Jason and the Arggggonauts….

Just a little check in on this experiment I call "my job". The drive is further, the hours both longer and inflexible, and the "cultural level", for lack of a better term, will drag you down like a skewered otter, but the political BS is remote, gray hair seems to be slowing, and my exhaustion at the end of the day is from constant motion and solving other peoples' problems rather than desk-jockeying in a sea-of-sameness.

That said, the cold and dark when I leave after work has done little to fire up any enthusiasm for lodge activities. Plus the snow. I slept like a gunny sack of wet sand this past weekend, after staying out with Cara till 1 or so Friday night at the parents for a 500 party, then doing my best to try to work in the Panther Saturday night after braving the mall. My enthusiasm was lacking though, and I was home at a reasonable hour to promptly head for bed. Sunday was a touch better, and the night was capped with a redbox viewing of Public Enemies and dinner.

And so started the Holiday week that is unfortunately not going to deliver on being an easy slide. It was a long Monday with an equally long drive home, immediately topped with a trip to Walgreens with Cara to print our xmas cards in some pretty slushy conditions. The photo machine, however, had the image resizing ability of a cobbled-up Xerox Parc, and while we could crop to our heart's content, shrinking our pic to fit on photo paper was not an option. Knowing under that façade there was probably a copy of MS paint that could do the job without having to drive home and fire up photoshop didn't help matters. The icing on the cake was tearing Cara's weatherstripping off her car by performing the act of opening the passenger side door. After dealing with German eff-ups in design and materials for 11 hours straight that day, I was none too pleased to see her and her VW get hosed by the same 'better-than-thou' mentality. Happens every winter; this time it yanked the rivets out, too.

It was a little over two years ago I decided that instead of taking a "lifer" path with my career I'd opt to gain some experience in other areas to help round out where life may eventually lead. Areas, some might think, are far enough off the corporate path to be beneath them. I don't think many realize I went out of my way to get here (which is fine with me b/c it's like being a stranger in your own town); occasional condolences prove that out. Sure, it may not be something someone wants to do forever, but getting in a different environment and out of my comfort zone will end up being a good thing in the long run, and helps shape where I want to bounce to next before my (self-set) clock strikes 12.

I have some high hopes for this xmas weekend, what with Alex and Blake back in town and some genuine time to sleep in (or at least not have to greet the day at 5AM). Let's hope things pan out!