Chipmunk and Boss Marc
Okay, it's a weird title, but I just have to tell you this story...
A year ago, my "best friend" (who happens to be my "super" again... crap) left for a 3-month seminar in Hawaii. I was still his "star" subordinate then (back when we were still in good terms) and we were starting to do something very important (like implementing our Department's new planning, programming and budgeting cycle), which got a big boost from visits by UK and US subject matter experts who discussed these at length with us. So when he left, he wanted me to take care of things for him, sort of a "caretaker" for the work... Not to allow it to stagnate and all that. Which I did. And being a caretaker included occupying his "cubicle". When he left, in effect, I became the "chief" of something, but not the division though (I'm too junior). After that everybody started calling me "chief". I hated that. I'm no "chief" and I don't like attaching anything to my name anyway. I'm just plain old "Marc". I know that his designation of me offended some of my more senior colleagues, and as much as possible, I let them know that I'm just occupying the space. I don't have any right to be called that. But they still kept calling me "chief" or "Chief Marc" (sounds stupid, doesn't it?), which annoyed me to no end. Finally, I decided to play on that moniker, "Chief Marc". Whenever somebody would call me that, I immediately correct them by saying, "Hindi Chief Marc; Chipmunk!", which made everyone laugh out loud. At least it got my colleagues to thinking that I'm really no different from them because like I said, though I was supposed to be the "chief" of something, I was just there to occupy space and nothing more.
But there is still this colleague of mine who kept calling me "Boss Marc". I also don't like to be called that, but since it seems he can't get it out of his system, I just let him do that. By the way, that "Boss Marc" thing came from me. I still call my former "super" "Boss Dick" ("Dick" is, by the way, his real name). "Sir Dick" just didn't sound right (it elicited more than its share of laughs, much to his chagrin), and I don't dare call him any other honorific since he is my super so I just called him "Boss Dick", which I hope you'll agree, sounds a lot better.
Right now, I just plain "Marc" again, and believe me, that's the way I like it.
A year ago, my "best friend" (who happens to be my "super" again... crap) left for a 3-month seminar in Hawaii. I was still his "star" subordinate then (back when we were still in good terms) and we were starting to do something very important (like implementing our Department's new planning, programming and budgeting cycle), which got a big boost from visits by UK and US subject matter experts who discussed these at length with us. So when he left, he wanted me to take care of things for him, sort of a "caretaker" for the work... Not to allow it to stagnate and all that. Which I did. And being a caretaker included occupying his "cubicle". When he left, in effect, I became the "chief" of something, but not the division though (I'm too junior). After that everybody started calling me "chief". I hated that. I'm no "chief" and I don't like attaching anything to my name anyway. I'm just plain old "Marc". I know that his designation of me offended some of my more senior colleagues, and as much as possible, I let them know that I'm just occupying the space. I don't have any right to be called that. But they still kept calling me "chief" or "Chief Marc" (sounds stupid, doesn't it?), which annoyed me to no end. Finally, I decided to play on that moniker, "Chief Marc". Whenever somebody would call me that, I immediately correct them by saying, "Hindi Chief Marc; Chipmunk!", which made everyone laugh out loud. At least it got my colleagues to thinking that I'm really no different from them because like I said, though I was supposed to be the "chief" of something, I was just there to occupy space and nothing more.
But there is still this colleague of mine who kept calling me "Boss Marc". I also don't like to be called that, but since it seems he can't get it out of his system, I just let him do that. By the way, that "Boss Marc" thing came from me. I still call my former "super" "Boss Dick" ("Dick" is, by the way, his real name). "Sir Dick" just didn't sound right (it elicited more than its share of laughs, much to his chagrin), and I don't dare call him any other honorific since he is my super so I just called him "Boss Dick", which I hope you'll agree, sounds a lot better.
Right now, I just plain "Marc" again, and believe me, that's the way I like it.
posted by Marc dela Peña | 7:48 AM
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