Introducing: DaLEO’s Real Life Stories, Episode 1

Listen, everyone loves a good story, especially when they are true. Inspired by some of the recent TikTok videos I have been watching, I am going to start a new series on TikTok called: “DaLEO’s Real Life Stories”. These stories could be true, or they could be made up, you will have to be the judge. All I know is I am excited to share some of my past experiences with you that are both weird, awkward, and embarrassing.

Throughout my life I have found myself in countless situations that always end up being a good story. I have always enjoyed telling these stories to family and friends. Well, with almost all of my family and friends being virtual, why not share stories virtually.

There will be classic stories that some have heard before, new stories that have never been told, and some classic old SnapChat office experiences brought back to life. Be sure to follow me on TikTok @raphikeydaleo to catch them as they are released*. Click Here for Episode 1 on TikTok, with the full story below.

The first story is called: “Hello, Goodbye”

When working in an office setting, there are always a multitude of personalities. Some departments within different businesses can tend to have different personalities. This was certainly the case in this office for this story. I was working a salaried job and had an awesome relationship with my boss. She knew I was going to get my work done and I was able to work a more “flexible” schedule. The company, let’s call it “Lifetime” was full of people who had worked there, well… their entire lives. I had only been there a year but found that I got along with my coworkers and they, like my boss, could trust that I would get my job done quickly and efficiently. Part of the benefit of getting my job done quickly and efficiently meant that I often did not need to be in the office for 40 – 50 hours a week.

Now, let me be clear, I was a salaried employee and had cleared with my boss that there were no “office hours” that needed to be followed. So, with that direction, I usually rolled in between nine or ten am and would leave between four and five. I didn’t take a lunch, I would eat at my desk and keep working. Like I said, I got my job done and did it well, so no one seemed to care. Also, if I had a meeting earlier, or if I had more work on a certain week, my office hours would increase.

One day though, my boss called me into her office. She asked me to have a seat and told me she had received some feedback from some of the team and that they were unhappy with the perceived attendance. I obviously asked who, and being that we had a good relationship, she told me. She said it was Brenda. Ugh. Brenda was TOUGH to work with. She had been with Lifetime for over 25 years, and was a peer of mine, which pissed her off. My Boss informed me that Brenda felt there were core hours that all employees should have to be in the office. Now, my Boss was cool, but she was also a pleaser. So, she asked me if I could adjust and make sure I was in by nine and stayed until after five. She also told me that it would be a good idea to walk by Brenda’s office every morning and every evening. I should walk by and say good morning, or good evening so that Brenda would feel comfortable that I was in the office.

To me this was preposterous, but I like my boss and didn’t want to make things difficult for her. In order to fill up my time, I asked if there were any additional projects or, work I could do. She just laughed. She said that’s the second thing. Brenda and a few other team members felt like I was working “too fast” and creating an unrealistic expectation for them. So, I left her office with the direction to come in by nine am, say hello to Brenda, slow down on work, then leave after five pm and say good bye to Brenda. Internally, I just shook my head. To me, for the time being, I was getting paid to send silly SnapChats to my friends and fart around on the internet. As you can guess that got old after a while and I found a new job. But I will never forget those days of showing up and in the most cheerful fake voice ever saying, “Morning Brenda!”, to which she would equally as fake say “Morning!”, knowing she was the one that forced me into this shit.

I hope you enjoyed the first of DaLEO’s Real Life Stories. Make sure to like the blog and follow me on TikTok!

Stay tuned for more!

*Names and companies have been changed to protect the individuals that could be involved… allegedly.

Related posts