During the summer, MJC is closed on Fridays. To coincide with that, we employees move from a 5 days/8 hours schedule to a 4 days/10 hours. I hate it. At least I used to. I like the structure of going to work everyday and never knew what to do with myself on Fridays. Plus getting up early and coming home late left no time for anything in the evenings. I've softened my position somewhat. Now, instead of working 10 hours a day, I take 1-2 hours of vacation per day and keep a more normal schedule. I still don't know what to do on Fridays but it doesn't bother me as much as it used to.
Begin rant.
So tonight is the annual Summer Sonata fundraiser dinner for the MJC Foundation. It's at a new place this year so I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes. I attended a training Wednesday evening for all of us volunteers to hear what we're going to do and how we'll do it. It was a difficult meeting to sit through. I don't know if there was a single question that needed to be asked. It was like every question was carefully crafted so as not to increase our knowledge or understanding once we heard the answer. For example, consider this question. "Will the serving trays that we use be rectangular or round?" It doesn't matter what the answer is. Knowing the shape of the tray does not help us in the slightest. But the best question was, "What if there's an emergency situation; will someone have a phone to call 911?" I actually think the question dumbfounded the room. There will be 300 people at the event that is being held at a residence in the middle of town. Do we really need to lock down on Wednesday who will have access to a phone? I doubt there was a single person in the room that does not have a mobile phone. I just find these kind of meetings to be such a collossal waste of time.
End rant.
Begin rant.
So tonight is the annual Summer Sonata fundraiser dinner for the MJC Foundation. It's at a new place this year so I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes. I attended a training Wednesday evening for all of us volunteers to hear what we're going to do and how we'll do it. It was a difficult meeting to sit through. I don't know if there was a single question that needed to be asked. It was like every question was carefully crafted so as not to increase our knowledge or understanding once we heard the answer. For example, consider this question. "Will the serving trays that we use be rectangular or round?" It doesn't matter what the answer is. Knowing the shape of the tray does not help us in the slightest. But the best question was, "What if there's an emergency situation; will someone have a phone to call 911?" I actually think the question dumbfounded the room. There will be 300 people at the event that is being held at a residence in the middle of town. Do we really need to lock down on Wednesday who will have access to a phone? I doubt there was a single person in the room that does not have a mobile phone. I just find these kind of meetings to be such a collossal waste of time.
End rant.
Posts
I think that perhaps we are being a bit harsh. Perhaps the shape of the trays makes a difference to how many will fit on a table, eh? And perhaps there ought to be a designated 911 caller. You can't have 300 guests blocking the lines by calling all at once.
By denying such meetings, you deny the opportunity for the meeting-loving people of the world to wait until the last minute to bring up a long and pointless topic. Without such meetings, how could useless individuals be made to feel as if they are making a contribution. I suggest that Americans must be required to attend at least one long and meaning-devoid meeting per week. Potential topics could be "The Role of Compost in Our Community" or "The Hazards of Electrical Toothbrushes." Attending more than one could count as a charitable contribution and get you a tax break. What are your thoughts?
Those are all good points that I admit I had not considered. Thank you for opening my eyes to my own prejudice on the subject.
Having had a chance to think about what you said, I find that my original position is reaffirmed. I now have more conviction than ever. That is a gift that I shall endeavor to repay. ;)