It's easy to complain. Fun too.

Strange Situation Here At Work

My company is paying for a bunch of improvements to the office, which means that a bunch of construction-type guys have been around the office for a few weeks. One of these painters looks exactly like this guy who works here, only dirtier. They look so much alike that everyone points it out, because to not point it out would seem absurd. The guy who works here is one of the neat freak anal retentive types, who always wears a perfectly ironed shirt tucked into perfectly pleated pants. Not a hair on his head is out of place, and his shoes are always shiny.

What is amusing is that he gets seriously offended when people point this out. He will not deny the resemblance to the dirty painter, but he will deny any association. Which is both weird and obvious. Of course we do not mistake the painter for the anal retentive guy, nor do think less of the anal retentive guy because of his resemblance to the painter. But it seems like the anal retentive guy thinks less of himself because of his resemblance to the painter. It’s almost as if he has some carefully crafted image of himself, that he reinforces by controlling his image, and the comparisons to his dirty doppelganger crack the facade he’s built for himself. Of course we don’t care that he looks like the painter, but this guy clearly does. Any time someone cracks a joke or makes a comment about the painter, he freaks out a little bit more, which of course only encourages us to further make the comments and jokes. I wouldn’t be surprised to see an all out meltdown unless this project wraps up soon.

Morning Thoughts

It’s become a bit of a cultural cliche to say that a person might spend more time at work to escape an unhappy home life. That is a reality I cannot imagine. No matter how bad things are at home, I think I would still rather be there than at work. Or perhaps it is a sad commentary on how little I care about my job, that the worst case scenario for home life is still more appealing that being at work. Or maybe my job just sucks that bad. I dunno, just thinking out loud…

Verdict: Not Ready For Kids

One of my best friends revealed today that his wife is pregnant. He and I are a lot alike. My immediate reaction was devastation. That feeling has not dissipated. If I heard that news from my wife today…well let’s just say I wouldn’t be crying tears of joy.

Finally Time To Admit This

After my last job, I really wanted a boss who I liked, and more importantly, who liked me. For a long time, it seemed like I had that here. He was hands off, letting me do my thing without bothering me too much. He was open to listening to frustrations and (at times) offered good advice. He looked the other way on long lunches and late arrivals. All of this stuff allowed me to overlook a major, major issue with him. The guy is a grade-A mook.

I am not even entirely sure how to define a mook, other than to say that it just fits him. He is loud, sometimes obnoxious, always dominating conversations. Laughs loud and hard. As I reported earlier this week, referred to The Olive Garden as “The Garden”. Gets intense about stuff where intensity is not needed. Gets pissed about people not working hard, then leaves early to golf. All in all, a mook. That’s all there is to say about it.

I Do Not Tolerate My Coworkers Stupid Jokes

It’s a cold, rainy day today. One of my coworkers came in from smoking and said “Days like today remind of a certain Guns ‘n’ Roses song”. Lame.

So I responded, “Yeah totally…Sweet Child o Mine.” Before he could correct me, I went on: “Patience? Welcome to the Jungle? Paradise City? Oh I know, Chinese Democracy.”

He was somewhat confused at this point. “Uh, wrong. Try November Rain. Duh.”

“Pfft. It’s December. Duh”.

You know what sucks?

When you come home for lunch and make something boring like a sandwich, eat 3/4 of it, and then remember you had leftover pizza in the fridge.

Solution: Double lunch!