Ok, here's the preface: it's 1:15 a-FREAKIN-m, and I'm sugared and caffeinated so bad I was shaking. I actually just finished a peanut butter sandwich to try to balance out my guts. I don't like shaking. At any rate, it's late, I can't sleep, I'm wired, so YOU get to hear about it! Here we go:
People are strange. The answer to the question was: "yes." I used to work for an automotive cosmetic reconditioning company (I painted effed-up bumpers so they looked good enough for the used car lots to sell for way more than the car was really worth) that we shall call "Bob's Bumpers." I worked with several other guys in this company, and most of them - being the good little conformists they are, were enraptured by the company. These automatons saw Bob's Bumpers as being the best thing since the invention of the bumper itself. There were, of course, those of us who have a slightly more aware (my dad would say cynical) view of the world and things around us. We understood that working for Bob's Bumpers was a good opportunity for a time, and a great way to maybe make some killer money. The problem is: you can't spray paint for 20 years. One guy, we'll call him Ferdinand, got to the point where he just stopped trying. He would take naps in his truck on the lot, half-ass the majority of his work, antagonize management at Bob's Bumpers, and generally do everything that would get a person fired from most companies. In the end, Ferdinand did get fired. I eventually quit as well. Another guy that went through the training class with Ferdinand and me sounds like he may be nearing the end of his rope as well. Although good ol' Ferdy and I handled ourselves differently when it came to our work and how we left the company (he left with a double single-finger-salute, I with a genial letter of resignation wishing them the best success in the future), we do have something in common: after we left, we felt liberated.
I ran into Ferdinand today at a local coffee shop. (Not Starbucks - DOWN WITH CORPORATE GIANTS!) He's playing drums full time in a metal band now, and feels so much more alive than he has in years. He said, "I make about a quarter what I did at 'Bob's Bumpers,' but I'm about a hundred times happier." I feel the same way. When I left my old job, it was to start my own business. It's going REALLY slowly. In fact, the reason I went into the coffee shop in the first place was to pick up an application (they're not currently hiring). Working for myself though, I feel so much lighter than I did when I had managers barking at me every day. It didn't help that the people I dealt with all day every day were used car salespeople. *shudder*
So what's my basis for saying people are strange? (Do I need one? I thought it'd be obvious by now.) In this case, I find it an interesting note that it was only after I'd left my job that I realized how oppressed I'd felt. I won't go back. Hard accounting says I should, but I got a C- in my accounting class, so whatever.
---------------------- (Nice divider, thanks for the idea, Marian)
In other news, you may or may not have seen that I used to have another post between this and my first. Yes. I did. I wrote it on New Year's Day at 2am, and was a bit drunk. I deleted it because I want the content of that post to be well thought-out, not just vomited onto my blog. Ok, that's gross, but you know what I meant.
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Yesterday, I was sitting at my computer when a phrase popped unbidden to my mind, and I burst out laughing. It's a good thing my wife wasn't home, or she'd have questioned my sanity . . . again.
The phrase: "Cheese it, boys! It's da fuzz!"
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Now for some culture:
You should go here: http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/LadyTige.shtml
It's a short story called "The Lady or the Tiger?" I hadn't read it since high school, but it's an enjoyable and quick read. I think I might post links to short stories every so often. Let me know if you think I should.
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This is my little girl. Isn't she cute? This is kind of a goofy picture. Other than the green stuff (I think that was broccoli at some point), she looks kind of cross-eyed. Oh well, she's still super cute.
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