face value

I'm more or less a "face value" kind of guy. It's not a trait that has served me very well. I keep missing the context of conversations which are often more important than the conversation itself.

I'm rather proud of myself for being spot on concerning the context of an issue.

The issue itself seemed trivial to me so I just didn't understand why it created so much anger. A person in a position of authority exercised that authority. There was nothing particularly different in this action than in a hundred other actions. I was really confused by this issue.

Here's the cool part for me. When I listened to the exchange, I was listening for clues to the context as well as listening to the content. And BINGO. I heard the part I would not have heard. I heard the part that I would have dismissed as not pertinent to the issue. I heard the "real issue" and it all became crystal clear.

It was the part that made routine exercise of authority into an issue. And I caught on! I have been patting myself on the back and being all giddy about this since it happened.

I hate slow gui

System administration through slow GUIs and with insufficient tools is a frustrating experience.