Sepideh

Tonight I decided to hold a revitilization Wednesday and head over to ye olde outdoor mall for a mani/pedi. Even though I know that there's a good chance my hands will be coated in grease by the end of the week and my toes chipped up from tromping around in substantial shoes, it's worth it just to have all of the dead skin and rough spots removed. It also helps disuade me from biting my nails and chewing on the skin around my fingers. Anything that keeps my hands out of my mouth is good - especially with flu season bearing down on us all.

After an hour of bliss at the nail place, I decided to run into Borders and grab some periodicals. Magazines are the literary equivalent of a one night stand: immediately gratifying and only good in the short term. After they've been read a few times, they accumulate around the house and clutter the flow of energy in a feng shui-derailing manner. An issue of Cosmo and a Maxim later, I'm on my way out the door when I see one of the engineering supervisors from work. Our desks used to be adjacent and I truly enjoyed having her as a cubicle-mate.

Essential facts about Sepideh: she's Iranian, is a brilliant engineer, smells like Thierry Mugler Angel, and is a very warm and inviting person. I'm not sure of her age, but she has this ageless grace about her that I find fascinating. We've bonded over being women of power in a male dominated building and the interesting situations that arise as a result. When I do my monthly safety meetings, she always looks me up to see how it went with second shift as they are notoriously fussy.

She and her husband go to the coffee shop at Borders to pay bills, drink coffee, and just generally get out of the house. I took a seat at their table and ended up spending an hour (until closing time) discussing company culture and the changes that the next 5 years hold. She told me I'd be a good manager/supervisor and shared her philosophy on being an effective leader: be friendly and personable, but unwavering on the most essential matters. Use the natural air of intimidation to advantage but never get wrapped up in the idea of intimidating people. Know your stuff and respect comes from that.

What she said about intimidation really stuck with me because recently, I've felt...self-conscious about the intimidation factor that I perceive myself as carrying. I see it a little at work, but it's most profound in personal life. And as a person that's single and (admittedly) looking, sometimes I fear that I come on strong and repel people with the way I carry myself. Yet, I refuse to change because it's who I am. And I can't be a (totally) different person professionally than I am personally. With the exception of a much stronger filter and a more persistent game face, I'm the same in both worlds and it's equally effective for both.

So tomorrow, I'm going to continue to keep on keeping on and be glad I've got an ally and someone to look up to professionally within the building. It's been a good week, but running into Sepideh at the bookstore made it better.

And when leaving the mall, I saw them getting in their car - with him opening her door for her so she could enter the car first. Good job. Nice husband who looks at her adoringly. BMW. Good outlook on life. She must be doing something right. Yeah, she's awesome.