Journal 75
Tuesday - 11-9-10
[Chat Log]
Only had one lesson today, instead of two
But said lesson was free
So, compromise.
(What Happened)
Well, I was supposed to have lessons today
And I told you, I wasn't sure how things were going to go
Given that Vitaly and I didn't really communicate more than just looking at each other a few times yesterday
So, I'm on my way to the studio, and I get a message from Vitaly saying that he's been held up for about 15 min.
This is very unusual, 'cause he never warns me he's going to be late.
So, I guess he paid more attention to what I had to say, than I thought he did?
Neways, so, 15 min, no big deal, really.
I was cutting it kinda close myself, so I didn't mind, and I was happy he messaged me to warn me.
I "positive-reinforce-ed" it ("Thanks for the warning"), and got to the studio.
Started practicing
But it seemed like an awful lot longer than 15 minutes had already gone by
And in fact, it had. We were approaching 20 and 30 minutes late, and no sign of Vitaly
Finally, I went to check my phone, which I'd put on silent
And I had two missed calls, and a text message that said, "I'm coming! Traffic is awful"
Truly, if it was traffic, there's ABSOLUTELY NOTHING that can be done about that.
But I didn't respond
I figured, if he was sweating it, I'd just let him stew in it
He wound up coming in about an hour late, from the originally scheduled time
And as Fate would have it, he walked into the studio right when I was walking out from the side room again
I just looked at him
We walked up to each other, and after saying hello, Vitaly asked how long I could stay. Since i had a meeting to go to, the answer was basically, "Not long." -- only another hour.
So he said, "Okay... We have enough time for one lesson... And it will be free for you."
Couldn't argue with that.
Friend: You realize, it costs him nothing to do that, right?
Yeah, but more importantly, it didn't cost me
and I was doing the math this evening
When it comes down to it, exactly how many lesson I expect/want to have per week
So, I'm going to see how it pans out the rest of this week -- and then I will tell Vitaly, "Look, this is what I expect to be having every week. If it doesn't work out with you, I will find someone else to pick up the slack with."
And be welcome to suggestion -- so I don't have to deal with the, "You didn't ask me," drama again
But it's more like, "I'm telling you I'm going to have this many lessons a week. So... either you make the time, or tell me someone you won't bitch about my working with."
But I figure it's better to have a concrete number, e.g. -- I want to have 6 or 7 coached hours per week. Ideally, they'd all be with you -- but if you're too busy, who else can I go to, to make sure that happens?
That's better than just whining, "Why are you canceling my lessons?!?!?!"
It's pro-active
And there's no way for him to guilt me out of a solid number.
It's either, he cuts the time out for me, or he doesn't
And if he doesn't, that's his own fault, if I need to go to someone else.
**********
Hustle
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