work stuff

Had a hell day at work on Thursday. Big issue blew up right in the middle of the afternoon. Dealing with press, dealing with client base, dealing with all the shit that goes with it.

My shoulder got thrown out on wednesday - slept wrong. Still hurts. Hurt a lot worse on Thursday. Was going to get work done on it, but had to be there to take care of things at the office. My boss has had a bit of a ragged edge lately and I didn't want to leave him to deal with it all while he was feeling frayed.

I also needed to hold the hand of one of the clients (you know the business I am in - remember Evil Cadbury and what he does). There were special words to be written and lines to be developed and spin to be deployed. I am Cadbury the unflappable and everyone else was flapping. If that sounds egocentric - it probably is - but it's true.

This was an ugly issue - one that required the fine line between emotional honesty and spin. It had to be played off legit, but still used to advantage within the context of "the business". It had to be legitimate because anything else would have smelled instantly of "put on for the cameras". It had to be legit because it would be morally wrong to use an issue like this purely as "a play". It had to be real because it was/is. And it had to be set up and used for advantage - the forces of darkness are beating us with a stick right now because the law and best solution in a bad situation and what seems right in a 30 second clip on the news right aren't always the same thing. Especially when the people who put together the original play (that we are being beat up for) were male lawyers (searching for a least cost solution) - and not people with a whole lot of sensitivity.

It's funny, but all my writing on this blog, and all my research into issues surrounding abuse and sexual harrassment were what allowed me to craft perfect words for one of our women clients. A number of the women that heard her speak my words cried at the emotional honesty contained within them. Women who are otherwise awfully tough, and awfully thick skinned.

On a personal level I take that as validation of my emotions surrounding my experience. Just like an artist needs to know they have connected with the people experiencing their art, I need to know that my words touch something real inside people. This did. I am grateful that I was able to help this woman put words to her own feelings and her experience.

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Because of the above I don't feel nearly as guilty anymore about all the time I have spent on this blog at work.