"For every doorway there is a threshold. I pause there, knowing that when I pass through, I will be surrounded by a different environment, and I will be, in some small way, a different person" - Orson Scott Card in Doorways

The job is over and I am now attempting to relax a little. It has been nice without work...which I think is obvious. Now the task is deciding what to do next. There is still very little in this town for work. I have thought of going on to graduate school. Oh well...when its late at night and my mind is very tired there is not much that I can decide.

I am so excited that I only have 2.5 more days at my current job. The last week has illustrated the reasons I am leaving many times. Work does not get done; non-work related things take priority over work stuff. I am glad I will not have to deal with this for much longer. I do not have a business degree and I do not claim to know a whole lot about business. But, I know that the business I work for is run very poorly. The most pushed value at work is communication. I find this great, but to be a functioning business responsibility should be the paramount value. Oh well…I should just deal with the last 2 days and be happy that I am gone.

I love the idea of pawning off work on others. Except for the fact that I cannot do it, and I usually get the “projects” from my fellow co-workers. It makes me feel so warm and fuzzy on the inside. Just another reason that I am happy that I put in my two weeks… It will all be over soon enough. I am fortunate to have had this experience, but then again, it could have been better.

Office Space is by far one of the best movies I have ever seen. After working in an office of a “tech-minded” company I can relate to many of the characters in the movie. Today is an “Office Space Day” for me a work. Today I am a hybrid of Peter and Milton. I am doing work when others are doing something else. I have been called a “party pooper” today, and I have been told, “What are you doing? Trying to work?” I understand that some of these comments are in jest, and I am all for fun. But, I do not like being the only working at any given time…or at least in my department (which happens all too much). I am excited (yes, excited) that the person whom the department selected to take over as temporary supervisor is a slacker…I think they will realize what kind of work some of us others did once this person takes over…Oh well…that’s my sick dream. Enjoy the weekend… Office Space Page

Life is a crazy thing. Work increases the craziness, and I am not too sure if it would ever decrease it. Ever since I put in my two weeks notice into my job my manager has been trying to “win me over”. You would think this would be something that would be done before I quit…but maybe not…Everyone has been very surprised that I am leaving…but then again I have been showing signs that I am disengaging myself from my colleagues. I continued to work as hard as ever, but I thought I was presenting myself as not being all there. Oh well…after the two weeks is up I hope to move on to bigger and better things.

I did it…I have resigned from work…now my life will be taking a new direction… and a late Thanksgiving reminder to always think about what you are thankful for.

Here are some great thoughts from one of my favorite newspaper columnists Leonard Pitts Jr

Another day another dollar…or something like that. This is a story about an office located in a small resort town located in the mountains. The office, like the town is very laid back. However, on days when investors or banks come to visit the office suddenly changes from wearing North Face and Columbia to Dockers and Polo…I do not understand why we should put on a façade. I guess I will never know! Many of the visitors we have are also based in this town…they have to know the truth…they know we do not always look this way…but maybe mutual lies are what keep business alive. If trickery was not a part of business many of the big ones would not be out there.

First update in a while…I have been out of the office looking into what my future holds…because it is obviously not this job, nor any job in the private sector as far as I am concerned. During my time out of the office I got to experience a big city for a few nights. It was great…and it makes me realize that if I am going to work in the private sector, or deal with the private sector, it should be in a place where the workers cannot get away with dressing like a 1960’s Cal Berkeley college student…and talking about smoking pot as much as the same 1960’s Cal Berkeley college student…anyway…I am glad to know that there are other things in the world to do and other places in the world to be. Here is a link for something that I encountered in Kansas City Four Fried Chickens and a Coke

In honor and remembrance of many of those who made this country great:

Ahh...the day is almost done, and I am almost free. I added a bunch of new "At Work" sites so enjoy!

Working on the weekend again. I like the fact that I can get things done today, but I am confused by one thing. The big boss will not work on Sunday...however...everyone else has to work a Sunday every so often...this does not make sense to me...but I am of the school of thought that Sunday should be a day off. It should be a day for family, a day for rest and a day for Worship...but I am not focused on making money...so maybe I could be wrong.

The election results are in most everywhere in the country...the news is bad for underemployed Americans...we can look forward to at least 2 more years of coroporation profits getting bigger and wages and staff sizes getting smaller...the only jobs that may be available are as soldiers when America invades Iraq...I don't want to get too political, but these results directly impact the nation's underemployed....
what makes my work day even more exciting is that fact that my manager, to the suprise of everyone, just decides to take the rest of the week off...WOW...shocking, but expected. Seriously...when you are such a stickler for everything everyone else does...why not go against all that...after all...you are a boss.
After looking back on such a day I really wonder why I submit myself to this type of work. I am continually amazed how 99% of my coworkers have the attention span of a 3 year old on crack. This leads again into a need for a discussion about how to prioritize...somethings can wait, while others cannot.

Election Day! One of my favorite days of the year…I am a political junkie of sorts, so it’s a good day for me. Everyone is talking about politics at work today…it’s a little weird…I know politics is not something you are supposed to talk about at work.
Anyway…I hate to go off on personal calls again, but it just gets insane. I think my employer should limit personal calls to 30 minutes per week…I know they probably will not want to endorse personal calls, but heck, if people are going to make them anyway, give them a limit. For some of the people who actually have offices as opposed to cubes, they have a door to shut for personal calls…those I prefer just because I do not have to listen to them…I’ve thought about just telling all my friends who are in another area code that they should just call me at work on the toll-free number…but then, I see that as wrong and work is not a place for that sort of nonsense…anyway…Happy Voting!

Happy Halloween!! Today is my favorite holiday and it is nice to feel more relaxed at work because the micromanaging is down to a minimum today…every week we have an education session during lunch…I think we need to have one on why Jimmy Carter did not succeed as President. He is a great man, but when he tried to micromanage the office of the Presidency…that was bad news. It was great to feel valued at work…even though it may have been short lived…we will see…

Over the weekend I got an email on my work account about going to a rally to protest the possible (aka likely) war in Iraq…despite my opinions on the issue…Is it right to announce this to everyone through work email? That is the question of the day.

Yet another day at the office...Today was a very interesting day. I actually received some recognition for what I do...albeit not by a whole lot of people, but it was recognition nonetheless....its actually left me slightly speechless in regards to work today...it is something I did not ever expect.
On another note, check out my brother's new webpage...its very new...very enjoyable. Joe's Page

This weekend has been great. I got to leave the small town in which I work and I did not have to deal with anything work related, after all they cannot reach me when I am out of town. Going back to a city really reminds me of why the office that I work at would never make it in the "real world". This is true for a couple of reasons. The first is that in a real office you are not able to come into work wearing a t-shirt and mountain biking shorts. Second, it is unacceptable to have a "drink" at the office. Third, it is really not ok to bring your dog into work. Finally, you cannot use office email to let everyone in the office know that they should come protest declaring war on Iraq. With this said I am by no means implying that an office in a city is better or more equiped than an office outside the city. What I am saying is that there are some messed up things going on that can only happen in the small town I am in. My co-workers could not get away with most of their actions at a more conservative office.
Here is a thought for today...at work a couple days ago a quote was included on a office wide email "a diamond is a piece of coal who has done its job". Is this really true?? Maybe the coal's job was to provide heat? Maybe its job was to decompose? We do not know, therefore we should not assume!
Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

The plan for today is to get out of work right when I am supposed to. I hope this is going to happen. I've not been able to get out on time 4 out of 5 days this last week...which is pretty typical. I guess I like to get things done before I leave...maybe this is wrong? I don't like loose ends, never have. Here is a current work scenario, please ask yourself if it makes sense to you: I work with people who are very environmentally aware (which is wierd because I work for the "man"). It is getting colder every day here in this small mountain town....Yesterday it was pretty brisk outside with some sleet and blowing rain...but, at three different times during the day was the thermostat changed from heat to cool and cool to heat...and then at one point the front door was open and the heat was on. I learned at an early age that if you are cold put on a sweatshirt or dress warmer in someone... I do not like this excessive use of energy when it is not needed. When all of my co-workers are in the office it stays around 65-70 degrees...a fine temp in my opinion. If I ran things I would turn off the heat and require that people dress for a cool office...saves money and energy...I am not an environmentalist by any sense of the word, but I am very much a conservationist...in general...if you do not need it or you can get it some easier more efficent way...efficency should win out...(not just economical efficiency either)...
Have a great weekend!

Today was a busy day...that was good...although everything broke at work today...the phones were down, the computers were down...fun time...let me tell you. During times like these is when my coworkers talk about a lot of non-work related things...this does not really bug me since there is not much we can do at these times, but during these times I think about why I do not really care to let my coworkers know a whole lot about me. I apologize if they take offense to me being quiet, shy or coming across as rude, but I do not think they really need to know. A couple months ago two of my family members passed away during the same weekend. I told no one at work, nor did I feel compelled to. If it does not change the way I work, it is of no importance to them. Yes, it may have been a hard time for me, but I do not consider any of my coworkers as friends. Is this so wrong?? In all reality I don't care.
On another note, I think that colleges and universities should teach the difference between urgency and importance. Many things are urgent but should they take priority over something that is far more important but not as urgent??

I miss the weekend. I do not live for it, but pretty darn close. My thought on work today has to deal with personal calls. Seriously, work is for work and the rest of the time is “personal”. I do not understand why one must talk to their boy/girlfriend at work for a good 10-15 minutes three times in a given work day. Nor do I understand why one must argue with the mechanic (very loudly I might add) during the time when others in the office are on the phone with customers. It is beyond me. First, I would not feel comfortable having a conversation with any of my friends about anything while I was at work… I like to have privacy…Second, I do not get paid to talk to my friends…Finally, how does it sound to customers when you are talking to a friend of a significant other??
Anyway…here is an interesting story…a burial box for James the brother of Jesus has supposedly been found: Biblical Archaeology Review . Have a great day and do not let the man get you down!

I don't think that I have ever wanted to quit my job more than I ever have before this past week. The problem is I don't have another job lined up, nor do I have the money to last long is this really expensive town I live in. It would be nice to say "Well, see ya later" at work...one day. So yesterday was a fun day. First, the others who I work with all wanted to take yesterday off...so what did they do? They got the day off. It was looking like it was going to be a busy day so I was not too excited about having to do all this stuff, not really have the opportunity to take a break, and then stay late because there was no one around to take over. All these things did happen, and it started off even better that I slept through both of my alarms and was late for work. My supervisor assumed I was out partying the night before, which, if he takes the time to get to know me would know that is not me...I went bowling...not partying, but I see where the two can get easily confused. Just because he is a big partying and has been out of college for a few years, I should be a bigger partier because I just graduated...makes sense especially because I have all of this money to be throwing around buying things like alcohol when I barely have enough to pay for my groceries every week. Anyway...I felt bad for being late, but I got over that after I was handed a bunch of assignments that were not my responsibility, but that I was supposed to do. As is working life I guess.
With all this "ranting" I do understand that I am a better situation than many people. I have a job, I can afford to live, I am not sick, I live in the greatest country on the planet. These things are all great, but I just want to make sure that it is understood that the working man/woman in America is not always this "king" or "queen" that is sometimes portrayed. In all reality the ones who have it the best are the ones that we work for. In most instances these people do not care for us a people but in the most true sense of the word "Human resources".

Yesterday started off as usual, slow. But things got very exciting very fast. Before I knew I had a hundred things to do that needed to get done and needed to get done fast or I would be "letting down my customers". By all means I cannot do that! Especially when these problems could have been solved the day before with only the littlest bit of "elbow grease". Instead of assistance from others who were fully capapable of offering at the least 15 minutes of assistance to let me go get something to eat for lunch I heard the usual "I am too busy"(while playing a computer game), "I have Doctor's appointment", "I have a meeting"(which consists of sitting in the office talking to a friend from out of town on the phone"...only when I was done for the day and all the problems solved and disasters avoided was I asked if I needed any help. Oh well...as I left for the afternoon I was told "thank you for all your help today". What help? I did not help do anything! I did it myself...enough of the lovely stories from the "real world"....

The last two days have been incredibly stressful. It seems that on some days I am the only one that gets handed the randomness that needs to be done. Normally this is fine because it gives me something different to occupy my time with. Yesterday was a different story. My co-workers could tell that I was in meetings and doing some paper work that needed to be done...but no...they were all far busier than I and so I had to be the one doing the randomness. When I told them otherwise, I just got looks of disgust...as another note, I find it funny when some people put in overtime once they let everyone know they were at work late...but when others do it almost every day they are far more humble.

I know I have really lost focus for my life. This is a reason I am currently in a job that has no future for me. I know I really need to gain focus, but that has to be one of the most difficult tasks I have encountered in my short life. I know God has a plan for me....but now I need to get focused to understand some of what it is.

The last 3 days of work have been a barrell of fun...let me tell you. I sometimes really hate my "non-gen X" work ethic. I can be considered GenX and many of the people I work with are Gen X...but I feel the need to get the job done before I leave...Is this so wrong?? I also realize that I can "multi-task" better than most of the people I work with...except the guys in IT...I swear...they are always running a mile a minute. I do not really know why I insist on working my butt off when I do not get rewarded. If I worked a job that was rewarding in and of itself that would be a different story. On another note, I enjoy it when the COO is out of the office...it gets a little more relaxed (trust me, you would not believe it). More relaxed than being able to wear t-shirts and teva's...yeah...I wouldn't believe it if I were you ;-P.
Here are two sites to check out while working Art Bell Radio Show Home and Extended Grace Blog. Art Bell has crazy pictures of ghosts and UFO's and Extended Grace is a really cool blog...well in my opinion. Have a great day at work!

There is not much for me to say today. I was actually pretty content at work today. I had a lot to do and I was on the early shift so I actually had day left after my nine hours. Days like this make me feel good about work...I actually get something done and I there is no B.S. involved in it. Let us see how tomorrow goes eh?

My question for the day: How can a business NOT accept a letter of resignation???

Do not get me wrong. I really like the majority of the people I work with. However, when these people are in supervisory roles, or they are on my team... it gets tough. It can get hard making the distinction between people I like and people I like to work with/for.

Everybody may be working for the weekend...but I am working on the weekend. It is by far the best time to work...no one is around to hassle me... none of the "I hear you have been having problems with your TPS Report" b.s. on the weekends. Here is another enjoyable "while at work" website: Google Fight.

you can email me here: rockmanrock99@hotmail.com

Added note... I was asked what I mean by not taking responsibility for stupid people. What I mean is that when a person I happen to work with does something stupid, or forgets to do something important I will not take the blame for what they did. I do not expect anyone to take the blame for me either…It is all apart of my “transition” into the working world. I’ve already realized my work ethic tends to be better than most my age…so I think I should learn not to cover for other people…I need to realize that in a business people are out for themselves, not each other.

Ahh...6:30 in the AM...I am in a pretty good mood for how early it is. I went and saw Barbershop again last night. I could think about that movie all day and be fine here at work. If you have not seen the movie...see it...it is one of the funniest movies I have seen. It is like a Friday meets Do the Right Thing or something like that. A good comic strip as of late is Non Sequitur. There are many a cartoon which poke fun at CEO's, companies with slick accountants...you know the deal.

Interesting music at Motion for Alliance

Another round of work is through. I sometimes wonder how you can joke about the movie Office Space at work...but be some much like it...its Ironic....

Yesterday I had the day off...it was great...no work. I think this is the first day off other than weekends that I was not called concerning something or other. It was a big mistake to give my home phone number too them ;P.
As for today I had a strange meeting. It was wierd being in on a discussion to hire someone who has less experience and less education than I do and would be hired as one of my supervisors. Its great to be a working man! I will update more later..I hope!

After spending 4.25 hours of an eight-hour day in meetings it is time to go…although I am not out of the woods yet. I really do not understand how human beings can last in meetings. I think that the limit on hours of meetings in a day should be 2 hours. Only upper management can last longer and I think this is some sort of punishment placed upon them by a higher power. I want to be 90 years old and be able to look back on my life and know that I did not spend most of my career in meetings…

Today I have two observations:

1) Management has the tendency to never identify the party at fault for an error, nor take responsibility for an error. There is this mysterious person “somebody” who is committing all these errors…
2) Micromanagement does not work. Does anyone remember the Presidency of Jimmy Carter??

Fantasy sports are also great ways to waste work time

oppps...the other website is Rather Good . Very enjoyable...both of them.

I've been at work for 2 hours, and have been in 2 hours of meetings...and we are still going strong....for worktime fun check out TvDance and No comments:

btw...my degree...was in Political Science....and the Denver Broncos just lost...I guess the perfect season will come next year... ;-P

To begin, a college degree is overrated. Now that just may be because the big "W" is in office right now and the economy is crap, but I work for one of those small businesses that is supposed to save the economy. How can the economy be saved when I do not make enough money to put into the economy? I have a college degree, albeit Liberal Arts, but high school kids get paid more. I swear... Well this weblog is a place for random thoughts, links, fun stuff to do while you are at work, political rantings, and more....email me at rockmanrock@hotmail.com if you have any hate mail...or if by chance you get a kick out of my musings. Welcome, make yourself at home and enjoy the ride. In conclusion, I take no responsibility for stupid people...
Ok, so I could not end there...this is my first go at the Blog. I liked doing the straight html that takes up space all over the internet, but once I saw the beauty of the Blog...well I was hooked...or at least I thought it would be fun to try. I really like to write and its good not to deal with all of the html.