very disappointing season, we all waited for the expected news of the coach being replaced.  He was.   And then we wondered what the new coach would do.  Monday, it was announced that they had traded away one of our star players Alex Morgan and another great player in exchange for draft picks and a national player from Iceland.

Yesterday, they announced they traded away two more of our players – two of my favorites.  Then out came the list of who isn’t being protected during Monday’s draft.  Each team gets to protect 9-10 players depending on how they finished in the previous season.  The rest are unprotected meaning they can be picked up by other teams.  Three players showed up on that list that made me sad.

The GM for the Thorn are asking everyone to be patient – it’ll make sense soon.   But it’s hard given how much each player has given to this community – not just by playing in games but also going out to schools and supporting other community events.  Is it sad we’re losing Alex? Kinda.  I’m sure I don’t share most opinions when I say that I feel she was never the star performer that was hyped.  I’m happy we kept Tobin Heath and others. And sad we could protect the 3 on the unprotected list.  But I get it.  I just want to see the Thorn get their mojo back.  So much great potential – hopefully they get the right people in place to harness it.

Yeah – I’ve become a bit of a women’s soccer geek.  I’m ok with that.

Last week, I had a project explode in my face.  Friday was far from my best day at work ever – more like worst work day – probably ranked in the top 5 worst days in the 20 years I’ve been working professionally.  I was happy my boss was gone because I seriously got off the call with my head in my hands wondering how much do I like this job.  Fuck, on the call with this executive as she is yelling at me, I wondered how much I cared about keeping this job because if I were to say what I wanted to say – well, I was likely going to get fired or at least be on that path.  Yeah – it was that kind of day.

The last couple of days, I have felt vindicated.  I’ve held the project meetings as she has wanted, and all hell broke loose at the first one.  And not at me this time.  Everyone in the room challenged her approach (as I did unsuccessfully) – and told her that her assumptions about IT are wrong (as I tried unsuccessfully to explain to her).  They then asked her what they should stop working on to make her pet project happen.  After going thru their list of “high priority projects” and comparing it against her’s, it was determined that this was not the mission-critical, highest-priority-ever project she has demanded it was.

Negotiations between her and the teams doing the work resulted in the executive pretty much accepting what she was given 3 weeks ago – given on schedule, by the way – but she rejected.  A few minor details were desired – stuff that would take people less than 30 minutes to do.  Hell, after the meeting, two people gave me their details immediately as it was something they could do without looking given how their area of the system works.

This afternoon, we will hand over to them the matrix – 3 days earlier than expected.  Also, another executive (who had been part of the discussions) will be proposing we take a tact I had suggested and was suggested by two other IT managers – a tact that will get us to the end faster.  A tact that isn’t dependent on any of the work that the team has done.

I’m still going to look for another job.  Last Friday demonstrated to me the degree of inexperience the VP under which I work has.  It also feels like the tip of the iceberg in terms of freak out during the next 90 days.  My company is being acquired then – and everyone’s priorities are driven around “not looking like an idiot when they come to see how we work”.  I equate it to how kids act when their parents are coming home and they’ve had a huge party the night before.  A panic ensues as they try to make it look like everything has been fine and good – nothing to see here.  The reality is the acquiring company has seen our financials as has anyone else with internet access.  They are not good.  Clearly something is not going right.  Coming in and seeing everything is perfect is just going to raise suspicions.  It won’t take long for them to find the stashed beer cans or the used condoms missed under the couch.  Like parents, the incoming executives are not stupid.

The latest Star Wars trailer is making me excited and wanting to know what happens next.  I guess because I wasn’t paying attention that Disney has tossed out all of the books and animated shows and comics that had built up to become the Star Wars universe post Episode 6.  But it has been interesting to read theories of what will happen in The Force Awakens.  Interesting and making me wonder where all of these people get all of this time!

I was unfriended on Facebook recently by my drama-filled sister-in-law.  There were a few things that made me wonder but I pushed it aside because I don’t do drama or politics on FB – and I even resist adding snark even when it is deserved.  She posted something one day that made my younger brother ask if she was still friends with me on Facebook.  I answered yes – then went and looked after he asked “are you sure?”  Sure enough – she had unfriended me.

I’ll be honest. It pisses me off because there is SO much I have wanted to say on her statuses that fluctuate between scolding others for posting unimportant things on FB when kids are tying to scolding people who are non-celiacs for ordering off the gluten free menu.  Her continue spewing of ever thought in her head on FB could give me plenty of fodder but I ignore it.  My dad and I recently discussed her own mother’s mental illness when I suggested to him that I worry about her own mental state given how all over the place she is about everything.  He concurred but I know these conversations stay between us.

As a kid, I grew up with this shitty family drama.  Not in my immediate family but my mom’s family.  Family gatherings were the worst – so I vowed to G when we had kids that we would keep them from that experience.  We have actively worked to make sure our kids know that when it happens, it is not normal or healthy or acceptable as most of the times it is someone handling conflict immaturely.  Having this go down with my SIL on the heals of her and my brother getting into it – well, it spells family drama for the holidays – and I’ll pass on that.

In talking thru this  yesterday with someone, I realized why she unfriended me.  A couple of weeks ago, I had a slow leak in my tire.  I had taken it in to get fixed at a regional tire place.  I had told my daughter when we sat down (and as I watched the technician with my car), “watch – he’s going to tell me it cannot be fixed – and I have to buy all new tires.”  Five minutes later, he was in with “bad news” and a quote for all new tires.  Not only could it not be fixed – it was because my tires were too worn to fix.

“Interesting,” I told the man, “I just had it at the dealer a couple of months ago – and they said they were fine.”

He launched into a big thing about never believing the dealers, this is why I should spend my money here, etc etc.  I thanked him for his feedback. Asked him to put on the spare because I actually get free tires with the warranty on my car.  “But you don’t want to put those crappy tires back on this car – that brand is bad – our brands are good.”  I thanked him for his advice – and we left.

DJ sat there trying not to laugh given it was playing out as I had predicted.

I called the dealer on the way home who explained the procedure for getting tires replaced under warranty.  “But we will measure the tread first – it has to measure a certain number or below before they are considered in need of replace.  That is our procedure warranty or not.”  I thanked her, then went to them a few days later.

“Uhm, your tires are almost new” was what the dealer said.  They then explained that the new tires measure a number of X, mine was like X-1.  In need of replacement is X-6.  And, that flat I had was totally fixable.

I was shocked.  I had only made the joke to my daughter, not because I thought they would lie to me, but because I drive an all-wheel drive car.  You can often not replace 1 tire or even 2 – you have to – for safety reasons – replace all four at the same time.  I knew this from the first all-wheel drive car I owned.  I figured it was going to be my bad luck or something.

But no – I was lied to.  Not just about the tire not being fixable – but about the state of my current tires.  That did not sit well with me.  That regional tire company used to have a reputation of honesty and integrity.  It saddened me that they seemed to toss that out the window.

I shared on FB that I was disappointed by their lack of honesty.  I was careful not to use the name of the company – because my SIL works for them at their headquarters.  After posting it, a number of people posted they had recently had similar experiences.  One person commented that they were no longer the company they were before the founder died.  No one ever named the company by name.

This….THIS is what got my unfriended, I’m sure.  As I told G after realizing that this was what got me tossed from her life (she does this via FB as a practice even with her own siblings and parents), clearly she does not understand that you can work for a company and they can treat their employees right and all can be great from that perspective.  And that same company? They can still try to screw their customers.  It doesn’t change that they are a good employer to work for – just means they are a bad company to do business with.  Clearly she doesn’t get that distinction.

Yeah – she can keep her crazy over there, thanks.

I am wondering for when someone confronts me on the fact that I blocked her ass.  Her MO is to unfriend, bash the person she unfriended, then refriend them when she decides it is time to no longer punish them.  Yeah – no  – she can fuck off.  I don’t place childish games like this.  You want me out? I’m out. I don’t need that in my life.