About 2009

Let's never speak of 2009 again. It's been a hard year for a lot of people.

At high noon today, I'm so out of Cube City for the rest of the year, and I just hope 2010 is better for cube dwellers across the land.

Happy New Year to all!

Use Your Noggin

If you ever feel uninterested in paying attention when others are speaking in Cube City, use your noggin.

You've done it. I've done it. We've all done it. It's a survival strategy for corporate boredom. It's the head nod.

I love observing people in Cube City during speeches and meetings. I wonder what they're thinking when I know I'm bored out of my ever-lovin' mind. I see people nodding their heads like they're listening intently to someone who's undoubtedly boring. When the speaker unexpectedly directs a question at the listener, who is pretending to listen, you can tell that the listener is caught in the lie of a head nod.

I think it's both courteous and disrespectful to feign interest in someone or something with a head nod. I realize that some people are actually interested in boring speakers, and that's fine. To each their own. I say you need to do whatever it takes to stay awake in Cube City to combat boredom. Use your noggin and you'll be just fine.

Skeleton Crew

It's another short holiday work week in Cube City, with minimal minions doing the work. Being on the skeleton crew can go either way:

1. There can be way too much to do because there are way too few people to do it.
2. It can be really quiet because the people who are supposed to be leading the projects don't feel like working and therefore aren't giving you any direction.

It's a little early in the week to say for sure, but so far it's a mix of these scenarios for me. This is good because I need a little flexibility to do my own thing without a lot of "there's nothing to do and the clock won't move forward" boredom. I'm trying to squeeze doctor and dentist appointments into my work schedule this week before my health benefits cycle starts over on January 1st (that's Friday for those of you on the skeleton crew who are facing scenario #2 above with the spare time to read this blog). Hey, appointment hopping is what the healthcare system has given us, so it's time to give back.

Holiday Blues

The holidays are always a bit dysfunctional and depressing if you're not lying to yourself, and I'm glad to have them behind me. However, I'm not glad to have the paid holiday time behind me. It goes too fast. Now I'm back in Cube City and thinking about the next time I'll be off work, which, after New Year's Day, looks like late April. That just seems like a lifetime away, and I don't feel rested or ready for a new year of challenges. I hope it's a quiet week in Cube City. I need to feel like I've had a vacation from something. I'm just not sure what that is yet.

Lost: The Sequel

Oh, blast it all to hell. I have lost my ID badge again. That makes a total of $30 this year spent on trying to get myself back into Cube City. What's wrong with this picture? Who pays money to work? I guess I do. Grumble.

I don't know how it happened this time. All I know is that I reached for my ID badge yesterday morning, but it was not in its usual place. It wasn't anywhere else either. I've been in a NyQuil fog for over a week, thanks to sickly germs I undoubtedly acquired in Cube City, so who knows -- or even cares, at this point -- where it went?

Well, that's my last grand stunt before the office closes for a few days. Hope you all get at least a few days of rest and relaxation away from Cube City. I'll be back on Monday, and I want a badge for that.

Remembering Remy

It's a sad day, cube dwellers, and I don't feel much like writing about Cube City today. My new cube mate's brother Remy passed away in a sudden and tragic accident yesterday, and I am terribly sad for his owner and extended family. Remy was a bigger version of my new cube mate in every way, so this really hits home. If you have pets, please go home and hug them.

Romancing the Cubicle

Lately, I've seen a few guys trying to get their game on with the ladies in Cube City. I find it kind of funny...and kind of frightening at the same time.

I know from experience that you don't want to get your honey where you get your money. You don't want to get your sex where you get your checks. It's just a really bad idea. Sure, it will be fun at first, but it will most likely turn bad for you, your honey, and your money.

So, to all you cube dwellers trying to get a honey in Cube City, all I can do is say -- if you want to play, you'd better update your resume.