VIP Class Notes (Nick)

What kind of environment would you like to work in at your new job? What kind of bright future are you looking for?

Vocabulary

Fur – animal hair, like for a coat
e.g. This is not a real fur coat.

Band – something that holds something small onto something larger
e.g. My watchband is leather.

Schadenfreude – pleasure in someone else’s pain
e.g. Hearing Nickole’s story of missing the Honk Kong equestrian is a fine bit of schadenfreude for me.

Lax – not paying attention to what you are doing
e.g. He was lax, and so he didn’t notice how his assistant was messing things up.

Intelligence – being smart
e.g. He has a lot of intelligence.

Bless you – what you say when someone sneezes
e.g. I guess, people used to think that sneezes were caused by spirits, so they used to say “bless you” to try to get the spirits to go away.

Dynamic – something that changes and has energy
e.g. Nickole is looking for a dynamic job, one that will give her some new challenges.

Appraisal – to analyze whether something is good or not, especially something’s value

Audit – when an outside company comes in to make sure that your records or performance are ok
e.g. Accounting often gets audited because keeping your numbers straight is both objected and very important.

Difference of Opinion – when you disagree about something, but there isn’t a common understanding of how to judge it
e.g. When judging art, some people like color, others like lighting, others like people, others like landscapes, etc. So it’s very hard to figure out how to tell which one is the “best” when no one agrees on what is most important!

Performance Review – when your boss(es) look at how well you’re doing at work

Dilemma – when you do not have a really good choice you can make; when you are in a situation it is hard to get out of
e.g. Many young workers confront the problem that they do not yet have experience, but no one wants to hire them to give them the necessary experience!
Damned if you do; damned if you don’t! – anything you do (or don’t) will be bad

Process vs. Procedure – something that takes time to happen, a way of doing something; “procedure” is a specific set of steps that lead to the completion of a task
e.g. There is a process to getting used to new types of food. First, you have to find foods that are similar. Then you find foods that are similar to those, but which were strange to you at first. Finally, you just get used to the flavors that you originally did not like.
e.g. There is a procedure for filing official complaints with HR. (If you want to file a complaint against a coworker, you have to do a specific set of things, with a special form)

Conservative – something that doesn’t really like change
e.g. Luxury brands tend to be conservative.

Korea – 韩国

Resign – to give up a job

Keep silent vs. Keep the silence
— “keep silent” is an individual thing; not talking
e.g. He kept silent about his depression.
— “keep the silence” is a group thing; not talk because it would be bad for the group; everyone has agreed to stay silent
e.g. He kept the silence of the mafia, because he knew that they would take care of his family and get him out of jail early.

Mafia – organized criminal groups, especially Italian or Irish ones in New York

Grammar

Replace of me – they replaced me / they were my replacement

I will always lack of experience – I will always lack experience / I will always have a lack of experience

Keep, Kept, Kept