Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Wow. That hurt.

I had a bad day at work today. Actually, if it weren’t for one incident, it would have been a good day – I finished up some projects and took on a new task and rocked it. The kind of day that you go home from thinking, I am awesome. But something happened today that ruined it for me.

See, I got an email from someone that was obviously sent to me inadvertently. A person I like and thought liked me apparently clicked Reply when she meant to click Forward and I was treated to a disparaging email about myself. I’m not naïve – I know people talk behind each other’s backs. But knowing that and having it grab you by the lapels and slap you are two different things.

The fact that this was someone I really like and respect made it harder. If it had come from someone I didn’t like, I would have reacted with a “pfft” and said fuck it. But coming from this person, it felt like being punched in the gut. When I first read it, I actually thought it was a joke, because I couldn’t wrap my mind around what I was seeing. But then I realized what had happened and I actually got physically ill. My heart was pounding so hard, I could hear it. I immediately felt nauseous and got a headache. I felt dizzy. It sucked.

I wanted to reply and say fuck you. Or call her a bitch. Or share with her the disparaging remarks that others have said about her, perhaps even the person she intended the email for. But instead, I just replied and told her that I think she meant the email for someone else.

The tone of the email was sarcastic and it was obvious form the wording that this was obviously not the first time she had spoken about me this way. That was probably the most hurtful part – wondering how long she was saying these things about me and I was thinking that she was a friend. She did apologize, but it felt more like she was saying she was sorry that I read it and not sorry that she said it. And there was what I interpreted to be a big “BUT. . .” type statement after it. It felt a little like, “sorry you got this, BUT if you didn’t suck so much, I wouldn’t have said it.”

There was a mention of the topic of the email “being an issue in the past”, but given that no one ever felt the need to tell me about it, I can’t really suck up the responsibility just to clear her conscience No one enjoys criticism, but I’d certainly rather be told if I am doing something wrong, or if you have different expectations that I am not fulfilling than to be gossiped about by people I trust(ed) and respect(ed).

I’ll get over it – there’s far worse things in life. But I doubt I’ll ever feel the same about this person (or who I suspect was her intended recipient). I’ll work with them and be polite and move on. But for now, all I can say is “Wow. That hurt.”

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8 comments:

Shippie said...

Wow. All I can say is I know exactly how that feels as the same thing happened to me once. So sorry sweetie. So many emotions rip threw you when something like that happens.

Irene said...

Wow. Yeah, I would have a very hard time handling that. VERY hard. You handled it very well. Much better than I would!

Jennifer said...

argh, that SUCKS. Email can be so dangerous when people aren't responsible about it. And it hurts when someone you like and respect acts like a jerk and you find out how they really are. *hugs*

flutter said...

oh that blows. Just know that most of that was really about her.

Glowstars said...

That sucks. You are a better person than me because I'd have been straight round and their desks raising hell within seconds.

Unknown said...

Ah, Gina, that sucks. You handled it better than I would have. Good for you.

*Tanyetta* said...

what the hell?????????????

this is just downright CRAZY! i'm sorry this happened to you. i guess we should be happy to find out that she really wasn't a friend or someone that was worth your time.

where does she park her car?

Quarantine Hobby said...

Wow, that sucks. Good for you not sending an e-mail calling her names. I wouldn't have been able to hold back. She is a jerk, though, so hopefully you realize that and don't let it get to you. In fact, since I'm SO late in reading this (vacation kept be very behind on my blog reading) I hope you are already totally over it.