And the Winner, for Utter Lack of Tact for the Week...

[lls_mutant]

My one boss (not my direct boss) came in to put something on my desk, and noticed I had eaten a pack of Skittles. After asking me if that was something I could eat, he actually...

Are you ready for this?

HE ASKED ME HOW MUCH WEIGHT I'D GAINED WITH MY PREGNANCY.

Words fail me. They honestly do.

(And for the record? Ten pounds, and I'm halfway through. And I'm freaking proud of that, so bugger off, buddy! I just stared at him until he realized that maybe this was not what you say to an employee.)

Comments

[poisontaster]

I just stared at him until he realized that maybe this was not what you say to an employee.

An employee? How about to anyone?? Geez. That's not a lack of tact, that's a lack of brain power.

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

Yeah. And the man is a Ph.D. scientist. I really, really wonder some days....

[thistlerose.livejournal.com]

What a jerk. *bleh*

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I try to convince myself he's clueless, but I told one of my best friends at work. He's a bachelor, younger guy, and net geek- self-labeled as clueless. And even HE boggled and just said "Oh. My. God. Even I'M not that dumb!"

[ignipes.livejournal.com]

You should have asked in return him how much weight he'd gained since he got married.

When my best friend was pregnant, we spent hours coming up with responses to all the rude, thoughtless things people say and do to women when they're pregnant. Like putting your hand on a woman's ass when she reaches out to touch your stomash without asking, that sort of thing. ;)

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

Heh. I should have!

I was so taken aback by the question all I could do was stare. It's funny, because I'm prepared for the stomach thing. My one friend here told me that he's a stomach toucher, and asks "do you mind" after he's got his hand on your belly. So I'm determined to A.) never give him the chance, and b.) if he does, rub his bald head and say the same thing. :) but this just took me totally off-guard, because while I expect it from my mother or from female friends (which doesn't always make it better, but I'm prepared to answer "I really don't want to talk about that"), I never expected it here.

And then my other boss- the one I work with every day- BEFORE hearing about this- asked me if this is the first maternity outfit I've worn. Um, I've been wearing the same two pairs of jeans for months, and been wearing obvious maternity clothes for at least three weeks!!! :)

[aome.livejournal.com]

I saw a T-shirt in Sears the other day, in the Maternity section - it said "Look, but don't touch". :D

I think there's something about child-acquisition that brings out the utterly-tactless side of people. The winners on my route: "How much did it/she cost?" "Does she speak English?"

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

I might need to go look in Sears.

Those are also both insanely rude questions, especially the first one. I suppose, if they're being quiet at the moment and people don't know how old they were when you adopted, the second might make sense, but I remember seeing you post a story where someone asked that while MiniPlu was babbling at you. Makes me think of the song "Here's your Sign."

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

I take that back. Either way, the question is still really dumb and rude. People.

[momebie.livejournal.com]

Umm...wow? Although, I probably would have just said something like, it's not the pregnancy, it's the stress from having to see your stupid face every day. But then...this is why I'm 22 and not in a real job. Ok, it depends on how well I knew him before I said something like that.

You should have kicked him.

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

It was tempting, believe me! He's sort of the old grandfather type. The clueless, stupid, rude grandfather type, but still!

[ceilidh]

People are SO rude.

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

Definitely! It just amazes me. I wish I'd had the guts (and the quick thinking) for some of the comebacks here!

[pfrsue.livejournal.com]

When I was seven months pregnant with my daughter, I had to take off my wedding ring because my hands were swelling a lot. Imagine my amazement when some random little old lady at the grocery store treated me to a scathing lecture on the penalties of 'living in sin' and my 'immorality'.

People never cease to amaze me.

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

Oh wow. That is pretty bad!

::Sigh:: insanity.

[topaz-eyes.livejournal.com]

(shakes head at utter cluelessness of your indirect boss)

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

I'll join you. :) You'd think, given that not only he has kids, but he has GRANDKIDS, he'd know better....

[topaz-eyes.livejournal.com]

Oh his poor daughters and daughters-in-law, if they had to put up with that...

[wickedevra.livejournal.com]

That is just unbelievably rude.

*looks around desk for weapon*
*warns Lissa to duck*
*lobs paperweights at indirect boss of shockingness*

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

Whoohoo!! Thrown paperweights are GOOD things! :) (I should have thrown something at him. That would have been cathartic. Probably would have hurt my chances of getting a good reference from him though!)

[nassima.livejournal.com]

Heh. Actually, I know another PhD scientist (a colleague of mine) who's done worse... Must be that they're using their brain cells for something else than common sense!

Well, he was chatting with I., one of the uni secretaries, who's more than a bit round, and already had three kids. And for a mysterious reason, this (40 y.o.) guy was obsessed with pregnant women at the moment, and so he asked:

"Oh, I., you're pregnant again?"
And of course, I. denied while we all felt a bit embarassed for him. But he went on, "No, I go ahead, tell us, you're pregnant! You look like you're pregnant".

This went on for a very painful while, until we had to take him away and explain him quietly...

ARGH.

[krisomniac.livejournal.com]

Garrr....

[lissannej.livejournal.com]

What an absolute jerk! He had NO right to ask you that, none. Like it's any of his business. Grrrr.

[jlarinda.livejournal.com]

My dad once told a pregnant woman at his office that that (meaning her belly)wasn't just the baby, there were probably a lot of sandwiches.
Geez. Men can be such jerks.