wedivebc:Don't sweat it Kid, when they start calling you Pops and you will wish you were a kid again.
It was a short trip from"kid" to "pops', enjoy the ride.
cheers,
No kidding.... one day I suddenly became "sir". There's no going back now!
Just a little rant
- Thread starter Aquatic Eagle
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No kidding.... one day I suddenly became "sir". There's no going back now!
DiveMaven
Contributor
Hi Colin,
Age doesn't really matter, it's how people conduct themselves and their character that is important.
Please do not stoop to this guy's level and instead continue to conduct yourself in a professional manner. If you do not like the way he addresses you, simply ask him to stop calling you "kid" and to call you "Colin" instead. If he refuses to comply, I'd suggest you talk with your supervisor about it and again request that only your given name be used.
As you well know, a cruise ship is a very small community and sooner or later his behavior will catch up with him. On the flip side, your professionalism will also be recognized and rewarded. Unfortunately, sometimes those things take longer than we'd like.
Age doesn't really matter, it's how people conduct themselves and their character that is important.
Please do not stoop to this guy's level and instead continue to conduct yourself in a professional manner. If you do not like the way he addresses you, simply ask him to stop calling you "kid" and to call you "Colin" instead. If he refuses to comply, I'd suggest you talk with your supervisor about it and again request that only your given name be used.
As you well know, a cruise ship is a very small community and sooner or later his behavior will catch up with him. On the flip side, your professionalism will also be recognized and rewarded. Unfortunately, sometimes those things take longer than we'd like.
If he called me "kid", I would tend to call him "gramps". If he bristlles at the name, I would point out that this is how you feel.
KBeck:You know, I find it disappointing that every single person so far has only put this guy down and essentially told him to just enjoy life while he's young.
At 29, I'm not quite as young, but I face the same agiesm at work. I work for a very old fashioned, family owned company who think change is a dirty word. I am daily called "just a baby still" and pooh-poohed about my age. It IS ageism, whether each of you realize it or not. We are consistently called "Generation X" (or in Colin's case, Gen Y), and faced with the stereotype that we are young, lazy, jaded, etc. and often just ignored in the workplace without regard for our individual work ethics.
All Colin asked for was a little guidance from us "older", "wiser" generation and all he gets is made fun of--each of you have, in essence, reinforced his complaint.
Colin...sometimes, unfortunately, it does require sucking it up and taking it.....but only to a degree. I have become adept at smart remarks that sound like ribbing on the surface, but are equally a dig in return....delivered with a nice little smile...."Just a baby? But didn't you say you already had three kids by the time you were my age?" Or, in your case, "Yes, I'm so glad I have this opportunity WHILE I'm still young...I'd hate to be your age and doing xyz".......
Try to enjoy the positive aspects of your job...there are many of us who are envious of you because you are not already stuck playing desk jockeyand realize that if this person is that shallow, his opinion is simply not worth taking your personal time worrying about (Easy for me to say when I don't have to deal with him daily, I know)....
Woohoooo!!!! my hero!!!!.... it's all peaches and roses until it happens to you... I couldn't wait to get out of the optical field for these same reasons. Not only did they think I was a kid and constantly question my abilities (lucky for them I didn't act on my frustrations when I really just wanted to slam the Tonometer right into their misireble eyes.....
) but the fact of being woman also came into play. Colin has a valid complaint here...As far as terms of endearment, I certainly can tell the difference when a guy says, hey baby can you unbungy my tank and when its a much more toned down version. I agree with KBeck, I find using humor (about skin deep) really helps with those comments, I usually reply something like(wearing a hudge smile of course), "what was that you said?, you wanted me to turn your air off when we hit the bottom? :11: ) they usually get the hint, and it still keeps things light......
I'm thinking if I had your job I "might" find a little more tolerance....hehehehehehehe! must be wonderful!
CuriousMe
Guest
Hey Colin,
It's a small ship....I might teasingly call him Pops or gramps....but is it really worth any real aggravation that making it an issue will create....especially if he's your cabin mate?
It's a small, small ship. Let it slide off your back, it's a small community....everyone knows what you do and how you present yourself, and everyone knows how he acts and presents himself. Who are you looking to get respect from??? The one you don't respect?? Or the rest of the ship?
Also, realistically.....how long will the two of you be there? Is it a handover, or will you both be finishing out your contracts there?
Peace,
Cathie
It's a small ship....I might teasingly call him Pops or gramps....but is it really worth any real aggravation that making it an issue will create....especially if he's your cabin mate?
It's a small, small ship. Let it slide off your back, it's a small community....everyone knows what you do and how you present yourself, and everyone knows how he acts and presents himself. Who are you looking to get respect from??? The one you don't respect?? Or the rest of the ship?
Also, realistically.....how long will the two of you be there? Is it a handover, or will you both be finishing out your contracts there?
Peace,
Cathie
OP
CuriousMe:
Overal, it doesn't bother me. It was a rant that I felt like writing at the moment. He's on this ship for his entire contract, I'm only here in limbo before I get on the American ship in Hawaii, the Pride of Aloha. I just found out today that I'll be flying to Hawaii from Bermuda on July 2nd and joining the ship on the 4th in Honolulu. It's exciting! This job is a lot of fun and very interesting. I get to teach people snorkeling in some beautiful places and travel the world for free. Life is good. Check out my signatures.
CuriousMe
Guest
NatureDiver:Overall, it doesn't bother me. It was a rant that I felt like writing at the moment. He's on this ship for his entire contract, I'm only here in limbo before I get on the American ship in Hawaii, the Pride of Aloha. I just found out today that I'll be flying to Hawaii from Bermuda on July 2nd and joining the ship on the 4th in Honolulu. It's exciting! This job is a lot of fun and very interesting. I get to teach people snorkeling in some beautiful places and travel the world for free. Life is good. Check out my signatures.
Life is good.....but I also totally understand how living on top of each other with sometimes challenging people can creep up on you
I'm looking forward to July 1 myself....after 8 months onboard I get my 8 weeks vacation
Smooth sailing!
Peace,
Cathie
Alright...but HOW do you get a cool job like that...really curious here!!!!
OP
NorthernMelody:
..I sent in my resume over the internet about 10 times over a period of 7-8 months. It took a lot of persistance. After the last resume, they emailed back and asked me to call them. I called Monday morning and was offered the position after a 45-minute interview. It's actually not as hard to get on a cruise ship as it seems it would be. It's a lot of fun but can be a lot of work. If I'm not mistaken and I remember correctly, CuriousMe is a systems manager on the Carnival ships. I think that's right. She's in charge of the computer systems onboard. I'm a dive instructor. So she may have gotten on a different way. Either way, cruising the world is fun and you meet lots of people. I love it!
Rookie!!
That is what they call new military divers, I hated that term so I do understand how you feel. (it was almost two years after my graduation that some new divers came to my unit, until they arrive the last ones to arrive are the "rookies")
Looking back now I see that I most certainly was a rookie at the time, meaning I still had much to learn but was but eager to learn it...
The only people I can honestly remember calling me rookie now are a couple divers with some pretty signifigant personal and professional shortcomings, I suppose it was an attempt to make themselves feel superior to someone.
I really can't recall someone I respected ever saying anything degrading to me and I think if they had it would have made more of an impression than the rest...
Consider the source brother, maybe it is him that is having some doubts about being 30+? He may be feeling like he has not accomplished what he thought he would by now, longing for a more permanant home, wanting to startr a family... (of course lets not sugar coat it to much, sometimes people are just 100% jerk and that could be the case as well...)
Hope you have a great time on the new ship!!
Don't let one idiot bring you down, but feel free to keep ranting about him
That is what they call new military divers, I hated that term so I do understand how you feel. (it was almost two years after my graduation that some new divers came to my unit, until they arrive the last ones to arrive are the "rookies")
Looking back now I see that I most certainly was a rookie at the time, meaning I still had much to learn but was but eager to learn it...
The only people I can honestly remember calling me rookie now are a couple divers with some pretty signifigant personal and professional shortcomings, I suppose it was an attempt to make themselves feel superior to someone.
I really can't recall someone I respected ever saying anything degrading to me and I think if they had it would have made more of an impression than the rest...
Consider the source brother, maybe it is him that is having some doubts about being 30+? He may be feeling like he has not accomplished what he thought he would by now, longing for a more permanant home, wanting to startr a family... (of course lets not sugar coat it to much, sometimes people are just 100% jerk and that could be the case as well...)
Hope you have a great time on the new ship!!
Don't let one idiot bring you down, but feel free to keep ranting about him
