The Shadow Government Ltd.: Working Stiff Stuff

I Had Planned...

Wed, 21 Apr 2004 02:49:49 GMT

I Had Planned...

...to write something about my week on Grand Bahama, but I just got home from work and have an 8 a.m. meeting tomorrow. Two days back and the neurons are already fried. So, I'll try again tomorrow.

File under Working Stiff Stuff.

Got To Banish That Negativity

Fri, 09 Apr 2004 00:07:44 GMT

Got To Banish That Negativity

I'm sitting here sipping a Whitbread Pale Ale and trying to decompress. I'm trying to banish all of those thoughts and worries that come rushing at me like a noisy crowd, each one clamoring for attention. The beer's not doing the trick though. It'll take something with a little more crank to it to achieve that. I've got to slow things down so that I can think about one thing at a time. That's hard to do when you seem to be spending every waking minute of every day multitasking in the multithreaded existance. At least I'm off until April 19th and I'll be heading down to the Bahamas to do some scuba diving. I probably won't even start to relax until I'm in the air sipping a glass of wine. I've decided not to blog during this vacation. I've got to get away from my electronic virtual life for a while (not that I won't go through withdrawal without my Mac). Besides, with all that's going on in the world right now I'd only bring myself down. I've got to get rid of this negativity despite the latest news from Iraq. Some people taken hostage and threatened with being burned alive. Well, I said I wanted to get rid of this negativity so I'd better not comment on that. So, barring something unforeseen, I'll see all of you when I get back. In the meantime, as my old pal Jean Shepherd would say, "keep your knees loose."

File under Working Stiff Stuff.

Motivation

Thu, 08 Apr 2004 12:34:57 GMT

Motivation

Does anyone besides me think that the Office Max commercial featuring the motivational poster is a hoot? I laugh everytime I see it, whereas the Jerry Seinfeld ads with Superman are starting to wear a little thin. Anyway, I offer this courtesy of Despair.com for your approval:

File under Working Stiff Stuff.

Today's Deep Thought

Thu, 06 Nov 2003 21:41:58 GMT

Today's Deep Thought

"...one of the strongest motives that lead men to art and science is escape from everyday life with its painful crudity and hopeless dreariness, from the fetters of one's own ever-shifting desires. A finely tempered nature longs to escape from the personal life into the world of objective perception and thought."

- - Albert Einstein

File under Working Stiff Stuff.

Golden Years

Wed, 03 Sep 2003 11:12:59 GMT

Golden Years

Here's an interesting post I received from the Post-Careerist newsgroup:

I recently read a book called "Die Broke", where the author maintains that it is foolhardy to sacrifice the here and now for the wishful thinking that you can save enough to live comfortably after you quit working. He maintains that people should develop an income stream by doing what they like, and when what you like changes, as it inevitably will as you age, change accordingly. I too know many people who sacrificed all of their lives in order to be secure in their golden years, but never developed the interests nor the skills to enjoy them well. In the worst case scenario, some people die early in their retirement, like my father who died less than three months into his "golden years". What good was his sacrifice all those years to defer his enjoyments? At age 50 I went back to college and changed from a salesman to a social worker. The instant gratification of helping people more than makes up for the modest wages, and I feel I can do this until I'm 90. In addition, I am building a network with caring people who can be counted on to help me in the future, should I need help. I have become like Thoreau, and have simplified my life to the point that I live within my means, am debt free, and for the first time in my life I can say I am happy. We can become a prisoner of our things. Resist that, live for today, save for a rainy day, but do not defer happiness for the sake of security. If you frown long enough, like Mom used to say, "You're face is going to set like that".

File under Working Stiff Stuff

Running On Empty

Wed, 30 Jul 2003 00:19:03 GMT

Running On Empty

I don't know what it is. Maybe I've developed a case of ADD, or maybe it's just the summertime blues, but I've just completely lost my focus and my momentum at work for the past 2 weeks. Maybe it's because I finished 2 trials and an arbitration in rapid succession and now that pressure is off and only the pressure to Bill The Hours remains. Maybe looking at the calendar will...oh, that's it! Maybe it's because I haven't taken any serious time off in a freakin' year! At least I'm going a way for a week in about a month, though that week will fly by I'm sure. Anyway, I feel freakin' burned out! I'm staggering toward that finish line. Then the gun goes off again. What's that Powerball jackpot up to?

LEISURE SICKNESS

Thu, 26 Jun 2003 03:09:06 GMT

This is courtesy of Bob Rosen at the Post-Careerist newsgroup:

If you've been looking forward to a holiday, only to fall ill with some poorly-defined malady in its first days, you may have become a victim to a recently named syndrome, "leisure sickness". The condition has been identified by the Dutch psychologist Professor Ad Vingerhoets of Tilburg University. There are two varieties. One refers to symptoms - which can include nausea, fatigue, headaches, and recurrent infections - that appear whenever the stress of the working week is suddenly removed, either at the weekend or at the beginning of holidays. The other sort is found among men and women who have become tired of the rat race and who have downshifted to enjoy a quieter life, only to find themselves suffering from these recurrent minor illnesses plus boredom and depression, another name for which is "underload syndrome" (an older generation would have named it "ennui", an expressive word that has rather gone out of fashion). Whatever it's called, few of us need worry about the risks of getting it: research evidence suggests it's mainly found among high-achieving men and women and that only 3% of those surveyed have experienced it. The researchers, who presented their findings at a recent meeting of the American Psychosomatic Society, determined that people who are perfectionists, carry large workloads and feel very responsible for their work are more apt to suffer from these symptoms, termed "leisure sickness."

--[Psychology Today, 1 July 2001]

You can get more info here.

File under Working Stiff Stuff.

SLOW CITY MOVEMENT SPRINGING UP IN ITALY

Tue, 03 Jun 2003 04:33:32 GMT

A while ago I heard about the Slow Food Movement, an Italian idea in direct opposition to the concept of fast foods. Well, New Perspectives Quarterly reports that there's a Slow City Movement, "a program of civilized harmony and active peace founded on the serenity of everyday life to bring together towns and cities, large and small, which share common features and move in this direction," also springing from Italy:

"Towns and cities brought to life by people 'keen on time refound.' Towns and cities packed with squares, theaters, workshops, cafés, restaurants, places of worship, uncontaminated landscapes and the pliers of fascinating crafts. Towns and cities in which man still recognizes the slow, beneficial succession of the seasons, the wholesomeness of tasty, healthy produce, the spontaneity of natural rites, the cult of living tradition and the joy of slow, quiet, reflective living."

It just sounds too good to ever work here. It's work harder, work longer, work faster, and get paid less. That's the American Way in this New Century. But after all, we are Professionals.

File under Working Stiff Stuff.

WONDER IF THAT'S REALLY ME ON THE SHELF

Fri, 25 Apr 2003 01:12:14 GMT

The seminar I was speaking at went off without a hitch. Another master stroke for old Hondonius. Before my turn came, I was thumbing through some of the seminar materials and had a chance to review my bio. I was reading it in a sort of detached way when suddenly it dawned on me that I was reading about me! Could I really be this impressive person I was reading about? If I blacked out my name and read it I would think, hey, here's a guy who's got the world by the cojones. It must be that thing they call the "Imposter Phenomenon." I'm reading it and everything in it's true (no BS or puffing) and I'm saying, am I really this person? Realizing that it must be a self esteem issue, I began to feel much better about myself.

When I got home my wife told me to take out the garbage. God has a way of keeping you grounded.

I hate public speaking. Too bad that I'm too damn good at it.

File under Working Stiff Stuff.

ANOTHER LATE NIGHT

Thu, 24 Apr 2003 03:14:51 GMT

I just knocked off work about a half hour ago getting ready for a seminar I'll be speaking at tomorrow. So now I'm not only tired, but totally wired. I figure to do a little surfing the internet and blog reading to wind down.

In the meantime I see on the T.V. news that a Brooklyn judge has just been arrested for corruption. Oh the wonderful legal profession. Now I see the New York MTA "cooked the books" on its budget in order to get a fare hike. Now they're saying Governor Pataki's approval rating is plummeting. Big surprise now that he doesn't have Rudy's coattails to ride. I just can't type fast enough to keep up with the newscast so I'll stop now.

Speaking of T.V., for a good laugh, check out Television Without Pity's review of American Idol the other night.

Oh, and I almost forgot. It was in the 60's here a couple of days ago. Tonight it's been snowing.

Ah, the pleasures of stream of consciousness blogging.

File under Working Stiff Stuff.