h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

How do you think Hyp got elected President in the first place? The Ozark Dei is all around us

Banjo and the hammered dulcimer. Mustn't forget the hammered dulcimer.

"I hear banjos..."

The Hillbilly Code -- all I have to say is, hopefully your "biographer" will have more talent that Dan Brown!

SC

Ozark Dei? The Hillbilly Code?

I sense a conspiracy here - I bet all those nutcases turning up at Hyp's library are really efforts to infiltrate the Ozark Dei...

15th August,2006

Very dear Hypatia,

Belated congratulations. I thought that I had written to you to wish you well but must have forgotten to post it. So now you can relax and hopefully all the wonderful ideas you have for your library can be implemented.
Really thrilled for you.

With affection

Christiane AR1

*watches out for albino farmers*

I'm a little confuzed, Hyp. One minute you are trying to fund a library, and the next you are seeking popehood. Make up your mind, are you in favor of intellegence or religion?


YB

Good point, if a little unfair.

Here's a radical thought...try mixing the two!

Not so radical a thought, Xantief. It is quite possible. It seldom seems to happen, however.

Shhh, don't let the religious fanatics hear you say that. They all think they are the most intelligent, knowledgeable people on earth. And they have spies everywhere..........

Ooh, I must've let the good news pass me by somehow... congradulayshuns Hyp!

Hyp, I hope your headaches have passed (that you mentioned a few weeks back) and I'm happy that you put the maté to good use.

My primary headache isn't going away for another 288 days, 13 hours and 46 minutes, not that I'm counting. That's when I can bid farewell to smellfungus.

Not that she's counting......

Smellfungus?

YB, smellfungus is a controlling, manipulative person who makes my job very difficult. Unfortunately, there is no way I can avoid working with her. I nicknamed her smellfungus (which is a real word, by the way) as a way of depersonalizing her in my own mind and making her easier to deal with. She will be leaving next spring.

You should organise a "Farewell to Smellfungus" party and, ahem, forget to invite her.

I think I know her. Is she a male construction worker in Northern Illinois?
Interesting coping mechinism. I have a hard time keeping really difficult people from consuming much of my mental energy. Can't stop thinking about what a pain in the behind they are until they go away.
Fortunatly my last smellfungus is months behind now and my current coworkers are just wonderful.
The last one was really difficult so I got every audiobook on "dealing with difficult people" I could find and listened to them constantly. I don't know if I really learned anything or not but it gave me a constructive way to respond (i.e. educating myself about the problem). Good luck. It can be much harder to put up with than it seems it should. I know, I've been there.




YB

Mr. D, that is a fab idea. We will of course need a supply of Mrs. D's most excellent rock cakes.

YB is absolutely right that dealing with a smellfugus takes a huge amount of mental energy. Besides being difficult in all of the normal ways, I think of them as psychic vampires, draining our energy and emotional reserves. Just having them in the wings, knowing that they're going to keep causing trouble puts you on edge and in effect means that they're in control because they create anger and frustration. They force you to deal with them constantly.

I wish I had back all of the hours, days, weeks I've spent putting out fires because of her interferrence and giving incorrect information to all and sundry.

As silly as it seems, giving her that nickname really did help.