J.O.B.

"Oh, you hate your job? Why didn't you say so? There's a support group for that. It's called everybody, and they meet at the bar."
- Drew Carey

In case you missed this quote from the comments section of my last, overly abrasive rant about jobs, well, here it is. I love it. It reminds me (as does C) that I shouldn't get so negative about it all--or at least, try to be a little more humorous about it. No one wants to read that, just like one doesn't want to be stuck next to the depressing drunk on a buzz-killing tangent on a late night...

Anyways...

Love that quote.
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Addendum:
Not saying you should take some "b.s." but that it is important to let stuff roll off your back. Dust your shoulders off, suggests Jay-Z. If you like your line of work overall, don't let some prick ruin it for you. Keep on keepin' on. Weigh the pros and cons. If the pros win, just know at the end of a day or week, you get to complain about it to the people who love you--you might even score a beer or foot massage if you have the best story. Amanda, I owe you a beer.

Work

Busting my ass at work - didn't get home until 11PM last night. I have super mixed feelings about all of it. Beautiful sunny day before a week of expected rain - perfect for planting 530 trees and getting sunburns. Working hard, pulling your weight, and giving extra effort can be rewarding in some ways or demeaning in others. I spent a lot of time agonizing over the tensions that characterize employer-employee relationships: expectations and effort... I thought about all the stupid decisions my boss was making, and focusing on all the things he wasn't doing. I was over-simplifying everything. When I realized late in the day that I was just going to have my ass busted until sundown, I stopped fighting it and relaxed a bit. I decided to stick to it, I also chose to enjoy a sit-down dinner with my coworkers instead of rushing home--it definitely made the day more pleasurable.

Working for someone else is hard, emotionally, especially if your only motivation is money.
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And I didn't have to experience this, but no one at any job should make you feel like shit, and especially not tear you down in front of anyone else. That's some pointless, hateful, demeaning bullshit. Any person that thinks they can bully someone below them needs to be set straight Unfortunately, people with delusions of grandeur do have the power to abuse and the authority to keep people in check with fear. Is the job worth it?

Pic update

trading "pictures" with Quinn

Bike Life

Sometimes, this is what I want life to be like
Rapha Tour of California Short Films

Humpday

At work I've been increasingly bored with what I'm doing and because of what I'm not doing. I think the warmer weather is getting me anxious to be outside or at home getting some Spring Cleaning done. The rain has made each day pretty gloomy and I'm frustrated that I haven't figured out what I need to make my rain barrel yet. I hope I can get it done before next year...

This weekend will be a nice, long, relaxing weekend at home

Chaos + Backyard Farming

I have a lot of work to do, but wanted to jot (jought?) some stuff down.

- C is an amazing cook and excels at Italian food. And cookies.
- Chocolate soy milk is freaking wonderful.
- Got a lot of work done in the garden this weekend - back breaking work including breaking up lawn, removing grass (sod?), dividing and moving plants, laying nearly 2 cubic yards of mulch, and making it look BOMB
- Hung out with family yesterday, including a dirt-loving toddler

- I am sort-of involved with a pilot program about sustainable living which involves reading a guide book and doing some activities. Long-explanation omitted, there was a brief section about food. One important point the authors made was about the importance of eating food that looks like food. For example: an apple/orange (fruit), rice (grain), lettuce (veggies)... The more your food looks less like it did when it was born, it's probably not as good for you (relatively speaking)... Interesting thought.

- I've got sugar snap peas and lettuce popping out of the ground--we're supposed to get frost tonight here in Ohio. Meanwhile, I REALLY need to start my basil, cilantro, swiss chard, and parsley inside immediately - hopefully tonight. We're losing time! For anyone interested in starting plants indoors, I've found that putting my flat (which includes a clear plastic top) at a south-facing window is working well. The table it sits on is over a heat register and on cold days & nights, the warmth is probably helping it stay at or above 60 degrees (65-70 is optimal)