Less Tears, A Thicker Skin

There's this colleague at work who's very reticent. This morning, while waiting for the PC person to relocate my PC from Serene's desk to Aaron's desk (I've shifted over since Serene is back), I chanced upon that colleague's mini noticeboard that every employee has and saw this quote:

"Less tears, a thicker skin. Don't let anyone get you down."

That probably made her into what she is today.

But it made me think a lot. I'm someone with very "thin skin", and that makes me greatly disadvantaged in social situations, especially when I withdraw into my shell to avoid being criticised.

It doesn't help though. I still do get criticised occasionally. A few jokes here and there by some of my colleagues. Jokes are fine, but those that hit my sore points really hurt. But I can't say it out because it would make me seem very petty.

I'm not, ok. But at work, first impressions count, and when I say that, I mean the really superficial impressions.

Because no one really bothers to find out what kind of person you really are. When everyone is busying themselves with work, they get more concerned about it then understanding your character.

Today, Serene walked over to my new desk and scolded me for messing up her desk while I was there.

All the while I was there, I had tried not to touch her stuff - besides using her scissors, perforator and notepad =P But the PC person who shifted my PC over to my new desk totally messed up almost everything on her desk as he had to pull out the wires.

Speaking of which, I wonder if the PC person who had hooked up my PC at her desk did mess up her desk and then rearrange it before too.

I tried my best to neaten up her desk as I didn't memorise where exactly all her stuff were.

Anyway, to pacify her, I just proffered a sincere apology as I did not want to create a scene. It shut her up and after saying, in a less annoyed manner, that she is very anal about the stuff on her desk and how her poster was placed upside down, she left.

Part Two is more drastic, and I have no wish to reiterate it as I have repeated the story a dozen times, be it verbally or through text.

Just know that I was hit in a hard way and "Less tears, a thicker skin. Don't let anyone get you down," became even more relevant to me after that.