6 ms·

This person is a fantastic writer, and they quote one of the best authors ever to boot.

by EchoChamberMan 3y ago

ludicity 3y ago
Very kind of you to say so, thank you!
- aydyn 3y ago
  Question, for people who you work with it probably wouldn't be hard to trace who you are. You've said some pretty harsh things, aren't you afraid of backlash?
  - ludicity 3y ago
    Ah, not really. I worried about this quite a bit at first, but there are quite a few mitigating factors. The first is that I have an audience of a few thousand people at this point, and that's enough of a network that I will probably find work if I get laid off. And, you know, they're not going to kill me, the worst case is I've misjudged things and I'll need to enter a new industry. The second thing is that my writing has reduced my employability at the kind of company I would hate anyway, but increased it at the truly excellent places. I've been in touch with the CEOs and directors at high-functioning organizations, and I'd rather work with them anyway. They wouldn't find work for me instantly, but they might eventually. The only reason I remain employed at this place is that they agreed to give me a three day a week permanent contract (because they pissed the engineers off so much that four of them left in one week). It's a convenient deal, and it gives me time to focus on my own business, but I'd survive without them. I'm already looking elsewhere but don't want to land in a similarly toxic environment. But I think, most importantly, I used to be very inauthentic at work (which is almost half my time and most of my daylight hours!), and it made me miserable. I'd rather be who I am and get forced to work at McDonald's for a bit. So I'm a little bit afraid, but I'm more afraid of what happens when I don't say what I think.
- busterarm 3y ago
  No, seriously. Huge fan of your posts. Share them with the clued-in members of my team.
  - ludicity 3y ago
    I really appreciate that! It certainly helps with a bit of the flak I catch from people with a different point-of-view when something hits Hackernews. And it's great to have team members that you can share this sort of thing with, though I hope you're commiserating about old jobs rather than the current one.
lanamo 3y ago
You must refer to the author David Whyte :) his narration voice is fantastic as well https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IygDX7Vdql0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IygDX7Vdql0
- ludicity 3y ago
  I suspect they actually meant Terry Pratchett, but David Whyte is certainly a contender. I read The Three Marriages expecting it to be awful because of the title, but came away with an unquenchable thirst for all his material. (And I read the book after hearing him recite his poem, The Faces At Braga, which is the only piece of poetry that has ever moved me, a very level-headed and unemotional man despite my writing, to tears.)
  - EchoChamberMan 3y ago
    I did mean Terry Prachett, was probably overly coy about it, but I definitely need check out David Whyte! I had to google the "gibberish" quote and was very pleasantly surprised! For those curious it is Discworld Dwarvish for: > I bargain with no axe in my hand.

This person is a fantastic writer, and they quote one of the best authors ever to boot.

ludicity 3y ago

Very kind of you to say so, thank you!

aydyn 3y ago
Question, for people who you work with it probably wouldn't be hard to trace who you are. You've said some pretty harsh things, aren't you afraid of backlash?
- ludicity 3y ago
  Ah, not really. I worried about this quite a bit at first, but there are quite a few mitigating factors. The first is that I have an audience of a few thousand people at this point, and that's enough of a network that I will probably find work if I get laid off. And, you know, they're not going to kill me, the worst case is I've misjudged things and I'll need to enter a new industry. The second thing is that my writing has reduced my employability at the kind of company I would hate anyway, but increased it at the truly excellent places. I've been in touch with the CEOs and directors at high-functioning organizations, and I'd rather work with them anyway. They wouldn't find work for me instantly, but they might eventually. The only reason I remain employed at this place is that they agreed to give me a three day a week permanent contract (because they pissed the engineers off so much that four of them left in one week). It's a convenient deal, and it gives me time to focus on my own business, but I'd survive without them. I'm already looking elsewhere but don't want to land in a similarly toxic environment. But I think, most importantly, I used to be very inauthentic at work (which is almost half my time and most of my daylight hours!), and it made me miserable. I'd rather be who I am and get forced to work at McDonald's for a bit. So I'm a little bit afraid, but I'm more afraid of what happens when I don't say what I think.
busterarm 3y ago
No, seriously. Huge fan of your posts. Share them with the clued-in members of my team.
- ludicity 3y ago
  I really appreciate that! It certainly helps with a bit of the flak I catch from people with a different point-of-view when something hits Hackernews. And it's great to have team members that you can share this sort of thing with, though I hope you're commiserating about old jobs rather than the current one.

lanamo 3y ago

You must refer to the author David Whyte :) his narration voice is fantastic as well https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IygDX7Vdql0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IygDX7Vdql0

ludicity 3y ago
I suspect they actually meant Terry Pratchett, but David Whyte is certainly a contender. I read The Three Marriages expecting it to be awful because of the title, but came away with an unquenchable thirst for all his material. (And I read the book after hearing him recite his poem, The Faces At Braga, which is the only piece of poetry that has ever moved me, a very level-headed and unemotional man despite my writing, to tears.)
- EchoChamberMan 3y ago
  I did mean Terry Prachett, was probably overly coy about it, but I definitely need check out David Whyte! I had to google the "gibberish" quote and was very pleasantly surprised! For those curious it is Discworld Dwarvish for: > I bargain with no axe in my hand.