UPS Yours!

UPS or United Parcel Service has taken its shiny brown truck and crashed it into the center-divider of mediocrity. This once fabled organization, brandished a shield of excellence and security as a company that catered to the unmotivated worker. Because of their long-standing policies, (which are laid out in the policy book) employees of this company were assured a job for life, even if you weren't very good at it. Well, no longer. The Past couple of months our IT department has been under a lot of stress, and to put it mildly, the wheels of the brown truck are leaving tread marks on our backs. What would you say if your manager asked you to quit? huh? Are you serious? Do you expect me to say, "Ok, I'll quit. I'll give up 14 years of seniority and dedication just so you can save a few bucks." Believe me, that's not what I said. What I said was, "Hey boss, why don't YOU quit? You make about 2-3 times my salary, that seems like more of a productive solution in reducing costs." Of course, he wasn't down with that idea either. The nerve of these bastards. It finally happened. The day UPS decided to be publicly traded on the stock market, was the day our careers of getting paid more to do less came to a screeching halt.

Lawnmower Lust

Being that I'm a new homeowner, I'm discovering new things about myself on a daily basis. I had some paid time off recently, and I wasted no time in taking it. My backyard needed a once over so I spent the day doing yard work. How f-ing enjoyable! First of all, it was a fantastic day in So Cal. about 77 degrees with a mild Santa Ana condition. I throw on my MP3 player, fire up the lawnmower, and go to task. The combination of a thundering motor under my knuckles, and being able to bellow out versus of Jimmy Buffets Margaritaville, while beads of sweat roll down my brow, gave me a such a feeling of carelessness and serenity. It was during this series of chores, I seriously contemplated a career in landscaping. Maybe I was born for manual labor. It felt so right. The tiny grass clippings making my nose itch, the dirt under my fingernails, the smell of fumes from a gas powered weed whacker. All of these things brought my busy life to a standstill, where I could forget about the worries of the world and literally take time to smell the roses. I really enjoyed that experience. I can't explain why it was so profound. I remember growing up as a kid and pretending to be sleeping in on Sunday mornings when my dad would fire up the lawnmower. I wanted no part of it. Now that it's my own house, it really does make a difference. I love my lawnmower! Whew...there, I said it.