Shout outs

This came from caffeekklesia.co.uk

First and foremost, here's a shout out to everyone who posts comments on this blog. Woo! Comments are what the Internet is all about, isn't it? Now, I don't want to embarrass anyone, but I have to give a big shout out to the person who posted a comment who doesn't even know me! Thanks.

Yesterday I was reading the New York Times Magazine. Now before you go and call me hoity-toity (fun to say) or a bleeding-heart liberal commie (also fun), just make sure you've read some of it once before resorting to name calling. I just think it's good that we are informed when making fun. Anywho, my favorite sections of the magazine fall right next to each other. They're the regular columns "On Language" and "The Ethicist." They're both short, sweet, and offer tasty tid-bits of fun, sometimes practical, information. Yesterday there was just a little something in the "Ethicist" section that seemed appropriate to mention in this blog.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the column I will explain. The author, Randy Cohen, answers reader's questions dealing with ethically ambiguous situations in their lives. In yesterday's column, one reader said that she kept a diary of sorts at her work computer, and in some entries she bad-mouthed her boss. This employee had to leave her job and her former boss discovered her unflattering remarks. When asked for a reference, the boss said no, for pretty obvious reasons. The question was something along the lines of whether the boss was being ethical in denying the reference. For those of you who are interested in the answer, or just interested, here is the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/23/magazine/23wwln-ethicist-t.html?ex=1348113600&en=c6acd1132b944c45&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

I doubt it will work. I'll try to figure out how to do it.

Now here is my question: why would you keep a diary at work? Especially on your company-owned computer? Especially complaing about your boss (however true the allegations are)? You may be reaching over to pick up your Hypocracy Paddle to give me a swing, but before you do, I have to say that for all of my griping and complaining, I am grateful for my job at my present company. This blog in no way reflects the views of my parent company and so on and such and such. Point is, this is just a blog about working, not a specific rant against individuals. As the great Oscar Wilde once put it, "I'd rather be liberal but still not liable for libel."*

*(Oscar Wilde probably never said that, I just made that up. If the estate or ghost of Oscar Wilde reads this, please don't sue or haunt me. Actually, having Oscar Wilde haunt me might be amusing at times.)

With privacy at work always a concern it is hard to complain about your boss. Sure, you can gab with your co-workers at lunch or after-hours, maybe sneak in a few jokes by the water-cooler, or you can even lock yourself in a soundproof room and scream and pound the floor till you pass out. We need to vent because sometimes our bosses aren't too great. Sometimes they are great, but they still give us work to do.

Have you ever had to openly complain about your boss by going to Human Resources? What if you want to complain about Human Resources? What if you are self-employed and you hate your boss? That would be a problem.

Well, my boss(es) have given me work so (ironically?) I can't complain about them anymore right now. Let me know how you vent about the higher-ups. And if you don't, let me know how in the world that happened. Or maybe not - hearing about how great your job is might make me cry.

It's been a while

Hello?

Oh, hi.

Yeah, yeah, it's been some time. What, a week maybe? More? Yeah, well, who reads this anyway?

Oh, you do? Well...um...thanks. Then, uh, here's another post for you.

I think in my last post I complained about how stores were stocking their shelves with Halloween items soon after Labor Day. Here's a NY Times article from yesterday to prove my point: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/17/business/media/17adcol.html?ex=1347768000&en=fb3b6cafab90f7ef&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

That's a long link. I hope it works.

But enough about candy, let's get back to work.

I'm sure most of you who work have to commute. Unless you work at home or live under your desk a la Costanza, then I bet you either walk, drive, bike, ferry, bus, or take a train to work. If you use a helicopter, horse, or hovercraft then your work must be kind of cool. I think most of us can agree that commuting sucks. It's time consuming, tedious, monotonous and can get pretty darned expensive.

I take Metro-North's New Haven line commuter rail. First off, I'm all for public transportation. I think it's great for all of the reasons: environmental, cut down traffic, support the downtrodden, etc. However, this country's public transportation system is underfunded, which should come as no surprise. The trains seats are cramped together; the train cars are falling apart; the lines get flooded or frozen; the trains don't run on time. All true, all gripes, but they're not the biggest problem.

The biggest problem with public transportation is the public. And yes, I am talking about the homeless man with a bag of rancid meat riding the subway or the fat kid selling candy bars, not to mention the countless other crazies riding the New York subway (but I'd still rather take that than a bus). I'm mainly talking about us 9-5ers who live outside the greater metropolitan area. Those of us who smoosh together in those cramped seats, avoiding eye contact, struggling to open the business section of the paper. Sardines have it better than we do.


Here's a typical, decrepit Metro North New Haven Line train.
Thanks to Mr. Cox for the photo.

I propose a call to action. Don't be afraid, commuters of the world. If you see some grey haired power-broker leaving his laptop on an empty seat, not saving it for anyone, you tell him to move. If you see a person sitting on the outside seat of a two-person row, you take that window seat. There should be no reason for there to be empty seats. This isn't a movie theater, where, unless it's opening night or you know a theater should be packed, people leave a courtesy seat open.

And let's get rid of the bar cars, shall we? I'm not against drinking, but I am against having a whole care devoted to selling four people beers while the rest of us are forced to stand. That whole car can be filled up with seats! And they sell alcohol right outside the train before you get in! If you really need a drink that bad and you forogt your Bud, then carry a flask, man.

It's the people that make the commute terrible. A majority of the people want to sleep in the morning, so don't talk loudly. Don't spread your legs open when you sit down in between two other people thinking like you own the place. Just this morning, as the train finally pulled into Grand Central, two older men got up into the aisle at the same time, one blocking the other.
"Did you ever hear of letting someone go first?" One curmudgeon said.
"I was sitting right here, I just got up. Maybe you should look before getting up," the other unhappy man said.
"[Inaudible muttering]"
"[Groan]"
Needless to say, their bickering about holding each other up caused them to hold other commuters up, and ultimately delayed their leaving the train. And why the hell would were they so eager to get to work in the first place?

The New Haven Line is not expected to get new and improved train cars until 2009. And yes, we'll have to pay more, but it'll be worth it. You must have seen the Hudson Line cars. They're beautiful. So until we make it to the 21st century, let's all realize that we're in this together. We're tired, cranky, and we don't like our knees touching other peoples'. So sit down, shut up, and be a good citizen. Work sucks enough, let's try and make the to and from less painful.

Labor Day

Well, it's been a little while. That's because yesterday was Labor Day, the day we celebrate working by doing the exact opposite. The three-day weekend signals the beginning of the Fall season, which means no more wearing white, no more barbeques, and the new TV season is almost here.

It also means that it will get dark, cold, and work should start to pick up. Thinking about the oncoming dredgery gives me pause and causes a general malaise to overcome my body. So, in the spirit of the impending doom and gloom, here is a list of things that otherwise irk me or cause general discomfort in my life:

Making a left turn when driving.
Loud neighbors.
Slow people.
Climate change.
Calling Global Warming "Climate Change."
Waking up when it's still dark.
Alarm clocks.
When stores begin promoting holidays months before they arrive. I was in the supermarket over the weekend and they already had a whole candy display for Halloween. That's two months away! It used to be that the Christmas season started the day after Thanksgiving, but now it will probably start on Columbus Day. Or before. I mean really. What's that about?

This pic wasn't from the weekend, but it still somewhat fits.
Anyways, back to the list.
Commuting.
Rubbernecking.
Fundamentalists.
Car commercials.
Unnecessary sequels or remakes.
When there is no seating available for lunch and your company doesn't have a cafeteria or open rooms.
Working for the weekend.

How about you? What do you find irritating and annoying? And if you say "this blog," congratulations, you win a free paper-clip. While supplies last.