Monday, July 23, 2007

Why, thank you, kind sir

I call him Thankyou Man. You can guarantee that any conversation he has, 50% of it will consist of him thanking the other person. Alun thinks Thankyou Man is great; he would rather have 50 Thankyou Men than some other people he could mention.

He drives me around the bend.

He thanks me for the work I do ... for doing my job. For which I get paid. I know I should be grateful, glad that someone appreciates what I do. But when the gratitude is churned out time and again as if it's on automatic , it's hard to believe it's real.

Yet in a strange way, I think it is. He is an unbelievably grateful man, who delights in expressing that gratitude. (Perhaps I should drop a hint that chocolate is a good way to say thank you ...)

I was in a meeting with him once. When he arrived he thanked everybody for coming (although he hadn't called the meeting); he thanked everybody for letting him come; he thanked the host for offering him a drink; he thanked one of the others for letting him have hot chocolate too (?); then he said, 'thank you for ... (We could see him struggling to think of something else and we waited agog - was he going to fail? would he have to end his sentence there?) ... letting me sit down.'

I am horrid but I do feel a bit sorry for him. I wonder if his gratitude is a result of low self-esteem, if he thinks it will make people like him more. He's told me about some things one of his children said to him and they were incredibly blunt and cruel; yet he went along with it in an accepting sort of way.

I must try harder.


* * * * * * * * * *

A church laptop, projector and mixing desk were stolen from the back of Alun's car last week. (And there was no sign of a break-in so it looks as though they won't be covered by insurance.)

If you recall last autumn I managed to wipe the hard drive in work completely clean. But I only lost the data; Alun has lost the computer too.

A number of people pointed out to me what an opportunity this was for me to get my own back: Alun has been known to make fun of me for this and other reasons. Encouraged by these others, I tentatively began to broach the subject. I had only just opened my mouth when Alun said, 'Don't even go there! Don't think about it! You know you'll regret it!'

And it's true.

Once - just once - I had to drop out of an event at the last moment; has he let me forget that? Months later he's still bringing it up, when I least expect it. Oh, yes, he is a torment.


But we get on really well. Work is a fun place to be when we're both in the office. We moan and nag and tease each other - and as I said, I usually come off worse. But when things are bad, when I'm struggling or doubting my ability or myself, Alun is the best support I could ask for. He can be serious and reassuring - when he's not showing me photos of his bongo.
That's Alun on the left, with Dave, our volunteer. They've just completed a tour of primary schools with their play about caring for the environment. They're two mad professors in case you couldn't guess.
xx

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

I hope any (personal) files on the laptop were encrypted?

Were they even backed up somewhere else?

What a hassle :-(

Liz Hinds said...

I don't think there was a lot on the laptop, mostly stuff to do with the play they were doing.

mdmhvonpa said...

Why ... Thank you for letting me comment here!

Liz Hinds said...

Watch it, mdm!

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

I think we need more "thankyou men" in this world. Poor man - his children just do not appreciate him.

Sorry about the theft. I'm glad you didn't "go there".

They both look very nice and it's great to have fun people to work with!

Anonymous said...

How about a, you're welcome, woman. The boys in the picture look like they are having fun.

MaryB said...

Oh, gee, I figure the ThankYouMan and I would have a never-ending conversation of "Thank you," "Oh, no. Thank YOU," and so forth. I'm really uncomfortable with too many thanks yous to myself. Do you always answer "you're welcome"? ThankYouMan makes me tired. Bless his heart.

Anonymous said...

I don't know ThankYou Man personally. But I've known people like him. I hope you don't snap one day and bodily assault him. I know I would.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for this, Liz. And thank you for allowing me to comment here. Thank you also for coming to my blog and thank you for leaving comments there. Yes, I really do thank you.We all thank you...

;-)

Mauigirl said...

Cute photo of the "professors"!

I agree, Thank You Man must have low self-esteem. That kind of attitude is unusual in men; usually it's women who are the ones who are always apologizing and thanking people because they feel unworthy.

Lee said...

Forget the chocolates...just tell him to forward the cheques on to you...thank you!

Puss-in-Boots said...

Nothing's safe nowadays, is it? I hope there wasn't too much confidential stuff on the computer.

Love the expressions in the photos and where did they get those glasses?

BTW, Liz, are you in the middle of the floods. I know England's had heaps but I heard that Wales was affected too. Hope your feet are dry.

Puss-in-Boots said...

Nothing's safe nowadays, is it? I hope there wasn't too much confidential stuff on the computer.

Love the expressions in the photos and where did they get those glasses?

BTW, Liz, are you in the middle of the floods. I know England's had heaps but I heard that Wales was affected too. Hope your feet are dry.

Puss-in-Boots said...

Sorry about the double comment...it's Blogger's fault.

Liz Hinds said...

Thank you all for your support - mdm and winston excluded!

I think Steve's idea is a good one: I shall become you're welcome woman. We'll see who cracks first!

No, Robyn, we're fine down here. in fact today we're having summer i.e. it's sunny. The flooding is more middle England. Trains and roads in and out of Wales are affected though.