An annoying aspect of being out of college is the establishment of patterns and routines. While there was some semblance of routine in college, it was quite sporadic, one didn’t always have the same schedule everyday, after a few months classes changed, and you saw new faces walking around, different work out schedule. In reality the only pattern that remained constant were the dining hall hours, or at least that’s how I revolved any patterns I established.
Life, post-college however, is the complete opposite where 2/3 of my day is spent in the exact same way. Every day I wake up at the same time, to the same alarm sound, drink the same morning beverage, get in the same car and drive the same commute, to go to the same office building to do the same work every day. I leave at the same time every day, reverse the commute, arrive home the same time most days depending on rush hour, which now has new meaning other than a crappy Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan movie that I’ve definitely seen more times than I would like to admit. I eat dinner, sometimes do some form of exercise, watch the same TV shows, and go to sleep at the same time every night. While having a job in general in this market has been nice, this Monday to Friday routine takes its toll on the creative and innovative spirit I once possessed.
There was a time when I would spend 2/3 of my day dreaming up the next theme party to host at my frat house which could lead to somewhat consensual sex with the beautiful drunken co-eds that gathered around the keg of stale Natty Light. My creativity was applied to everything that mattered most, theme parties, brands of condoms for the weekend, story-telling, nick-naming, and most importantly, laying ground work with my flavor of the week in preparation for the upcoming theme party. I never set an alarm clock, or followed a specific route around campus, never went to the same building every day, and definitely never, ever, drank anything in the morning other than H2O, Gatorade, or the beer that I miraculously did not spill while passing out the night before while watching late night HBO.
So sitting here, in my plot on the cubicle farm, looking at my phone and seeing the date as 10/23, makes me think I want to reduce or simplify my life back to the time when 2/3 of my life was so much more fun, innovative, and creative. Nostalgia sets in and I reminisce about good times, no responsibilities, and no 9-5 yuppie conforming life. But then the other 1/3 of my brain kicks in and I realize that we all can’t be Peter Pan, and that Neverland loses its luster, and that I can find a Starbucks within 5 minutes of my office in any direction. Maybe I’ll choose a different Starbucks today just to feel good about the 2/3 of rebel I still have in me.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Facebook Status Updates
If you have the Facebook application on your Blackberry – or are lucky enough to NOT have your company block it, I think it is safe to say that reading 893 of your “closest” friends update’s creates a nice break from the daily grind. With that being said, the following is R’s (another faithful contributer to the cubicle farm) guide to not annoying the bejesus out of me or, worse, getting yourself HIDDEN.
1. Updating every little thing you do throughout the day: “Just got back from the bathroom, had to go for two rounds of paper towel. Man my hands were soapy!” Ridiculous.
2. Love overload: Yes- Your husband is totally rad, that's awesome you can’t wait to marry your fiancé in 342 days and your boyfriend is cute. That is why you are dating each other! I understand that this may make me sound bitter betty but I’m not – I have a boyfriend and his dimples are to DIE for…
3. Political messages: I appreciate your opinions but if you are so heated – go out and volunteer or write your local representatives. Changing your facebook photo in protest or sending me a green plant will not work.
4. Don’t refer to people as your besties, favs or tell me you had the most awesome weekend ever: If it was so epic – give me a highlight to judge for myself
5. Go team!!!!!! If you are lucky enough to have tickets to a clutch sporting event…ENJOY! Drink a few beers, wave your rally towel and engage in some debauchery only condoned at a sporting event. But please don’t update your status every 2 seconds. Leave the clever catch phrase thoughts to us losers sitting on the couch who didn't sell off our first born or refinance our house to be at that game.
6. I love you dad: Unless your parents are actually on Facebook, don’t wish them a happy birthday or 25th wedding anniversary. Here’s a hint – THEY CAN’T READ IT AND I COULD CARE LESS.
And finally, lucky #7….
7. Work generally sucks, for everyone: Don’t complain! Spend your time scouring youtube for a funny video to amuse me instead. Just don't start a blog to make your job less-soul crushing, that's what I did. Be a leader, not a follower!
1. Updating every little thing you do throughout the day: “Just got back from the bathroom, had to go for two rounds of paper towel. Man my hands were soapy!” Ridiculous.
2. Love overload: Yes- Your husband is totally rad, that's awesome you can’t wait to marry your fiancé in 342 days and your boyfriend is cute. That is why you are dating each other! I understand that this may make me sound bitter betty but I’m not – I have a boyfriend and his dimples are to DIE for…
3. Political messages: I appreciate your opinions but if you are so heated – go out and volunteer or write your local representatives. Changing your facebook photo in protest or sending me a green plant will not work.
4. Don’t refer to people as your besties, favs or tell me you had the most awesome weekend ever: If it was so epic – give me a highlight to judge for myself
5. Go team!!!!!! If you are lucky enough to have tickets to a clutch sporting event…ENJOY! Drink a few beers, wave your rally towel and engage in some debauchery only condoned at a sporting event. But please don’t update your status every 2 seconds. Leave the clever catch phrase thoughts to us losers sitting on the couch who didn't sell off our first born or refinance our house to be at that game.
6. I love you dad: Unless your parents are actually on Facebook, don’t wish them a happy birthday or 25th wedding anniversary. Here’s a hint – THEY CAN’T READ IT AND I COULD CARE LESS.
And finally, lucky #7….
7. Work generally sucks, for everyone: Don’t complain! Spend your time scouring youtube for a funny video to amuse me instead. Just don't start a blog to make your job less-soul crushing, that's what I did. Be a leader, not a follower!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Blogging Virginity
As this is my first blogging attempt, I expect that I will adjust my formula several times along the way, but the main goal is to provide a refuge from the working day. MY DISCLAIMER: This is not an attempt to be mainstream or political in any way shape or form, but just to banter over the daily drone that we know as life. I can be opinionated just like any other person and thought that putting my thoughts out there would spark some interests, conversation, or prove that my viewpoints are as skewed as people have told me in the past.
If anything, it allows time to pass a little faster and make my normal job less soul-crushing. Working in a cubicle farm, one will find almost anything to pass the time, similar to “Andy Dufresne” (Tim Robbins) in the classic flick, The Shawshank Redemption. For those not familiar with the movie, I suggest you spend 3 hours watching it to understand my allusion here. I usually watch this on a rainy or lazy Saturday where I’m lying on the couch tapped into an IV drip of Gatorade as a result of dehydration from my diet of beer the night before. For the rest of us who are familiar with my reference, you might concur that work can be compared to life in prison… so as “Red” (Morgan Freeman) states it best, “In prison, a man’ll do almost anything to keep his mind occupied.”
And with that said, hopefully this medium will afford me the opportunity to keep my mind occupied on something more important to me than working for a paycheck that makes me even more depressed than if I had none in the first place. I hope to discuss many topics that surround society today, or maybe what has happened in the past. I'm pretty flexible as far as what my ADHD will let me focus on during the day.
If anything, it allows time to pass a little faster and make my normal job less soul-crushing. Working in a cubicle farm, one will find almost anything to pass the time, similar to “Andy Dufresne” (Tim Robbins) in the classic flick, The Shawshank Redemption. For those not familiar with the movie, I suggest you spend 3 hours watching it to understand my allusion here. I usually watch this on a rainy or lazy Saturday where I’m lying on the couch tapped into an IV drip of Gatorade as a result of dehydration from my diet of beer the night before. For the rest of us who are familiar with my reference, you might concur that work can be compared to life in prison… so as “Red” (Morgan Freeman) states it best, “In prison, a man’ll do almost anything to keep his mind occupied.”
And with that said, hopefully this medium will afford me the opportunity to keep my mind occupied on something more important to me than working for a paycheck that makes me even more depressed than if I had none in the first place. I hope to discuss many topics that surround society today, or maybe what has happened in the past. I'm pretty flexible as far as what my ADHD will let me focus on during the day.
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