6 month evaluation

I recently had my 6 month eval at work and my one area of improvement was to answer the general phone line more often (though we all know that's not going to happen). I have also been doing my own evaluation of the past 6 months at the GA Lighthouse Foundation and these are some of the things I have learned:

Yep, that's pretty much it.

1. Eyeballs are gross. Really gross. And weird. And no one should have to get near them if they don't make the conscious decision to get a degree in optometry, especially not someone with degrees in business and theology. The grossest is when we have to poke people in the eyes to check their eye pressure. People roll their eyes all back up into their heads and squint really hard and it's really gross to try and pry someone's eye open. I also didn't think about how weird eyelids would be up close. Some people have really tight eyelids and tight skin on their faces, and some people have really puffy eyelids and really squishy skin. So weird. So gross. Eyes may be the window to your soul, but there is a respectful distance that should be maintained.

2. Mean people aren't the majority and you can stand up to them. There are a lot of seriously unpleasant people out there - people who feel entitled, who will never be satisfied with the services they receive, who find fault in everything, who are unwilling to compromise. Even though they feel like the majority because they're the loudest and most persistent, they really maybe make up 10% of the people we see. So I've started to stand up for myself. I have just as much right to say how I will or won't be treated as they have to be all pissy and crabby.

3. Compassion and pity aren't the same thing. Cognitively that's a no-brainer, but existentially it's a little more difficult. It's not a compassion I've ever been taught or felt before. It's an understanding and a caring for the hardness of life that some people experience, but it's not an emotional breakdown. I used to get teary when I read applications and saw how difficult things are for some people. But this compassion is a more like realization of what people are going through and trying to figure out what might bring them comfort. Most times it's just to listen.


4. I like baths. I've never been much of a bath person; I haven't ever really thought about them actually. It's not directly connected to the Lighthouse, but I've discovered this nugget in the past 6 months so I think it counts.