When is time enough?
I've heard it said that age does not equal wisdom, rather experience equals wisdom. This is why in some regards a younger person maybe more wise than an elder if the elder has done little living or the youth has done exceptional amounts with his/her years. There is if course an element of time here. Time must pass for experiences to be had and lessons to be learned and consequences to be felt. Which is why age correlates to wisdom. But it isn't really wisdom I want to talk about.
I'm not sure the word. The question I want to answer is when has enough time passed that a person can make a decision based on experience? When has a person spent enough time in a given set of circumstances that they can then make use of that experience to make decisions about the future? How much time is required for that experience to be credible and used as a valid data point?
How many years of experience is needed as an apprentice before becoming a journeyman or craftsman? How much time is required as an hourly employee before they can consider themselves ready for management? When does someone gain the title of "expert" based on experience? How long must two people spend together before they can plan to be something more?
How much time must pass for someone else to be considered in the decision making process? When does it become acceptable (whatever that means) for a person to plan for a future when the past is short? How can one plan to weave a life with someone else when the past is barely enough thread to tie a knot, never mind something strong enough to anchor a ship.
Is it really all about time? To continue the tread and tapestry analogy, is the thread only as long as the time spent together? Is it perhaps much longer, as long as the two parties have life and share that life the threads twist and braid and knot together forming something stronger, something new. So the older the people, the longer the initial thread and thus the sooner it can begun to weave into something more.
Maybe thread is a bad analogy.
Maybe it is all about risk. I'm never one to shy away from risk. I've always said yes to every adventure put forward to me. I've experienced a lot of life in my years. Now I seem to be sitting at the crux of another decision. The proverbial two paths in the woods. I'm balancing so finely along the edge of a knife's blade that is quickly coming to an end. I need to decide which side I want to slip down. Which side of the wave? Ride the surf into shore or slip down the back and out to open sea? Which adventure do I want to try?
Have I spent the time to know the answer? To weigh the options? To feel confident in being risky? To feel comforted in being safe?
Whenever I ask others for their perspective it always seems to come back to time. "How long have you been with him?" I don't know what number makes the decision different but everyone seems to have an opinion and everyone seems to think there hasn't been enough thread spun to anchor a ship.
I'm not sure who's the anchor and who's the ship. I'm not much for open seas. But I'm even less for safe harbors.
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
January Book Review: The Glassblower - Petra Durst-Benning
On a business trip today I powered through the rest of The Glassblower by Petra Durst-Benning. This is book one of a trilogy, however, book two and subsequently three are not out yet. Overall I give the book about a 7/10 maybe 8/10. It took me a while to warm up to the characters and not feel like it was overly surface glazing when it came to character development and plot.
The main story line is three sisters lose their father and are forced to fend for themselves in a male dominated small town. The local trade is glassblowing which is considered men's work. The women painted, packaged, and silvered the glass but did not blow it. With the death of their father, the women find work as hired hands in a local shop doing painting and packing and get paid peanuts for their efforts.
Each sister has a unique strength of character and at different points in the story those strengths are either the saving grace of the family or the downfall of the sister. As I said, it took me about 50% of the book to really get engaged with each character beyond a surface level interest. Once I got past that, the plot sped up and the last 40% or so of the book was a nice, well written entertainment piece.
A few sub-characters I lost track of and didn't understand why they had such a strong part in the first half to be cast away in the second half with very little explanation. My only guess is that a lot of those questions will be answered in the other two books. The wholesaler that one sister works for, for example, alludes to all sorts of characters and foreign investments but nothing ever becomes of it. For something that is mentioned 3, 4, 5+ times in the book to not develop seemed unnecessary. Again, one can only assume Petra is laying the ground for something in the future.
I would give the plot a bit more unpredictability than what this book did. It was not unexpected the way the multiple love interests played out, if anything the slight twists to a straight forward tale were distracting rather than plot thickening.
While the above may sound overly critical, it was a pleasant read. I loved the strong women characters and the way they took on their world in a time when women did not do such things. I'm a fan of anything pro-woman and this book is on many fronts. I'm eager to read the next two installments when they are made available. I'm curious to know what happens to Ms. Ruth, Johanna, and Marie. I have my guesses, but I'll wait to see how Petra unfolds the tale.
Suggestions for February's book? I'm open to pretty much any genre other than romance and horror. I read for intellectual pleasure, not to be scared or aroused. I have real life news for the former and real life physical interaction for the latter *wink*
Keep reading all!
The main story line is three sisters lose their father and are forced to fend for themselves in a male dominated small town. The local trade is glassblowing which is considered men's work. The women painted, packaged, and silvered the glass but did not blow it. With the death of their father, the women find work as hired hands in a local shop doing painting and packing and get paid peanuts for their efforts.
Each sister has a unique strength of character and at different points in the story those strengths are either the saving grace of the family or the downfall of the sister. As I said, it took me about 50% of the book to really get engaged with each character beyond a surface level interest. Once I got past that, the plot sped up and the last 40% or so of the book was a nice, well written entertainment piece.
A few sub-characters I lost track of and didn't understand why they had such a strong part in the first half to be cast away in the second half with very little explanation. My only guess is that a lot of those questions will be answered in the other two books. The wholesaler that one sister works for, for example, alludes to all sorts of characters and foreign investments but nothing ever becomes of it. For something that is mentioned 3, 4, 5+ times in the book to not develop seemed unnecessary. Again, one can only assume Petra is laying the ground for something in the future.
I would give the plot a bit more unpredictability than what this book did. It was not unexpected the way the multiple love interests played out, if anything the slight twists to a straight forward tale were distracting rather than plot thickening.
While the above may sound overly critical, it was a pleasant read. I loved the strong women characters and the way they took on their world in a time when women did not do such things. I'm a fan of anything pro-woman and this book is on many fronts. I'm eager to read the next two installments when they are made available. I'm curious to know what happens to Ms. Ruth, Johanna, and Marie. I have my guesses, but I'll wait to see how Petra unfolds the tale.
Suggestions for February's book? I'm open to pretty much any genre other than romance and horror. I read for intellectual pleasure, not to be scared or aroused. I have real life news for the former and real life physical interaction for the latter *wink*
Keep reading all!
Monday, January 19, 2015
Why I Love Cycling
I started cycling in 2008 back when I had a crush on a boy who cycled. He would talk for hours about riding and his bike and his training and everything in between. He loaned me a bike for a while in an attempt to get me riding. In 2008, he helped me buy my first "real" bike. The kind that cost more than you think they should and look pretty nice and weigh close to nothing. It was big purchase and I was glad to have someone guide me through that process. I'll leave out the details, but the boy left and the bike stayed. I got the better end of that deal, although I do miss his expertise from time to time.
I started cycling for that boy, but it also inspired me to move more. I was living in Chicago at the time and Chicago is a pretty bike friendly place. I would take my bike down along the lake shore and ride for miles on this great uninterrupted path (minus the nasty part by Navy Pier). I would do this as a form of exercise every few weeks or so. Never more than maybe 20 miles, but I loved the view, I loved the way my lungs felt when they were working, I loved the feeling of moving as fast and as easily as I was moving.
Honestly, I think it's the way my lungs feel when I ride that I love the most. It's the first time in all my athletic experience that I feel my lungs working and it's not with fatigue and a sense of "oh god I'm going to pass out." Well, I felt that way when I was rowing too - gosh I miss rowing. But there is a peacefulness, almost zen like state that happens when you get your cadence just right and the road is just perfect, and your lungs and your body and your mind are all in sync. That moment is unbeatable. People refer to a runner's high, I guess this is my version of a cycling high. It doesn't last long, usually because the terrain changes or something forces my cadence to alter. But for a few minutes, sometimes quite a few, everything just feels easy. My body is happy, my mind is happy, my lungs and heart are happy. It's a great feeling.
That is why I love riding. Beyond that, it's the people I get to ride with. The cycling community in every place I've lived is great. There is always a club or a group getting rides together. Learning an area on a bike is one of the best ways to get to know a location.
So I love to ride for the way I feel when I do, and I keep riding for the people that I ride with. This one particular man that I keep referencing - guess what.... he rides too. This is one happy lady!
I started cycling for that boy, but it also inspired me to move more. I was living in Chicago at the time and Chicago is a pretty bike friendly place. I would take my bike down along the lake shore and ride for miles on this great uninterrupted path (minus the nasty part by Navy Pier). I would do this as a form of exercise every few weeks or so. Never more than maybe 20 miles, but I loved the view, I loved the way my lungs felt when they were working, I loved the feeling of moving as fast and as easily as I was moving.
Honestly, I think it's the way my lungs feel when I ride that I love the most. It's the first time in all my athletic experience that I feel my lungs working and it's not with fatigue and a sense of "oh god I'm going to pass out." Well, I felt that way when I was rowing too - gosh I miss rowing. But there is a peacefulness, almost zen like state that happens when you get your cadence just right and the road is just perfect, and your lungs and your body and your mind are all in sync. That moment is unbeatable. People refer to a runner's high, I guess this is my version of a cycling high. It doesn't last long, usually because the terrain changes or something forces my cadence to alter. But for a few minutes, sometimes quite a few, everything just feels easy. My body is happy, my mind is happy, my lungs and heart are happy. It's a great feeling.
That is why I love riding. Beyond that, it's the people I get to ride with. The cycling community in every place I've lived is great. There is always a club or a group getting rides together. Learning an area on a bike is one of the best ways to get to know a location.
So I love to ride for the way I feel when I do, and I keep riding for the people that I ride with. This one particular man that I keep referencing - guess what.... he rides too. This is one happy lady!
 |
| Just finished a quick 15 mile ride in training for my metric century! |
Saturday, January 17, 2015
New Years Resolution Update: Moving more
This year's resolution has 3 basic parts which you can reference here. Today I'm going to update you on my progress relating to Moving More. As with every other year that I've put together resolutions I think it is important to do something about overall health and well being. I'm not above using the typical "lose weight" goal. In fact I've used it myself, and in all honesty the "move more, eat clean, crunch often" portion of this year's resolution is pretty much the same thing. It's not so much about actually loosing mass (you know, making the numbers on the scale go down) as much as it is about becoming more confident in who I am both inside and out. Eating clean and moving more is about learning what my body can do when it is fed right and fueled well and asked to do things that it is designed to do. The "crunch often" is sort of a fun tongue and cheek reference to the unending search for the perfect abs.
So - what's the update? Well... I signed up for a metric century ride! In April there is a great women's only ride that is pretty close that will be 65 miles long. While no stranger to longer rides, this one is the first since my hip put me off the bike for about 18 months. I'm not happy about those 18 months and honestly I'm embarrassed about the lack of miles I've put on my bike. So, what better way to get the mileage back up than to get it in gear and train for a ride?! I cannot think of one. So today was a riding clinic for the ladies that will riding from the Bay Area (and who actually knew about the clinic.) I only had one spill, which was mostly my fault and a bit of the clip-in pedals' fault. But it's not about blame, it' about getting better and mastering the very important art of emergency stopping. I'm really excited about getting back on the bike - like really excited about it. Aside from the clinic, there is a women's cycling club that is doing weekly training rides in preparation for the ride. So not only did I get a nice clinic to start out the training, but every week there are other women who will be riding gently increasing distances toward the 65 miles in preparation for the ride. Can we say potential friends?! Goodness I hope so!!
I also signed onto "HabitForge" which is going to help me keep to my goal of steadily increasing steps each day. I've set a goal of 10,000 steps gently increasing by 500 every 2 weeks. Since we are now past Jan 15th, I'm at 10,500 step goal, on Feb 1 it will be 11,000. At some point it will have to stop because it will not be feasible, but I figure when I tie in the cycling I'll be doing and the steady increase in steps I'll be able to confidently say that I achieved my goal of Moving More in 2015.
Wish me luck!!!
So - what's the update? Well... I signed up for a metric century ride! In April there is a great women's only ride that is pretty close that will be 65 miles long. While no stranger to longer rides, this one is the first since my hip put me off the bike for about 18 months. I'm not happy about those 18 months and honestly I'm embarrassed about the lack of miles I've put on my bike. So, what better way to get the mileage back up than to get it in gear and train for a ride?! I cannot think of one. So today was a riding clinic for the ladies that will riding from the Bay Area (and who actually knew about the clinic.) I only had one spill, which was mostly my fault and a bit of the clip-in pedals' fault. But it's not about blame, it' about getting better and mastering the very important art of emergency stopping. I'm really excited about getting back on the bike - like really excited about it. Aside from the clinic, there is a women's cycling club that is doing weekly training rides in preparation for the ride. So not only did I get a nice clinic to start out the training, but every week there are other women who will be riding gently increasing distances toward the 65 miles in preparation for the ride. Can we say potential friends?! Goodness I hope so!!
I also signed onto "HabitForge" which is going to help me keep to my goal of steadily increasing steps each day. I've set a goal of 10,000 steps gently increasing by 500 every 2 weeks. Since we are now past Jan 15th, I'm at 10,500 step goal, on Feb 1 it will be 11,000. At some point it will have to stop because it will not be feasible, but I figure when I tie in the cycling I'll be doing and the steady increase in steps I'll be able to confidently say that I achieved my goal of Moving More in 2015.
Wish me luck!!!
Sunday, January 11, 2015
My love for NPR and Rediscovering Podcasts.
Thank you NPR for being my main new source for the last roughly 6-7 years of my life. I've found your journalism to be fair, varied, well researched, and at times controversial which I personally enjoy. Many a conservative will claim the coverage on NPR is liberal leaning and that might be true, I've not given the subject much thought to be honest. What I can say is that listening to the news from NPR (Morning Edition, All Things Considered, RadioLab, etc) is not nearly as emotionally draining for me than watching even 10 minutes of Fox news. So, if that is indicative of liberal leaning news coverage, then color me biased because at least I can digest the media and feel semi-informed when NPR is involved.
I realized how much I enjoyed NPR when I was commuting from Chicago to the plant I worked at in Northwestern Indiana. The commute was about 20-30 minutes in the morning and about 45 on the ride home. The morning I dedicated to Steve Inskeep and David Green and Rene Montaigne and in general the Morning Edition Crew. I gave them my first 30 minutes, and they gave me an update on the world's affairs, some interesting, some dry, some sad, and some delightful. The ride home was usually dedicated to America's Top 40 as I switched over to the local music radio station.
I moved to NYC and lost the commute. Rather I still had the commute but instead of driving myself the 30 minutes to work I was taking a shuttle bus. Thus I had given up the rights to the radio to the shuttle driver and the respect of the fellow passengers on the 7AM shuttle, the morning ride passed in silence. I started reading on those rides, for reasons I'll never understand I cannot read in a car but I can read in buses. Anyway... I missed my NPR but was happy with my books.
Then I moved to Brazil. I had an hour commute (also done by bus) that I now did which provided significant time for self entertainment. Podcasts and my Kindle to the rescue! I was attempting to learn Portuguese during my stay in Brazil, so I downloaded some Portuguese podcasts to my Ipod along with a few daily news shows (BBC in an attempt to be high brow...) and Wait Wait Don't Tell Me from NPR. WWDTM quickly became my favorite and I hated that it only had a new episode every week as I would devour those 30 minutes in the first 30 minutes of my weekly commute. I'd then listen to whatever Portuguese lesson was downloaded and then the BBC. The afternoons I would read. I tried to get into Portuguese books but I didn't give it an honest enough try and decided that reading in any language was still good for me. I found the English section in the bookstore and scoffed at the really high prices that Brazil was selling books for! However, I was desperate and desperate times call for expensive solutions and I bought about 10 different English books during my first few months there. I quickly decided that I needed a Kindle for ease and cost savings. It was a great decision. So podcasts in the morning and Kindle at night- pretty good for two hours spent on a bus.
I returned to the US and moved to small town USA where I had, once again, a 30 minute commute by myself. Hello Morning Edition! It's like you never left, we never stopped being friends, and you simply stayed exactly how you were and it was delightful. First 30 minutes of my day once again belonged to NPR. The return ride home belonged to the various XM channels I had on my presets. I felt informed, I felt up to speed on worldly events. It's amazing how just 30 minutes of paying attention to what's going on around you can really add up to a pretty good foundation for being conversationally fluent on a variety of topics. I've heard it said that if you read the front page of the Wall Street Journal you'd be more informed than most financial advisors. Well, if that adage is true, then I'd have to say listening to 30 minutes of NPR (or your favorite news outlet) will make you more informed than... more than... certainty more than those who don't spend that time, and I'd image that percentage is pretty high - around 40% at least, maybe more. I don't know. Point is, if you pay attention it's shocking what you learn.
I'll skip over FL - it passed much like NYC with almost no commute time and I lost touch with the world a bit, this blog, some great friends, etc.
Now I'm in California. My commute is beyond short (15 minutes!!) and I'm feeling disconnected again. I don't like it. What do I hear about as I'm pondering life? Podcasts! Of course my favorite news outlets have podcasts! Didn't I hear something about Serial being the greatest thing to hit the radio waves since music? (I've not listened to Serial, but anything that is getting 20 somethings to tune into a public radio show must be doing something right.) Reignited was my enjoyment for podcasts! I grabbed my Iphone and quickly subscribed to the following:
I also have about a 20-30 minute drive to visit this gentleman that I've been seeing and as such, I've had a great excuse to put on my podcasts and reconnect with the world. For those who are unfamiliar with those above, may I recommend Invisibilia for really interesting topic journalism, the BBC of course for current affairs, and This American Life for short, true stories about life in America (or not in America as the case was this last week - but still delightful.)
As with any good NPR call out - don't forget to contribute, public radio is nothing without the support of it's listeners.
Happy listening - Happy being informed - Happy Discovering New Things
I realized how much I enjoyed NPR when I was commuting from Chicago to the plant I worked at in Northwestern Indiana. The commute was about 20-30 minutes in the morning and about 45 on the ride home. The morning I dedicated to Steve Inskeep and David Green and Rene Montaigne and in general the Morning Edition Crew. I gave them my first 30 minutes, and they gave me an update on the world's affairs, some interesting, some dry, some sad, and some delightful. The ride home was usually dedicated to America's Top 40 as I switched over to the local music radio station.
I moved to NYC and lost the commute. Rather I still had the commute but instead of driving myself the 30 minutes to work I was taking a shuttle bus. Thus I had given up the rights to the radio to the shuttle driver and the respect of the fellow passengers on the 7AM shuttle, the morning ride passed in silence. I started reading on those rides, for reasons I'll never understand I cannot read in a car but I can read in buses. Anyway... I missed my NPR but was happy with my books.
Then I moved to Brazil. I had an hour commute (also done by bus) that I now did which provided significant time for self entertainment. Podcasts and my Kindle to the rescue! I was attempting to learn Portuguese during my stay in Brazil, so I downloaded some Portuguese podcasts to my Ipod along with a few daily news shows (BBC in an attempt to be high brow...) and Wait Wait Don't Tell Me from NPR. WWDTM quickly became my favorite and I hated that it only had a new episode every week as I would devour those 30 minutes in the first 30 minutes of my weekly commute. I'd then listen to whatever Portuguese lesson was downloaded and then the BBC. The afternoons I would read. I tried to get into Portuguese books but I didn't give it an honest enough try and decided that reading in any language was still good for me. I found the English section in the bookstore and scoffed at the really high prices that Brazil was selling books for! However, I was desperate and desperate times call for expensive solutions and I bought about 10 different English books during my first few months there. I quickly decided that I needed a Kindle for ease and cost savings. It was a great decision. So podcasts in the morning and Kindle at night- pretty good for two hours spent on a bus.
I returned to the US and moved to small town USA where I had, once again, a 30 minute commute by myself. Hello Morning Edition! It's like you never left, we never stopped being friends, and you simply stayed exactly how you were and it was delightful. First 30 minutes of my day once again belonged to NPR. The return ride home belonged to the various XM channels I had on my presets. I felt informed, I felt up to speed on worldly events. It's amazing how just 30 minutes of paying attention to what's going on around you can really add up to a pretty good foundation for being conversationally fluent on a variety of topics. I've heard it said that if you read the front page of the Wall Street Journal you'd be more informed than most financial advisors. Well, if that adage is true, then I'd have to say listening to 30 minutes of NPR (or your favorite news outlet) will make you more informed than... more than... certainty more than those who don't spend that time, and I'd image that percentage is pretty high - around 40% at least, maybe more. I don't know. Point is, if you pay attention it's shocking what you learn.
I'll skip over FL - it passed much like NYC with almost no commute time and I lost touch with the world a bit, this blog, some great friends, etc.
Now I'm in California. My commute is beyond short (15 minutes!!) and I'm feeling disconnected again. I don't like it. What do I hear about as I'm pondering life? Podcasts! Of course my favorite news outlets have podcasts! Didn't I hear something about Serial being the greatest thing to hit the radio waves since music? (I've not listened to Serial, but anything that is getting 20 somethings to tune into a public radio show must be doing something right.) Reignited was my enjoyment for podcasts! I grabbed my Iphone and quickly subscribed to the following:
- BBC World Service - Global News
- This American Life
- Star Talk (Neil deGrasse Tyson - need I say more?)
- Radio Lab
- Planet Money
- Invisibilia
I also have about a 20-30 minute drive to visit this gentleman that I've been seeing and as such, I've had a great excuse to put on my podcasts and reconnect with the world. For those who are unfamiliar with those above, may I recommend Invisibilia for really interesting topic journalism, the BBC of course for current affairs, and This American Life for short, true stories about life in America (or not in America as the case was this last week - but still delightful.)
As with any good NPR call out - don't forget to contribute, public radio is nothing without the support of it's listeners.
Happy listening - Happy being informed - Happy Discovering New Things
Wednesday, January 07, 2015
Job Dissatisfaction
When is enough enough? I've struggled with my job for the better part of 2 years. I have days that I enjoy what I'm doing, what I've chosen to get up and spend 8-10 hours of my time working on is pleasant. There are good people, there are good challenges, there are laughs to be had and progress is made. I have had far more days that are quite the opposite. Days that I actually catch myself thinking - I hate my job. Days were I am in meetings and I think "can you please stop talking? Can you please just shut up and solve your own problems?" I cannot even count how many times in a day I catch myself thinking "I don't care." It's a very depressing and draining thing to realize that you're not living the passionate life you've imagined.
I'll be the first to admit - put my hand up and say - I am LUCKY! I have a job. A lot of people don't. I have a job that pays me well. A lot of people don't. I work for a company that provides good benefits and retirement options. A lot of people don't. I'm not saying it's all bad, my company is great. I'm proud, most of the time, to say that I work for them. However, I still find myself thinking about how much I hate my job. The little things, the petty things, the downright frustrating, makes-no-sense, nonsense that ends up eating a lot of time and more importantly personal energy.
When I'm in the middle of an angry frustrated fit of work, I'd gladly give up a couple grand in compensation to enjoy my days. I'd voluntarily give up some matching dollars in the 401K. Because when I'm in the middle of these bad days, there is not amount of compensation that makes it worth it. I say to myself, what if they doubled your salary? Would you tolerate it then? You bet I would! For about a week. Then, I know I'd quietly go back to hating it all. The glitter of the bigger paycheck would fade. The bank account growing at a steadier, steeper rate would not be as thrilling. I'd still be sitting in meetings thinking "I don't care."
Let me paint you a picture of what it is about my job that I find infuriating and down right trite. Waste management. No seriously, waste management. Like where do you put each piece of your trash. This is a big deal in manufacturing. HUGE in fact. From a production perspective we go through boxes and boxes of materials and pounds of plastic bags and bottles of ingredients and tubs of flavor. All those materials can be recycled. That is huge dollars for the company and even more important for the environment. I'm ALL about keeping the corrugate and the plastic bags separate and going to the recycling plant - ALL ABOUT IT. But when I'm told that I need to monitor where break room waste and bathroom waste is being discarded, I about loose my mind. I spent HOURS of my time, personal energy, and brain power dealing with grown men and women discussing where we put orange peels, and paper plates, and used feminine hygiene products. For weeks, I worked with my environmental supervisor to get signs and bins and trainings together so people knew how to handle their waste properly. Those are hours of my life that I'll never see again. That I was instructed by a corporate agenda to spend towards insuring that the plastic lids only go to recycle and the used tea bags with staples still go to the trash compactor. I about lost my mind when I found out we needed to add a special container for compost. *sigh*
One of my employees got hurt on the job last week too. So now I can kiss a lot of my time goodbye trying to recreate what happened, explain how I somehow failed as a manager to allow such conditions and behaviors to exist in my plant. We'll draft up some learnings and some corrective actions and we'll have a dozen conversations about how everything is preventable. And I'll bang my head against the wall for all the good these things will do. I'd really like if I could spend time worrying about something other than if someone is going to get hurt! Or someone is going to put their trash in the wrong container. Or if someone is going to be suspended for attendance because they've not turned in their paperwork for Family Medical Leave for over 3 months.
I think enough is enough. I really, really do.
I'll be the first to admit - put my hand up and say - I am LUCKY! I have a job. A lot of people don't. I have a job that pays me well. A lot of people don't. I work for a company that provides good benefits and retirement options. A lot of people don't. I'm not saying it's all bad, my company is great. I'm proud, most of the time, to say that I work for them. However, I still find myself thinking about how much I hate my job. The little things, the petty things, the downright frustrating, makes-no-sense, nonsense that ends up eating a lot of time and more importantly personal energy.
When I'm in the middle of an angry frustrated fit of work, I'd gladly give up a couple grand in compensation to enjoy my days. I'd voluntarily give up some matching dollars in the 401K. Because when I'm in the middle of these bad days, there is not amount of compensation that makes it worth it. I say to myself, what if they doubled your salary? Would you tolerate it then? You bet I would! For about a week. Then, I know I'd quietly go back to hating it all. The glitter of the bigger paycheck would fade. The bank account growing at a steadier, steeper rate would not be as thrilling. I'd still be sitting in meetings thinking "I don't care."
Let me paint you a picture of what it is about my job that I find infuriating and down right trite. Waste management. No seriously, waste management. Like where do you put each piece of your trash. This is a big deal in manufacturing. HUGE in fact. From a production perspective we go through boxes and boxes of materials and pounds of plastic bags and bottles of ingredients and tubs of flavor. All those materials can be recycled. That is huge dollars for the company and even more important for the environment. I'm ALL about keeping the corrugate and the plastic bags separate and going to the recycling plant - ALL ABOUT IT. But when I'm told that I need to monitor where break room waste and bathroom waste is being discarded, I about loose my mind. I spent HOURS of my time, personal energy, and brain power dealing with grown men and women discussing where we put orange peels, and paper plates, and used feminine hygiene products. For weeks, I worked with my environmental supervisor to get signs and bins and trainings together so people knew how to handle their waste properly. Those are hours of my life that I'll never see again. That I was instructed by a corporate agenda to spend towards insuring that the plastic lids only go to recycle and the used tea bags with staples still go to the trash compactor. I about lost my mind when I found out we needed to add a special container for compost. *sigh*
One of my employees got hurt on the job last week too. So now I can kiss a lot of my time goodbye trying to recreate what happened, explain how I somehow failed as a manager to allow such conditions and behaviors to exist in my plant. We'll draft up some learnings and some corrective actions and we'll have a dozen conversations about how everything is preventable. And I'll bang my head against the wall for all the good these things will do. I'd really like if I could spend time worrying about something other than if someone is going to get hurt! Or someone is going to put their trash in the wrong container. Or if someone is going to be suspended for attendance because they've not turned in their paperwork for Family Medical Leave for over 3 months.
I think enough is enough. I really, really do.
Tuesday, January 06, 2015
January Resolution Update
In my last post I mentioned a few new year's resolutions, specifically reading a book a month and trying a new recipe a month. I'm in the middle of reading The Glassblower (book one of the trilogy) now, which I'll review when I'm done. By review I mean provide my uneducated opinion about the story, comment on my entertainment level, and if I thought it was well written. I must emphasize the point about being an uneducated opinion, but mine none the less.
In regards to the new recipe resolution, I tried my hand at goat cheese stuffed pomegranate chicken tonight. It turned out rather well, if you like goat cheese and pomegranate. The balsamic reduction was a bit too sweet in my opinion, so I would probably omit the brown sugar or half it at the most. But if you don't like balsamic then you may like the added sweetness to help cut the acid of the vinegar. I served it with a salad and some simple quinoa. In general I really enjoyed it. My dinner guest was very polite about it and simply said "I'm not a big fan of goat cheese." I laughed, who doesn't like goat cheese?!? I'd make it again but not for this same individual who so kindly was willing to be a guinea pig, and I'd cut the sugar.
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Some other learnings: timing of meals is important. Despite my best effort, the quinoa was done about 20 minutes before the chicken. Mainly because the chicken took about 15 minutes longer than I planned. Also, when adding salt to quinoa it's always best to give the dish a minute to let the salt really settle. I slightly over salted and there is no undoing that mistake.
Update on the eating clean, moving more goal is pending. So far I'm keeping up with my step target but some days have been really close. Poor Bailey has had to go for many a walk to help me with this one, but I don't think she minds too much.
In regards to the new recipe resolution, I tried my hand at goat cheese stuffed pomegranate chicken tonight. It turned out rather well, if you like goat cheese and pomegranate. The balsamic reduction was a bit too sweet in my opinion, so I would probably omit the brown sugar or half it at the most. But if you don't like balsamic then you may like the added sweetness to help cut the acid of the vinegar. I served it with a salad and some simple quinoa. In general I really enjoyed it. My dinner guest was very polite about it and simply said "I'm not a big fan of goat cheese." I laughed, who doesn't like goat cheese?!? I'd make it again but not for this same individual who so kindly was willing to be a guinea pig, and I'd cut the sugar.
Some other learnings: timing of meals is important. Despite my best effort, the quinoa was done about 20 minutes before the chicken. Mainly because the chicken took about 15 minutes longer than I planned. Also, when adding salt to quinoa it's always best to give the dish a minute to let the salt really settle. I slightly over salted and there is no undoing that mistake.
Update on the eating clean, moving more goal is pending. So far I'm keeping up with my step target but some days have been really close. Poor Bailey has had to go for many a walk to help me with this one, but I don't think she minds too much.
Saturday, January 03, 2015
Life Plan vs Career Plan - Resolving in 2015
So it's the start of a new year. A lot of times I set some resolutions about being healthier, learning something new, experiencing something different. This year I've mulled over a few ideas on what I can improve upon or "resolve" for 2015. But really... I want to spend this year working on setting some life directions and getting a "life plan" together. Ever since my mentor made a comment about my career plan and my life plan needing to compliment each other versus one (aka career plan) dominating the other I've been thinking about how to make that happen.
I like California, a lot. I like the quality of life here. I like the people (one gentleman in particular...) and the overall pace of the place. I like how international it is and the diversity is great. I enjoy the activities and events that are nearby. I really like the outdoors here also. Hiking and biking, and coasts and mountains, and beautiful scenery and wildlife. It's pretty great here. I like it. I am maybe thinking about staying... but we know what that means.
A few goals for this year:
I like California, a lot. I like the quality of life here. I like the people (one gentleman in particular...) and the overall pace of the place. I like how international it is and the diversity is great. I enjoy the activities and events that are nearby. I really like the outdoors here also. Hiking and biking, and coasts and mountains, and beautiful scenery and wildlife. It's pretty great here. I like it. I am maybe thinking about staying... but we know what that means.
A few goals for this year:
- Read a book a month - this is a repeat from previous years that I failed miserably so I'll try again
- Try a new recipe a month - I'm doing a lot more cooking and this seems like a doable challenge, who knows maybe I'll fall in love with cucumbers or learn to make a great reduction or something.
- Eat cleaner, move more, crunch often: Every year I say I'll do something about my health/weight. This year I'm setting simpler goals like this one.