‘Skollvaldr’.
One of the many names of Odin, chieftain-deity, a god of many faces and many disguises. The name itself roughly translates as ‘treachery ruler’, or ‘lord of treason’, but to understand what it means you need to have a solid grounding in the Norse pantheon, and indeed, Scandinavian history. Pacts made with Odin are treacherous; many a king or warrior falls victim to Odin’s machinations, and many human conflicts begin as a result of something promised, something given, or something gone horribly wrong.
But at the same time, Odin is betrayed. By his own family, by those around him, and even by humans on the rare chance they get the upperhand. I chose the name ‘Skollvaldr’ for my wordpress blog not because I fancy myself some sort of treasonous upstart, but as a reminder of the treachery that abounds.
Take tonight at work for example. I’m told by the Management Consultant (who I have faith in because of who he is) that the girl in the office has been ratting out not just me, but other team members, to the boss. She’s trying to wrangle her way into some sort of permanent position by badmouthing the rest of the team. She’s been saying I spend a lot of my time standing around, or hanging out in the office, or making coffee. Which is true, to a certain extent. I stand around keeping an eye on what’s going on and where we’re at, as a team, because it’s something I’m used to doing as a team leader. I hang out in the office because I’m waiting on paperwork (her department) or on trucks to arrive. I make a lot of coffee because the nature of our work, and the timing it all happens during, means I don’t get a lunch break, I just get three or four coffees throughout the shift, and the occasional smoke when I’m letting the curtains off a truck.
In the words of the consultant, if she has time to notice all of this then clearly she’s not doing her job quite so methodically either.
In person, she’s nice, polite, and likes to joke around and be ‘one of the boys’. Behind the scenes she’s attempting to further herself at the expense of everyone else. There’s a traitor amongst us.
At first I was angry. Then merely dismayed, because this is normal behaviour for a lot of people. I won’t use people to get ahead, I’ll use action. I’ve been stabbed in the back often enough to never want to inflict that on someone else, and yet I see it seemingly every second day. The thing is… you develop scars. Armour. And a certain tenacity.
I’m undecided how to handle things at work, so I’ll postpone any sort of reactionary measures until at least Monday.
45.
Ef þú át annan
þanns þú illa trúir
vildu af honum þó gótt geta
fagrt skalt við þann mæla
en flátt hyggja
ok gjalda lausung við lygi
