Everybody feels better when they are making fun of someone. It is a tautology that is completely irrefutable, like "space takes up space" or "you'll shoot your eye out." Luckily everyone has someone to make fun of. In the US most people can make fun of Alabamians, Alabamians can make fun of Mississippians, Mississippians can make fun of Arkansans (Arkansawers?), Arkansans make fun of Louisianans, Louisianans can make fun of West Virginians, and West Virginians either don't get it or they make fun of their neighbors or Alabamians. The point is, no matter how bad we have it, there is always someone worse off than we are, and we should make fun of them (I am lookin' your way 'Bama).
Anyway.... I have a shit-ton of work that has to get done, in a relatively short amount of time, and my list seems to get longer and longer. This list keeps lengthening because of incidents like the one I had happen to me yesterday. One of the Board of Directors dropped by my office yesterday with a retired employee in tow. I have had the displeasure of working with this old coot before, and it was not pretty. One cannot in any good measure say "no" to one of the Board and expect not to do the work eventually.* So anyway the geezerly gentleman with no life other than his past employer** needs us to add his pointless busy work tasks to our already bloated checklist of activities. Whence I have had the displeasure of working with this particular relic of engineering's past, it has always taken much much longer and much more work than was initially described. So far we have just finished his initial request, but I am waiting with baited breath for the old codger to come back and ask for the impossible. It will come tomorrow around 10 AM, if my "Old Coot Schedule" is correct. Oh well, this mountain of work will not complete itself, no matter how long I ignore it.
*I could have said, "No, we really do not have the time to make this dotery old fool some maps pro bono. So, if you would please, shove off." but the Board guy would have gone to my boss or my boss's boss and said make him do this. This way I cut out the middle man and look like I am a happy team player. We are, after all "All one Team.
** When I retire, there is literally no chance anyone will ever see me again at the office from which I will retire. Work is an unfortunate necessity in my life that I would easily forego if I had the means to.***
*** I need my wife to make us independently wealthy. She is our only hope seeing as how much brighter than I am she is and all. Maybe my child will pull us into a life of leisure...
Anyway.... I have a shit-ton of work that has to get done, in a relatively short amount of time, and my list seems to get longer and longer. This list keeps lengthening because of incidents like the one I had happen to me yesterday. One of the Board of Directors dropped by my office yesterday with a retired employee in tow. I have had the displeasure of working with this old coot before, and it was not pretty. One cannot in any good measure say "no" to one of the Board and expect not to do the work eventually.* So anyway the geezerly gentleman with no life other than his past employer** needs us to add his pointless busy work tasks to our already bloated checklist of activities. Whence I have had the displeasure of working with this particular relic of engineering's past, it has always taken much much longer and much more work than was initially described. So far we have just finished his initial request, but I am waiting with baited breath for the old codger to come back and ask for the impossible. It will come tomorrow around 10 AM, if my "Old Coot Schedule" is correct. Oh well, this mountain of work will not complete itself, no matter how long I ignore it.
*I could have said, "No, we really do not have the time to make this dotery old fool some maps pro bono. So, if you would please, shove off." but the Board guy would have gone to my boss or my boss's boss and said make him do this. This way I cut out the middle man and look like I am a happy team player. We are, after all "All one Team.
** When I retire, there is literally no chance anyone will ever see me again at the office from which I will retire. Work is an unfortunate necessity in my life that I would easily forego if I had the means to.***
*** I need my wife to make us independently wealthy. She is our only hope seeing as how much brighter than I am she is and all. Maybe my child will pull us into a life of leisure...