Understanding The One Who Does Not Understand

It was a not-so-good day for me yesterday :-(

Waking up at 5AM on working days has been a year round activity for me. No harm, I'm now used to it. It's always in the beginning that you don't feel comfortable whenever you work or do on something new. Yes, it's almost a year since I joined in a Construction industry.

Since our Headquarter is stationed in Mafraq - approximately an hour bus ride from Abu Dhabi City Center, an hour preparation must be required for me to get ready before the bus service picks me up at 6AM. Literally, I have to be down at my residence building a second or a minute before the service arrives.

So I normally do that without a pre-advise that our pick-up timing is already changed to so on and so forth because of change as well of the pick-up sequence. Employees shifted to another pick-up station.

Anyway, yesterday was quite an unpleasant timing and arrangement. It was already 6:05AM and the bus did not come yet! I took out my phone to try to give a call to the driver but found out that it was out of battery so I asked my colleague who happened to be room-mate as well to give a call instead. So she did.

All I thought, it was a clear communication in between. Merely assumptions and not clarifications do not really help! Don't expect that the bus driver completely understands the entire conversation you make. Looked like they both spoke in different languages! Well we really do :-)

With that "assumption" that we will be waited at 200 meter-distance from our building, I walked with my newly-bought high-heeled shoes on! Oh goodness! and found out that there was no bus forward waiting for us! Lovely, isn't it?

Another call from a colleague advising us to take a taxi and be at 5-10 minutes away where we were standing up. Oh for goodness sake! I suggested that there was no need to chase the bus, let them go and make others not to wait for us.

So, another 200-meter away walk for me to go back to my building with my high-heeled shoes on! Made phone calls as yesterday was the cut-off date of our department's weekly report submission and the entire data were with me. Instructions here and there were given to my colleague aside from a bit of shyness while talking to my boss on the phone because I will be late! Why I was late? Shall I convince my boss that it isn't my fault?

Anyway, another bus service was arranged to pick us up! Reached the office at 9AM and my 2-hour work was compromised because of inappropriate attitude of this driver...poor boy! Oh sorry, hearsay that he was advised by his dear fellow I*d**n to leave us! Grrrr!

Whoever fault that was, it was still a not-so-good day for me. However, situation like this happens. It happened and nothing can be done about it. Clear communication to ensure that the other party understands what you are trying to say is the key to avoid the recurrence of this.

Have a good day, folks! :-)