FISSIPAROUS

January 6th, 2010

Fissiparous
\fi- ‘si-pe-res\ adj : tending to break up into parts : divisive*

Jane always woke up early and in a good mood. She was never the type of person who “woke up on the wrong side of the bed,” because she always recognized the positive aspect of life and tried to employ that attitude with whatever new endeavor she embarked upon or with whom she interacted. Today, though, was different. She was not her happy-go-lucky self. Jane decided that perhaps a good, substantial breakfast and a hot shower would do her some good and would liven her spirits. An hour later, showered, dressed, and well nourished, Jane was still Sour Susy and adding apathy to her list of emotions for the day, she meandered out the door to head to work.
The bus rumbled and Jane felt nauseous; perhaps that oatmeal she had ingested was old. What was usually a pleasant trip that allowed Jane to listen to her iPod instead of having to concentrate on driving, was a state of nausea and impatience this morning. Jane still did not exhibit confusion at what was going on inside her; the apathy and depressing mood were running a tight race, both convinced they were going to win and ruin Jane’s day completely.
As Jane dismounted the bus and walked the four blocks to work, she no longer took delight in the sun shining through the leaves or the kids walking to school, laughing at yet another corny joke their friend told them. Jane arrived at her building, showed the guard her pass without her usual warm smile and made her way to the elevator. Mercifully, Jane was the only passenger and welcomed the silence.
An hour later as Jane’s department entered the conference room for their meeting on a new design strategy, all Jane’s ideas were no longer swarming in her brain but had solidified and refused to verbally be brought to fruition. Her teammates and boss could not understand what had gotten into their usual go-getter. Jane was full of great ideas yesterday, what had happened? The team has lost their energy; the energy that is more often radiating from Jane. They cannot function. Their fissiparous inability to share their suggestions has disabled them from becoming as productive as they set out to be. Hopefully, tomorrow Jane will be a team player once more.

*the letter “e” in the pronunciation of the word is upside down and pronounced “uh”