Category: Working

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I hate office politics

Office PoliticsI always have… Well not always, there was a time when I was square in the middle of it. 

I grew up, and decided that I liked just going to work, doing my job, then coming home.

Unfortunately the company I work for is not so enlightened.

Virtually every single Supervisor is about screwing over every one else in their climb to the top of the so called food chain. The backstabbing and sheer viciousness of the politics amazes even me.

For those of you that know me well, that’s saying something.

Earlier this week we lost a person that was hard working and efficient. This loss was due in equal parts to the incompetence of supervisor, the vindictiveness of a manager, and pride of a director.

Office politics masterThere may have been a smidgeon of blame to spread on the person that was fired, only because this person was dedicated and wanted only to do the best job they knew how to do. Regrettably, that often meant telling superiors that their understanding of a particular issue was limited, then explaining why some things had grown organically the way they had.

This was not resistance to change, it was pointing out that making a decision without all the facts could lead to a bad end. In this case, the Government slapping fines on the company for noncompliance with certain regulations.

Arrogance, Pride, and overreaction meant that this innocent, hard working person was fired.

I know that my current circumstances are not unique. This kind of bullshit plays out all day every day across corporate America.

From the directorate level to the supervisory level, middle managers play out Machiavellian games with employees who just want to do their jobs and go home – often serving as unwitting pawns and paying the price of losses with their jobs.

This shit hasn’t changed in 1000 years. At one time it was Kings and their Courts sending peasants out to fight for a cause they were little aware of, and had less care about.

Office politics 1The Kings generally speaking are gone. Their legacy continues in corporations and it’s magnified 1000 fold.

Environments like these are full of intrigue, subterfuge, and secrets.

When the intrigue and machinations are at a fever pitch and everyone is suspicious of everyone else…

Well that’s when things are ripe for conquest.

The “wrong” information in the “right” ear at the right time can cause a cascade of destruction. 

That’s where I find myself now.

I’m sitting in a powder keg and I’ve got a book of matches.

I’ve fought my nature for 30 years. I’ve actively sought peace and avoided office politics, usually to my detriment.

I’ve spent the past two years watching this mess develop and suddenly find myself in the unique position of having enough money in the bank to weather a storm.  And I’ve got matches… (metaphorically speaking)

Another week or two and I think the time will come when I start lighting shit up.

The funniest part of this is that I’m not going to be doing it for gain. No promotion, no raise, nothing at all, except the pure joy of watching a bunch of animals devour each other and destroy all they’ve built.

“Winter is coming.”

This is probably going to be a lot of fun…

Yes my friends, I’m listening to my darker angels.

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It’s a new day

IMG 0877Cool and quiet.

Even the dog isn’t snoring. The coffee pot spits and gurgles making that magic wakeup juice.

I pour a cup and go sit for a time on the deck. People around the town are beginning to rise. I can hear distant car engines starting, and the slight hiss of water from the shower at the neighbor’s place.

The Doctor next door must have an early shift today. We keep missing each other. He’s been wanting to have a conversation for a month or so about something but we’re always passing each other.

Well here I am just a couple years shy of 60. Who’d have thought? I figured I’d be dead sometime in my 30s of 40s but apparently I wised up.

I find myself thinking about a lot of things. Where I am, where I’ve been, where I still want to go. Not just in the physical sense of places, but in terms of life. 

Two years ago I joined the company I’m working for with the intention of re-starting my career in SQA. Seemed like a good idea at the time and while the income wasn’t great. It provided income, and the promise of restarting my career and making things better. That promise, as it turns out was a lie. 

I’ve re-evaluated that arrangement and come up short. At my age with little retirement aside from social security, and a mountain of debt. I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t have any more time to devote to a company that refuses to allow me to make any moves. It’s time to take what I want and stop asking.

10 years, that’s what I’ve got left before I can retire. 10 years to get situated so that I can look forward to something beyond surviving on cat food in my old age. 

Time to get frosty and stop being a nice comfortable doormat.  I’ve tried being nice, I’ve tried being competent and hard working, I’ve tried being honest, & decent. In truth, I’m more comfortable being these things. But that doesn’t mean I can’t become a monster.

Time to try something different.

I’m thinking it’s time to be as Machiavellian as all the rest of the bastards.

I know I can do it better, faster, and with more style than any of the people I currently work for. I’m equally sure that I can match or exceed anyone else in any other company I might choose to work for.

Time to stop being victimized, and instead of walking away… Time to start making victims.

I’ll sleep well at night. Generally speaking, I’ve come to believe most people are pretty damn useless. There are a few people that are worth the air they breathe, but by and large most of the population of this planet are cattle. I don’t fret over eating a steak. I won’t fret over destroying a few careers.

IMG 0876Someone once told me that I use my intellect as a defense. I keep most people at arms length with it. He was right. It was a valid observation, but it occurs to me that I can use that same intellect to go on the offense.

So, today I’m freeing my evil side. No remorse, no conscience, no regrets, no morality.

If someone is too stupid, or too blinded by greed or desire, and are of use to me I’ll happily feed them to the gristmill so long as I rise in power, income, and achieve my goals.

I used to believe that if you worked hard and did the right thing, you’d get ahead by simple merit. That’s not the way our world works anymore, if it ever did. Now it’s about politics, ass kissing, riding coat-tails, then abandoning people who helped you get where you are, when they become liabilities. 

I’m thinking I’m going to make the folks who have victimized me and so many others pay. I’m going to make them regret waking up my evil and it starts today.

I’ll sleep well, knowing I’ve chosen what I want instead of someone else using me to achieve their goals.  Make no mistake, I’ll not only bite the hand that feeds me, I’ll take the entire arm, eat it, and suck the marrow from the bones.

I’ve been the dog chained in the yard, being tormented into becoming vicious. I suppose that today, I’ve broken the chain and I’m going to turn on my tormentors.

If you’re honorable, you’re safe. If you’re a corporate climber leaving a trail of tears in your wake, beware, because I’m coming for you. Tomorrow at work will be fun!

Fair Warning.

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Is this all there is?

I guess most people find themselves asking that question from time to time.

I’ve been asking it a lot lately. I suppose I’m luckier than some in that I’ve got a job and a home. But what I’m doing is so unfulfilling that perhaps I’m asking that question a little bit more than usual these days.

The unspoken part of the question is, “What would your prefer, if not what you have?”

(C) DKendal

That’s the really had part of the question.

What would I like to do in place of what I’m doing? The obvious answer, is being wealthy and not having to work.

Back here on Planet Earth…

We need to work, honestly we need something to keep us busy.

I get that, but shouldn’t something we spend so much time doing at least make us feel good about having done the job?

That’s the problem I’m having. The job I’m in is menial at best. There’s little thought that needs to go into it anymore. The issues can be categorized into really one of 6 or 7 common problems. Everyone describes their problem in the most obtuse manner and at first listen, it sounds very complicated. After you cut away all the bullshit the problems people contact us about always fall into the same 6 or 7 categories.

Hence the problem. Boredom

On a larger scale, beyond just the job I’m not doing a lot of the things that I used to do. Part of that is income related, part of it is friendship related, and part of it is simply that I’m tired.

I had expectations that at this point in my life I’d be winding down and charting my course for retirement.

Whoops!

Guess that plan is shot to hell.

I thought that even if I was heading to retirement I’d at least be doing something that I generally liked doing and if I put off the retirement date a couple of years I’d still be happy doing the job.

What I couldn’t see was the extended unemployment, and finally landing a job at a truly awful place that bores the crap out of me.

Try as I might, finding another job has gotten much harder. I’m wondering if it is due to my age, or if it’s just that California is played out.

Could be a bit of both… or Neither. I don’t have an endless network of friends to bounce those kinds of ideas off of.

What I do know is that it’s getting harder and harder for me to get up, get dressed, and come into this shitty place every morning.

Of course the fear is that “THIS” kind of mind numbing boredom is all there is. God, if that’s true… take me now.