Zihuatanejo

Never should you feel in the workplace like you are in a life and death struggle. Loathing the idea of coming to work is one thing, but fear? I mean, c'mon. The crap that Bear faces on Man vs. Wild should not be the ruler against which we have to measure our level of intensity against in the office. Office politics, deadlines, mandates... these are not equivalents to making one misstep and plunging to your doom. Over the past year or two I've developed a mentality that I'm not incredibly pleased with. The Us vs Them, Worker vs Management thought process has invaded. But it didn't get there on its own. It had help. Miserable, self-serving, self-important people and attitudes from the top, with statements like we're doing what's best for the organization not the employees and then turning around and following that up with bullshit speeches like "our people are our most valuable resource." You know what, gimme a fuckin' break. Advance your career on your own damn time... I've got work to do! This is NOT a life or death struggle or a fight or flight scenario. It's a job... it pays the bills. You show up you do it well, you go home and get back to LIFE. Work is NOT life! The accumulation of wealth and power should not be the ultimate objective of one's life!

Sorry there's just been that little rant boiling up inside me, now for a while. I just think there ought to be something else to shoot for. There was a a song by The Godfathers called "Birth, School, Work, Death" that I liked back in my post modern/alternative rock phase in college, (circa 1988,) that summed it all up a little like this:

Yeah I been high and I been low
And I don't know where to go
I'm living on the never never never
This time it's gonna be forever
I'll live and die don't ask me why
I wanna go to paradise
And I don't need your sympathy
There's nothing in this world for me
Birth, school, work, death
Birth, school, work, death

No, don't start emailing, calling and linking me to a damn suicide hotline, I'm a little more level-headed than that (most days.)


I guess this notion that I had about reading that Jimmy Buffett book "A Salty Piece of Land" and getting my "island chill" on, is having a bit of an effect. It's conjured up a lot of pleasing/relaxing imagery in contrast to the daily grind. I keep dreaming about the final scene from Shawshank Redemption in which Red finds his old friend Andy on a beach, Zihuatanejo on the coast of Mexico. The place looks peaceful. The kinda place where your hair will bleach white from the sun, and you'll turn the color of a Chicken McNugget. To quote another song, this time Big Red's leading man Kenny Chesney, "the sun and the sand and a drink in my hand, with no bottom..."

Is it too late to take up sailing... and switch to island time? In a bit of a mood...

Regards,

cheer_dad

Oh yeah... it's a lot like that.

Here I am, fresh back from vacation, once again working for "the man." I've been quickly refitted with the requisite chains and bindings. I can already feel my jaw slacking, and my back beginning to hunch over from the labor of it all. And for Pete's sake, I have a damned office job. How can so much shit get piled back on in a single morning. Not to mention I'm still trying to catch up on the emails from while I was away that were upwards of 400 total. Admittedly, that's low compared to what normally greets me on a return.

I've already heard Laura comment that she's ready to go back to Myrtle Beach and grab a bottle of Jack Daniels for the trip to drown the sorrows. In the picture above, I think she's one of the shadowy figures in the back. I feel like the 3rd in line. The guy in the front bears a striking resemblance to online moniker "Short Stacked Shamus." Hmmmm, go figure. Thankfully Shamus is generally a little more upbeat.

Anyway, work is here and about what I expected. I'm hoping to catch up with JR and Frank today to see how their trips to Tri-State Racetrack and Casino turned out. I'm hoping if nothing else that I can get in a couple of SNG's at some point in the next coupla days to quench the poker thirst.

Over vacation I read quite a bit. I want to recommend the author Christopher Moore to each of you. I devoured two of his books You Suck: A Love Story and Practical Demonkeeping over vacation. I even dropped him an email as appreciation and admiration of his writing, to which I got a response. How cool was that! Anyway, if you haven't done so before, check him out. His twisted wit and story telling were just right up my alley, hope you find him that way too. Right now, I'm indulging in a Jimmy Buffett novel trying to get my "island chill" on with A Salty Piece of Land trying to combat the drudgery of the workweek.

OHHH, and as a side note. I want to thank the nameless faceless person who found my wallet last night outside the restaurant and took it to the manager. Yup, I lost my wallet and didn't even know it, when I get a call from the Eagles Lodge of all things. Turns out the manager found my Eagles membership card and called them to have them get in touch with me to inform me that they had my wallet!?! Whatever, I was glad of it. To top it off, all the cash, id's, credit cards, and dust bunnies were all still present and accounted for. So whoever you were, thanks a lot pal! There are still a few good people out there in the world. My faith in humanity is renewed again.

Regards,

cheer_dad