Prozac, Poison and a Freudian Slip!

So, about this new gig o’ mine…it’s always interesting. Like a good book, it’s filled with characters – some believable, some not so much.

One person I work with very often is a little “high strung.” I believe the medical term is “bipolar.” He tends to go from one extreme to another. (Example: Monday: “Hey Kel, let’s make this really simple for them to understand.” Tuesday: “Hey Kel, let’s throw everything at them so they realize the complexities and feel a bit overwhelmed.”)

Hey, I have an idea! Let’s pretend this Kel person can keep up!

I get e-mails from him at 4 AM on Saturday; he has trouble focusing on many things but rather centers in on one and doesn’t let it go until it’s done (or dead). Finally, one very long day, when I was struggling to keep up I flat out said to him, “You know, if we are going to continue to work together successfully, one of us is going to need Prozac and, I think it’s you.” He laughed. We’re working on it.

One of the administrative assistants was making a fresh pot of coffee. She jokingly said she would make it strong because the person I was working with that day, (the one described throughout this missive) likes it that way. I looked at her and said, “He doesn’t need more caffeine. He needs Prozac!” We laughed. She knows how he is. They all know how he is.

INTENSE.

Yes – that’s the word I’m looking for.

A little too subservient for my liking, she actually BRINGS him a cup of coffee (suck up) and I’m sitting in his office as this occurs. She said, “I put some poison in there per Kel’s request.” I went into (Sybil) recovery mode. I very calmly said, “No. I did not ask for poison, I asked for Prozac. I believe that was a Freudian slip on your part.” She was embarrassed. He wasn’t sure what just happened. Everyone laughed. Thankfully… and uncomfortably.

And kudos to onelook.com - the best site to find a definition quickly and accurately. Here’s their description for a Freudian Slip (not that you need an explanation but she did!)

“A slip-up that (according to Sigmund Freud) results from the operation of unconscious wishes or conflicts and can reveal unconscious processes in normal healthy individuals.”

I’m not sure there’s any such thing as normal, but I can definitely hope for healthy and wish all of you a Happy, Healthy New Year!

Cool quote I found this week:

"Perhaps strength doesn't reside in having never been broken
but in the courage required to grow strong in the broken places."

And Finally, in the wonderful words of Mr. Adam Duritz, and dedicated by me to my friend JMC:

“A Long December and there’s reason to believe maybe this year will be better than the last.”