Notes from a potty-mouthed underachiever

Had a PRD session yesterday - Performance Review and Development, an interview with the boss that is like a 6-month report card. Not that I've done anything wrong; my employing body likes to do these for all employees just to keep us on our toes and let us know how goodly/badly we're doing. It's full of the usual words like 'initiative' 'taking responsibility' 'making it happen' (whatever it happens to be). Everyone hates them, bosses included. The worst thing is that no matter if you are the best little employee in the world, being the best little employee in the world will not get you a pay rise. You might get 'mentioned in dispatches' as they used to say from the trenches in wartime, but there's little real concrete motivation to do more that go through the motions. I come in, I do my job as best as I can, don't try to rub up against my colleagues or the punters, and generally try to be helpful and cheerful. But this is not enough; I must 'continually seek to improve' 'work smarter' etc. etc. My boss was not in a good mood yesterday; the words 'potty-mouthed' and 'underachiever' were mentioned, so I'm feeling a bit hurt. Well, no, a lot hurt, really. When I compare myself to some of the other workers, I can't say that I'm any worse. (One colleague always gets away with doing what she wants all the time; for some, allowances are  always being made, why, I don't know. The rest of us have to toe the line and take up the slack left by those for whom allowances are always made). Life is unfair. I shall stay in bed all day and nurse my bruised ego.
  Still, I console myself with the garden. As pictured above, a little harvest of vegetables from the potager. At least I can feed myself. My other job comes to an end in a few weeks, so back to penury and austerity. My employing body has hit a cash crisis, so there is no longer money for casual or discretionary employment, which keeps the army of part-timers able to have a few luxuries in life. (However, there is money for the new mayor to employ five new 'advisors' for her office; funny, that. Hope 'they' are not reading this; does it constitute 'bringing my employer into disrepute?' Disclaimer: this is purely a personal view point from a personal person, not an official statement from an official of my employing body). Since a very small portion of the world's population reads my blog, I think not.)
  I've wittered on long enough. Tot siens! to my fans in the Netherlands.