Almost in Everyday Ramblings

Like many of you we are having W-E-A-T-H-E-R. What exactly is the difference between freezing rain and sleet? They make a different sound? Sleet is slick and sleek? My Dante class was canceled so I have the evening free.

Well, our very eccentric professor sent extra reading should we feel so inclined.

I took this picture on Saturday from our river front park as I was passing through. If that looks like a submarine there in the distance, that is because, umm, it is a submarine. This is an interesting angle shot as our Science Museum is off to the left there. The submarine is part of that complex.

Speaking of science…weird random fact of the day… Law enforcement is doing DNA sequencing of raw sewage in cities to see what kind of drugs are popular. Wow. Who knew? The cool thing is that they can also test for what flu viruses are in play in the population and put together the vaccines accordingly and it also might be helpful in stopping the spread of MERSA.

So my boss called Saint Joe and I into his office today to tell us that the group that was spilt off from us over a year ago that includes Mrs. Quill, the current prime perpetrator of The Evil Empire (who says she is not retiring for seven years even though she could now with a very handsome retirement package) is coming back into our group and that they will be reporting to Mr. Narcissistic Personality Disorder (Mr. NPD for short.)

It was in defending Mr. NPD’s supposed honor (because I questioned his authority) that my former director wrote the horrid letter to try to get me fired. He was promoted to a supervisor last year and he is not very good at it. What he is good at is manipulating people and telling jokes and talking about himself…endlessly. My boss loves him. They are joined at the hip.

As part of this switchover, somebody that is not very good at doing something critical to our job functionality is being moved into the position of doing that while the person who is very good indeed at what she does is being moved to help Mrs. Quill. Mrs. Quill’s current delightful assistant (and our put put golf partner) is being poached by the powers that be.

Anyway, my feeling about all this flashed across my face while we were having this conversation as I was standing in my boss’s off holding a calendar I had in my hand across my chest. He noticed that. And after lunch he sent me an email asking why I was concerned about this change because I had expressed emotion through facial expressions.

Here we go again. I was told after I replied that we all had to do more, that the person in question was capable and that we had to all be onboard with this.

God, I need a new job. They love Saint Joe. If I could find something else I so would go.

The good thing in all this is that in a kind of desperate fog the other day I started looking for books or talks or something on how to deal with a person with Narcissistic Personality Disorder and I found one. The Wizard of Oz and Other Narcissists: Coping with the One-Way Relationship in Work, Love, and Family by Eleanor D. Payson, who is a social worker.

I was about five minutes into reading the book when I realized that Mr. Fine China is absolutely without a doubt an individual with a Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

Before the gastroenterologist identified that Mr. POA had a tumor in his pituitary gland on a fluke (because she was fascinated by his disease in med school) he had all these seemingly unrelated small changes going on, like his watch getting tight and his shoes hurting, and sweating more than normal and… the diagnosis was like placing down the last piece in a complicated jigsaw puzzle and the picture becoming fully visible.

It was the same here. I’ve known Mr. Fine China for almost 15 years, though gratefully he has only been in my life for a small part of that and reading this book, the crazy making stuff is all falling into place. It is like being given a get out of jail free card.

And this case the jail was my own constant questioning about where I have stood with him and what was it I did that precipitated such and such behavior and…

Wow. I think that is why I have so much trouble with Mr. NPD at work. I am on to him. Apparently they can go for years manipulating people for attention and admiration and status and… the person involved with them thinks she is losing her mind because no one else sees it.

I need to get out of this sandbox or find a way to protect myself.

But in the meantime…the weather is supposed to improve enough tomorrow that Kes and I can go pick the boy cats up! I am so excited.

Last updated November 13, 2014