A few observations short of a socially intelligent being

Disclaimer: There's really no point to this blog post other than to vent (without naming names) of those close to me who truly lack awareness of their social impact.

What makes someone socially intelligent? Is it part of their genetic make-up? Is it their parents' influence? Is it their ability to observe?

What makes some socially unintelligent (The S.U.'s of our society)? I've been thinking about this one alot lately. Recently I've come in contact with a wide array of socially inept - from the forgivable loud walkers to the punishable biggots. The open-mouthed chewers, the young kids with their music blasting in the metro, the middle-aged who feel justified and attempt to embarrass the up-and-comers around them (jaded nurses, professors, that one woman who constantly walks into classes at Interdec College), people who invade others' space with their negativity; the list goes on and on.

Evidently, I'm a little annoyed about all this S.U. behaviour. Frankly, it irritates me to the point of altering my good moods. (I know this is something I need to learn to externalize).

I blame it on being observant. I notice the faces, postures, groans, retorts of those who have been in the presence of someone who is S.U. To be honest, there are times that I'd rather not notice it at all, I would be a much less annoyed individual and I would not be so privy to the awkwardness of certain interactions around me. However... let's face it, much better to be aware! I'll take the ability to observe over being selfish and inconsiderate, any day!

And to those around me who have irritated classrooms, metro cars and friends with their selfish behaviour, I say: open your eyes! You are negatively impacting the people around you!!

Rant over.

Venting - It was bound to happen...

Some venting to do today and also some celebrating; Seems to be a lot to celebrate and less to vent about these days, so I’ll get the latter out of the way first. I anticipated having a rocky start to my start-up design company... so this is to be expected. Here it goes.

Amidst the most hectic of all my undergrad semesters - school work, presentations, group meetings, actual work, time with boyfriend, social life, sleep (the little that I do get) and so on - I’ve taken on a few design jobs in order to stretch my legs and test my skills! I entered into them feeling confident in my abilities and confident in my grasp of my clients’ wants. I’ve gotten a few reality checks, though.

Firstly, I’m working on an ad for an industrial distributor of packaging products for farmers. I met with him and spoke with him several times about the layout and elements he wanted me to include in the ad. The last I hear from him, he says that he’d like me to have it completed before I leave for Italy at the beginning of May. – Eeek! Brow sweat! A lot of pressure, considering everything else I have to do, but I can handle it. So, I write him to tell him what I’ll be charging and all of a sudden he’s gonzo - can’t get in touch with him. A tad frustrating considering I’ve already spent time on this and the looming deadline, but I guess I’ll wait it out.

Secondly, and more annoyingly, I’m creating a logo for a student association at my university. The president approached me and said he needed it within a week. We sat a spoke of elements he’d like me to include. He mentioned a few things but for the most part, he gave me little insight. I proposed ideas, to which he seemed enthusiastic and responsive! Good start, or so it seemed. I buckled down (again, amongst all my other work) and completed 10 variations of logos from which the association could choose one or parts of them that they wanted me to rework for the final version. I send them out, by my deadline, eager to hear the executive input.

I get one email back from the VP of external affairs saying she didn’t think they even needed a logo and that she thought the ones I’d sent looked like Balls. What am I supposed to do with that information?? Balls?? Really? Apparently, the president had approached me too soon, and there were internal conflicts which needed to be resolved prior to moving forward. Why the VP External felt the need to air these conflicts out to a third party hired to do a job for them? I don't know. What do you think of them? Ballish? Hah. I'll admit a few of them do have a phallic/testicular quality to them! And, I'll laugh that off.

Now, he wants me to create a second, entirely new round of logos from which the association will choose. My time is not free, people! I told him that I’d charge him for the work I’d already done if he wanted me to start over since according to him, there was nothing from my first round that they could work with. I feel snubbed and my ego is a little crushed – but that’s the name of the game. I gotta toughen up and realize that it’s impossible to please an entire board of executives - especially pompous student execs. Now, the tough part will be getting paid for something they didn’t use…