Kakahead

Hello, and thank you for tuning in to this week’s antenna ranching installment.  Work has been removing my capillaries again, and although I was in a bit of an emotional slump recently I’ve decided to staple feathers to my dog’s pajamas and anonymously send ice cream to the corporate headquarters via parcel post.  Surely these stress relief methods will result in at least two or perhaps even seventeen new buttons on Mrs. Jingledweeb’s radish basket.

Huh??  Not to worry… just a little stress relief there…

Those of you who know me are aware that I am a geek by trade and a gardener by passion.  The geek boy role pays the bills, the garden feeds my soul (and also my family!). In other words, computer support is what I do, but it’s NOT who I am. Today’s economy, however, can make one wonder what the future will bring. For the first time in my life I’m learning what it feels like to focus WAY too much on my job.

Lately, my job has become rather huge.  Too much to do, and I could literally live at work and never get it all done.  This situation is certainly not unique to me, many of my coworkers find themselves in the same boat.  “Agility,” they call it.  That’s a euphemism for “we’re gonna whittle the number of employees down to the bare minimum (or less) but all those who are left get to have all their work.”

The upper echelon has absolutely no clue what we peasants are going through… they just keep saying things like “right-sizing” and “cost effectiveness.”  We working folk look up the corporate ladder and see an upper crust that is getting their pockets lined nicely each year; but we’ve had no raises for at least 4 years now.

And guess what?  This is a worldwide phenomenon over which I have absolutely no control.  I’ve been taking my job way too personally lately.  I’ve been trying to manage an unmanageable workload, and then I go home in a somber mood.  “I just can’t keep up… people must be getting impatient,” I tell my lovely wife.  “It’s not your fault,” she reassures me, “you can’t help it that when the other guy retired they didn’t replace him.  Try not to be so negative… it just invites more of the same you know…”

Yeah, I know.

SO!  I’m not afraid to admit that I broke down and shed a few tears of frustration last weekend.  Hey, it doesn’t happen very often but I know how to cry if I need to… it’s a release that has probably kept me from completely losing my mind over the years.  After letting it out, I got some good reminders from my darling girlfriend (who, conveniently, is my wife) and several other very close friends.

The reminders all basically boiled down to these simple guides:

A)  Don’t sweat the small stuff.

12)  EVERYTHING is small stuff.

7)  Maintain some boundaries – balance the job with your real life.

p4)  Don’t take this work stuff too seriously, and

*@)  Try to smile.  It is much more pleasant than frowning.

I’ve been reprogramming.  Funny how the older I get, the less I know.  If I can stay in that frame of mind, I can survive this work stuff by learning new ways to cope.  I can let go of the things I simply can’t control.  I can have a life outside of work even!  I can raise a nice garden and get my hands nice and dirty!  I can take time to laugh!  I can even stop using so many exclamation points!

Or not!!

And, I can include a video that gave me a smile when I was much younger.

It reminds me of those silly bosses up there in Rich Kid Land, who, by the way, likely will never be invited to our place for dinner.