to anyone who knows me that I have gotten grouchier as I have aged, and I seem to be reaching some vertical asymptote, beyond which even my grouchiness cannot prevail.

Because of this I value my friends all the more, because they understand my grouchiness and accomodate it.

Meanwhile, I am beset on all sides by the rankest most amateurish stupid that money can buy. Yesterday I was given notice that I had to fill out the Gallup strengths profiler. To anyone who has not had this as part of their flavor of the month (We’ve done it all, lean manufacturing, ISO, yadda yadda) it’s a sort of a microcosm of the old Minnesota Multiphasic. Which I’ve taken so many times it’s not funny.

Tsk. Clarice, do you think you can dissect me with this blunt little tool?

Anyway, I filled out the questionaire and broke it. It couldn’t figure out what to do with my answers, and suggested I take the test again. I passed the info on to my boss, as requested, and he suggested I try again. I explained to him that I would give the exact same answers and get the exact same results, and I was done playing silly games. He forwarded the results message to HR, who called me and suggested I try again, and I explained to him that there was no way I would answer a single question differently, and he sent me onto ANOTHER HR person, and that person wanted to know if I was sure I had given the best answers I could, and I asked him what answers he would like me to give, and I would be pleased to give them. A shitstorm of stupid ensued, and then I got the “Annual review” form, (Which of course relies on the data from the test that I broke). I filled that out to the best of my ability, and I expect another shitstorm about that tomorrow.

I have never been dishonest about a damned thing there, and I am constantly amazed that nobody has a fucking clue what to do with the truth.