Beauty and Brains

It was lunch break time. Some of the staffers were trooping out for lunch. Coincidentally, it was the moment the boss was stepping into the building. The manager told the staffers to go back until the boss had gone into his office before they could step out. An employee protested “Officially, this is break time and we can go out even if boss is coming in now!” She made a good point, but manager responded “There’s something called respect.” That was my first week in PRODA and I can’t forget that reply: “There’s something called respect.”

Today is her birthday, so let’s put some respect on her name. Her name? Her name is actually Utipobong but we call her by its translation: Reward. I had once made a post that wasn’t about her “The Reward” but I claimed it was about her because she yabbed me that content creators are broke. She threatened to withhold my salary for making a mockery post about her; I quickly said the truth that the post had nothing to do with her.

Manager (Reward) is the lioness of the tribe of PRODA. She draws the line very well. There’s work time and leisure time. The same person who’d tell a staffer “By now you should be perfect at what you do” is the same that would say “Come let’s play tennis.” She embodies the values of PRODA. It’s all about creativity and getting the job done properly.

We won’t talk about her beauty. (The featured image is there for all to see). Let’s talk about her work, using her tennis tactics to analyze her approach. She’s never under pressure to get the job done; she’s consistent and pays attention to every detail.

Playing tennis with her is interesting. She’s the best female player in the company undoubtedly, and also the most patient player (both male and female). Her tactics is just to keep sending the ball back to you till you get tired. Even if there’s an opening for her to smash, she’ll just stroke the ball back to the opponent. Most of her opponents get impatient and try to smash. That’s when they either lose or win.

During one of our games, I decided to use her tactics against her. I also played the patient game. It was getting boring for me. I struggled to keep up. It was tough. My tactics have always been to get the opponent to a side of the board, then send the ball to the other side as quick as possible. If it works, good for me. Sometimes, the ball doesn’t hit the board. I lose.

Here was I trying to use another person’s tactics. After a while, she asked me “Are you not tired?” I was, mentally. Impatience crept in and I went for the smash with a forehand drive. It didn’t work out.

It takes a certain degree of patience and attention-to-details to do what she does. My respect for her has always been enormous.

After all, there’s something called respect! Happy birthday, manager!