Feminist Pub 17: The Bluestocking frolics in the fells and fens of feminism

My dh has spent lots of time in that kind of micro-managing time crap. Our commiserations.

And one of my favourite quotes from the subjection of women: "In all things of any difficulty and importance, those who can do them well are fewer than the need, even with the most unrestricted latitude of choice: and any limitation of the field of selection deprives society of some chances of being served by the competent, without ever saving it from the incompetent."

And we see it all around us... But let's not end discrimination, in case we get incompetent women.

It sounds like madness because it is madness. It's like they've read some guide to management and decided to do the opposite.

I may have to quote Sheelagh Whittaker, we will only have true equality when we have as many incompetent women in positions of power as incompetent men.

I suspect women do the navel-gazing because you don't need to spend so much time contemplating your place in the world when that place is at the top. And can I echo the "bastarding unemployment" cry from last night? As a Daily Mail stereotype it pissed me right off that this entire system is designed to keep me unemployed and then I get to be society's scapegoat because of it.

Ebear That sounds like madness. It's time for the revolution to get rid of all micromanagers. (Reminds me of the Lego movie ...)

Actually, there will be some stats on micromanagement and productivity and so on. Right, that's some time spent googling Gartner and stuff tomorrow.

I was given to believe there would be Welsh cakes at my Welsh class tonight, but there wasn't, and I hadn't had time to pop into M&S (only place that does them round here.)

Work is killing me with micromanagement and incompetent idiots trying to tell me how to plan my time. I said I'd go and work in the datacentre tomorrow. This is not because I am being good and helpful, it's to keep me away from people so I don't swear at them. Oh, also, I am not meant to be doing any training/women's network/culture improvement work. I foresee a visit to HR if they go much further. But there will be a ranty email to director first. I already wrote half of one on the subject, but felt so disheartened I gave up (though kept the draft.) So I won't have to do much work.

I need to do lots of training courses so I can escape. It's so demotivating, and I end up feeling totally incompetent, because every fucking thing I do is questioned to see if it's best how I should have spent my time. (Not just me, the whole department - I think - though only I have had the no women's network diktat.) I am actually pretty good at time management, and they are not. You must spend 50% of your time on this every week. You cannot average it out over a month, so doing more one week will not count against the next, even if that actually makes sense. Every person must do this, you cannot balance it out between the team, e.g. someone take on those tasks to allow that person to spend more time on these tasks. This actually makes us more inflexible and inefficient, which will be the main point of my ranty mail, as that will get me further than pointing out they're treating us like children. Except I wouldn't treat children quite so inflexibly, either.

And they're probably getting paid shitloads more for being so unutterably crap.

Maybe what you need for an icy St David's day is a nice warm welsh ? (works overtime for St George's day too).

Navel-gazing is probably most done in an actual pub so you can't remember it next morning.

Nuff said! I would be irritated by my stupid misogynistic colleague and his performance today but it's nearly Spring and I have a new garden to discover this year.

Drive safely kickass

All you gloaty fuckers with flowers and shit.
I just cleared a solid layer of ice off the car. 'Twas about a quarter inch thick and the windscreen slid off in one huge chunk (the ice that is). Now I have the joy of driving home in rain/ice storm to look forward to.

Just FYI ice storms sound cool but they really are NOT. Grump.

If you are a woman whatever you naval-gaze about are trivial unimportant issues. If you are a man whatever you naval-gaze about are important man-issues. HTH.

I like that there is a navel gazing bench in the feminist pub :) Does it have magnifying glasses and tweezers? (You know, for the fluff!)

Feminism is often seen as a bit of unnecessary navel gazing, isn't it? Especially on topics like that Guess Who thread and other things like that. But it isn't unnecessary or trivial at all.

Hmm, I came for a rant but have now lost heart for rant but still feeling a bit grumpy and out of sorts (and hungry!)

So I shall say in short: Do you think it's a feminist issue that women, largely, do all of the navel gazing and analysing and wondering which way is best whereas men largely get on with things and don't worry about it too much? Or perhaps they are busy worrying about big important man things and don't have the headspace. Do you think if I got myself some big man type issues to worry about, that I'd stop navel gazing?

I started to tidy up the back garden (should have done it last oct but I'm lazy) but ds is now down with a bad cold and is alternatively looking sad / crying at me everywhere and being carried when I can't stand the sad any more. We saw a bee in a crocus about two weeks ago and he's remembered and keeps looking for it. A bee! In mid-Feb!

We have hellebores too and there are some bulbs coming up but I don't remember what they are.

But the crocus have died a death and nowhere to be seen. :(

I wondered if anyone was going to pick me up on that Might as well make the most of them, for lo HQ has given and soon will take away

Lol at praising st David's day and "bastarding Christianity" in the same post

(I do know what you mean though!)

Celandines are quite nice too (the little wild star-like yellow flowers). Perhaps there is a god after all, putting bright cheery yellow flowers on after the winter. Though I think I'll still try to hit him if I ever meet him.

There's a little walkway between two rows of houses near where I live. It's unremarkable until spring time when the two narrow strips of green either sides are covered in daffodils. There's also an ugly little pebble-dashed house down the road which puts on the most remarkable daffodil display in its front garden. It just goes to show ... something or other....

Must arrange to be in Wales next St David's day (2016), I remember once seeing whole streets and every shop window covered in 's. It was lovely! We should all do it. Bastarding Christianity for taking away all old pagan celebrations and bastarding world global capitalist economic order for taking away all public celebrations and public life!