My friend (Gamma)

My last blog seems to spin out my control and became a self-promoting piece. It is as if I am shouting, "look at me! Ain't I great?" Well, forgive my indulgence.

So it is time for another blog on my friends. I believe that is my 29th entry, so her name will be Gamma. Gamma is my co-worker. She is taking maternity leave next week, so it is a perfect time to talk about her now.

Gamma is a trained engineer. If I have to summarize her in one word, it has to be "kind". Maybe because she will soon become a mother of two, she like to take care of the two nerds in the office: me and another Chinese guy. Why "taking care"? Well, you will have to understand the dynamics in the team first. My manager is not well-organized, and most of the time stressed out. I suspect family issues. She is a little arrogant and like to micromanage and enjoy the power. Two of my co-workers, white, obviously sense this and try to appease the manager by asking for her permissions for everything. Kiss-up, if I may. Gamma does not care to play that game, and I am too proud to play that game, and the other Chinese guy probably does not have a clue.

I figured that out pretty quickly. You know, judging people really is my strong suit. However, Gamma think we Chinese guys do not have a clue. She will try to subtly distill some information to me about the politics in the office (of course, not in a way that I just described, but the essence is the same) and give me suggestions about how to appease the managers and co-workers. For that, I am very thankful. In a worldful of assholes, it is quite rare to find someone thinking of other people all the time.

So why she is so nice? Well, she is very religious. Yesterday, she mentioned that religion changed her life. Upon knowing that I am a stubborn atheist, she said, "we should talk some time." I think religion really gives her a peaceful mind. For her, it is okey to pass up promotions or good assignments, because at the end of day, we will be judged by Him anyway. That's why she could enjoy small tasks like coding excel sheets or managing a small project. For her, being ambitious competitive does not make any sense.

Now she is taking maternity leave, I am picking up most of her tasks. Professionally, it is a good sign. As a one-month long new hire, I am able to quickly pick up some projects to pad my resume. But I also vow to pass along Gamma's spirit. The source will be different: for Gamma, it is the religion. For me, it is the believe that if you work hard, try to make other people look good, and stay positive, you can always get ahead, sooner or later (and no kiss-up). Besides, I also vow to take care of people who are social ill-adapted in my group. Please, I am not condescending here. I say this out of admiration: In the end of the day, they are the people who create the wealth (only to see it hijacked by the BS of the sales-person type), and you learn more by hanging out with them.

So that will be my great social experiment. I will just hold on my idealism for a little bit longer, because hey, I have nothing to lose here (why? that's another story). Just be myself, and be like Gamma.