Diana's Diary

2002-07-13 - 5:15 p.m.

Banter and Innuendo

It's funny, because on regular work days, I'm surrounded by other women, with the exception of Parker (and occasionally the IS Guy). But then, when I'm at a meeting, the men outnumber the women by a something like 15:1. And it's weird to me how often men are not good at being around women.

About four years ago, I spent my summer working as an admin in the service department for a Silicon Valley company. That meant that I spent a lot of time on the phone with various field service engineers. I never met most of these guys--I was just a phone voice. Then, one week, all of the regional field managers came into the office for a meeting. I got to my cubicle that Monday morning to find these four guys all gathered around my desk, waiting to meet me. Yes, I found that odd. I mean, yeah, I'm always interested to meet people I've only spoken to on the phone, but to have all four of them specifically waiting for me was a bit strange. (And my disappointment that the guy with the sexy Marlboro Man voice turned out to look an awful lot like Donald Duck is a completely separate story...)

I think that the reaction that most of them had to me was something to the effect of, "Whoa, she's really young, time to back off now!" Which is fine. Better than fine. The ones who didn't have that reaction....well, let's just say that I remember one of the engineers giving me a complete up-and-down look with the creepiest leer on his face (I mean, we're talking there was almost saliva dripping off his chin). Cree. Pee.

Ahem. Anyway. I haven't been quite so obviously ogled when I'm at meetings in my current job, but a couple of the guys are still kind of icky. (Captin Passive-Aggressive comes to mind, and did I mention Rat-Boy and his fascination for the red sweater I wore in Dallas, which he swears was just because the color was so great on me?) Yesterday, I got a call from one of the engineers. I guess this guy has bugged Ebie a couple of times, but I haven't really had a problem with him. I mean, this guy looks like a cross between my grandfather and my favorite college prof, so this conversation was totally not what I was expecting.

Me: Good afternoon, [name of my employer], this is Diana.

Engineer: Hi there, Diana, this is [Engineer].

Me (cheerful--like I said, this guy's always been nice to me): Hi, [Engineer], what can I do for you?

Engineer: Well, I'm sure that there's a lot that you could do for me, if you know what I mean.

Me: (clears throat, followed by several seconds of silence)

Engineer (realizes I'm going to play his game): Is Martine in the office this afternoon?

Ugh. "Banter" and "innuendo" aren't in my job description, either.

~~~

Checked on my grandparents' house today. (It's still there.) My grandmother had left me a note telling me to check out the wall in the upstairs hall. It was totally filled with pictures of the grandkids. It's weird. For 18 years, I was the youngest grandkid on my dad's side. (On my mom's side, I think I'm like tenth of 16.) Now, on Dad's side, I'm just Second of Five. The pictures of Sis and I from when we were the age that the other three are now are kind of funny. Check out those killer fashions from 1982. There a couple of pictures where I'm wearing this dress that has a white ruffled blouse with a patchwork skirt of red, yellow, green, and blue gingham, with a red velour vest. Snazzy. I think I was about three. I mean, wow. Was my mother dressing me to be an extra in The Sound of Music or something? Heh.

Of course, in twenty years, my little cousins (currently aged 5, 4, and 1) will probably look at the pictures of themelves and laugh, too.

There was also a family picture that I actually remember being taken when I was six. Sis had on a purple-and-lavendar jogging suit, and I had on a bright pink jogging suit with a white stripe across the chest. We both had bowl haircuts. My uncles were all thinner and had more hair. My dad had a moustache, more hair, and was heavier than he was later on. My mom had really funky permed/feathered hair. Heh.

-Diana

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2003-12-16 - Ow! My Nose!
2003-12-15 - 'Tis the Season...For Moving
2003-11-17 - Rush, Rush
2003-11-03 - Apartment Hunting Sucks
2003-10-22 - Apparently, "nauseated" is a good look for me.

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