Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Trying to Knit

Okay, how am I supposed to get any knitting done when my family and pets get in the way? I got home from work last night and someone forgot to lock the kitchen gate, so my wonderful dogs got into the trash and drug it all over the house. What a mess! I was so mad, I called the forgetful one at work and gave them what for. Then every time I sat down to knit, Onyx decided it was time for pets and loves, she would climb up on me and sit on my wrists. I have a hard time knitting when I cannot move the old wrists. Now I am trying to get ready for Thanksgiving, this is normally a good holiday for me, but we have shrunk down to only six people due to our relocation. And did I mention that my small house hardly has room for six to eat at the same time?

Today at work, I received a phone call asking for references for a former co-worker, it was very uncomfortable. I know he is unhappy where he is currently working, but I wouldn’t hire him. He works hard, but tries to rewrite the regulations and this always gets him into trouble. Moreover, the job is for a supervisory position, which I think would be a bad move for the site but at the same time I could not say that to the person who called. I didn’t want to say anything bad, but at the same time, I did not want to lie. What was I supposed to do; silence was as damning as an answer. I finally told the interviewer, that I liked the person and thought he was a hard worker, but that I felt really uncomfortable answering the questions. What would you have done in a similar situation? Has this happened to you in the past?

I hope you are being more productive than I am, have a great day.

7 comments:

leah said...

Kudos to you for handling the reference so well! You hate to say something bad about a person, but....at the same time if references refuse to be honest then why bother having them.

sheep#100 said...

I once had an ex-intern give my name as a reference. The guy made so little impression on me that I couldn't even put a face and name together for the caller.

rita said...

I don't think that you have to give any more than the dates he worked for you and that he actually did work there, legally. If you want to add more, you can.

Turtle said...

lol at the animals. I think you handled the reference request perfectly.

Tally Knits said...

I think you did great regarding the reference call. It's no fun to feel like you're badmouthing someone, but you don't want someone to end up with a potentially problem employee.

Argh... naughty dogs for digging in the trash.

smariek said...

I've never been in that position. It's tough when you don't want to say anything negative about someone.

Toni said...

Wow, that is a tough situation. I've had people I wouldn't even think of recommending list me as a reference, but that wasn't too tough as there wasn't any gray area. I think you handled it REALLY well.