I've been increasingly upset with work. Our secretary got tired and disgusted with our ogre of a boss and she quit. So, now, I have to also be a secretary. It's not a very good arrangement. He was screaming and swearing at his wife on the phone and I knew it was going to be a very long day. We got into an argument, so then he got up and left the office and went across the street to the bar. Must be nice. I responded by going up to my friend and co-worker, John, and said, "Well, ain't I a son of a bitch! I drove him out of the office and into the bar. " John laughed and said, "Thanks, Vince". Of course we knew that he would be back and he was 1/2 hr. later. I'm so disgusted with that workplace. Have you ever hated going someplace so much that you felt like you were literally walking into pain??
Of course there's another way to look at this problem. It's rarely good to feel sorry for yourself. The focus needs to be on the solution, not the problem. Another thing I have been thinking about is the people who have it worse than I.
Right now there's tens of thousands of troops overseas. Undoubtedly, there's an enlisted person angry and frustrated with his/her superior, whether it's a seargent, lieutenant or whoever. The point is they can't say to their boss, "I quit, I'm leaving because you're an asshole!" They can't spend their free time sending resumes out to potential employers with the hope of finding a better place to work w/ more pay a month later. Those troops with the bad superior have to spend more time with that superior than I have to spend w/ my boss.
I can feel bad that the 1 1/2 years I've been at the firm seems like a decade. I can lament that I spend 45 hrs. a week at a place I dislike but what about a look back in history? What about all those men and women who worked for a nasty dictator like Josef Stalin or Mao Tse-Tung?
Do you think anybody ever came up to Josef Stalin and said, "You've been hell to work for, Comrade Stalin. I request a transfer!" He would have got a quick transfer with a .22 caliber bullet. There were millions of people who worked their ass off for Stalin and Tse-Tung (and their respective countries) only to be disgraced and executed over some cockamanie, petty bullshit. Anybody out there ever read Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler? That book does a far better job than I explaining the plight of the Soviets at the Kremlin. With that in mind, I guess I better change websites and look for more paralegal vacancies so I can send some more resumes.
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Thursday, June 16, 2005
a small victory
My ex-wife and I finally got our youngest toilet trained. For those of you without kids. That's huge in a number of ways. Diapers cost anywhere from $10-20 a pack. They go through a couple of packs a month and you can see there's a huge money savings per year. Plus, they can't clean themselves after they dirty their diaper so there is the work to be done and the odor that's in the wastebasket.
Yes, I played a role in getting her trained; not as much as her mom but I reminded her and bought a foam toilet seat for her (so she wouldn't fall through the adult-size hole in the toilet ring. Anyway, she is going to get a nice reward- a portable small pool which her and her older brothers can share in. I am always very happy when this moment occurs, and in their short lives, I am never so proud of them, at that point, as when they are toilet trained.
Yes, I played a role in getting her trained; not as much as her mom but I reminded her and bought a foam toilet seat for her (so she wouldn't fall through the adult-size hole in the toilet ring. Anyway, she is going to get a nice reward- a portable small pool which her and her older brothers can share in. I am always very happy when this moment occurs, and in their short lives, I am never so proud of them, at that point, as when they are toilet trained.
Friday, June 10, 2005
Better news with the Blues
After a rotten day at work, it was nice to go to the Chicago Blue Fest and see John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers with special guest, Mick Taylor. Mick Taylor has a very illustrious musical history that deserves to be retold. Mick was with John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers in the middle 60s until 1969. Meanwhile, the Rolling Stones could not go on tour with Brian Jones (founder and rhythm guitarist) as Brian was wasting away on drugs. Finally in 1969, they fired him and a few weeks later he was found dead in his pool. Around the time the Stones fired Jones, Mick Jagger spoke with John Mayall who just disbanded the Bluesbreakers for awhile. Mayall suggested an outstanding blues guitarist from his band, Mick Taylor.
Conventional wisdom is that the Stones' 4 best albums were released consecutively. They are Beggars Banquet ('68), Let It Bleed (69'), Sticky Fingers ('71) and Exile on Main St. ('72). Mick Taylor played on 3 out of these 4 albums. While no one will say, Mick Taylor was THE reason why the Stones put out 3 great albums, many will say that his guitar playing was a vital contribution to the Stones apotheosis during the years 1969-1972 (especially on Sticky Fingers !). Taylor left in 74 or 75 due to fighting with Keith and the Glimmer Twins notoriously, stingy reluctance to share writing credits with anyone but themselves.
Anyway, back to the June 9 concert. John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers is, of course, a great band even without Mick Taylor. At one point in the 60s, Eric Clapton was the lead guitarist. At the concert, they favored long jams on their songs rather than playing many songs. Due to the format of this free show, they were only playing for slightly over an hour. The Bluesbreakers' regular lead guitarist, some great guitarist from Texas started the show and ran the band. 1 or 2 songs later, John Mayall ran onto the stage in a grand entrance and played harmonica, keyboards and sang almost all the lead vocals. 20-40 minutes into the show, Mick Taylor came out to a rousing ovation and lo and behold MICK TAYLOR SANG A SONG for the appreciative tens of thousands who were in attendance. He sang "You Shook Me" made famous by Led Zeppelin but as Mick explained in his soft, but guttural English accent, the song was written by Howlin' Wolf.
Mick Taylor did not look like "young Mick" of the late 60s and early 70s. He still has very long hair which usually hid his eyes, yet he gained between 50-100 lbs. since he last played with the Stones. (By the way, yours truly has gained a shade under 100 lbs since I ran the 2 mile run in track under 12 minutes which was 24 yrs. ago. When I told Ava that I was only 150 lbs. as a senior, she wondered if I was anorexic). But the artist formerly known as "young Mick" certainly hasn't lost any of his guitar virtuosity. Another highlight of the show was hearing him and the band do "All Your Loving". The band sounded great and thanks to their music, my spirits were lifted after having such an awful day at work.
Conventional wisdom is that the Stones' 4 best albums were released consecutively. They are Beggars Banquet ('68), Let It Bleed (69'), Sticky Fingers ('71) and Exile on Main St. ('72). Mick Taylor played on 3 out of these 4 albums. While no one will say, Mick Taylor was THE reason why the Stones put out 3 great albums, many will say that his guitar playing was a vital contribution to the Stones apotheosis during the years 1969-1972 (especially on Sticky Fingers !). Taylor left in 74 or 75 due to fighting with Keith and the Glimmer Twins notoriously, stingy reluctance to share writing credits with anyone but themselves.
Anyway, back to the June 9 concert. John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers is, of course, a great band even without Mick Taylor. At one point in the 60s, Eric Clapton was the lead guitarist. At the concert, they favored long jams on their songs rather than playing many songs. Due to the format of this free show, they were only playing for slightly over an hour. The Bluesbreakers' regular lead guitarist, some great guitarist from Texas started the show and ran the band. 1 or 2 songs later, John Mayall ran onto the stage in a grand entrance and played harmonica, keyboards and sang almost all the lead vocals. 20-40 minutes into the show, Mick Taylor came out to a rousing ovation and lo and behold MICK TAYLOR SANG A SONG for the appreciative tens of thousands who were in attendance. He sang "You Shook Me" made famous by Led Zeppelin but as Mick explained in his soft, but guttural English accent, the song was written by Howlin' Wolf.
Mick Taylor did not look like "young Mick" of the late 60s and early 70s. He still has very long hair which usually hid his eyes, yet he gained between 50-100 lbs. since he last played with the Stones. (By the way, yours truly has gained a shade under 100 lbs since I ran the 2 mile run in track under 12 minutes which was 24 yrs. ago. When I told Ava that I was only 150 lbs. as a senior, she wondered if I was anorexic). But the artist formerly known as "young Mick" certainly hasn't lost any of his guitar virtuosity. Another highlight of the show was hearing him and the band do "All Your Loving". The band sounded great and thanks to their music, my spirits were lifted after having such an awful day at work.
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
Deepthroat, not the movie
As many of you know, it has been revealed that W. Mark Felt was the man that helped Bob Woodward in his reporting of the Watergate scandal which brought down the Nixon administration. What I find curious, if not a little annoying, is the following. How can anyone refer to Mr. Felt as a villain??? Let's review the facts:
1. Subordinates of Nixon authorized and hired former CIA and armed services men to break into the Watergate Hotel where the Democratic headquarters were.
2. Although Nixon did not personally direct the burglary, he was aware of and involved in the cover up. (If you disagree, then read the transcript of the infamous tapes, especially the one where Nixon asks how much it will cost to get rid of the scandal and John Dean replies that it would be $1 million to which Nixon replies that money could be gotten).
3. It was the cover up that forced Nixon to resign and many of his subordinates to wind up in prison after their convictions for obstructing justice.
So, obviously, the Nixon administration was involved in wrongdoing. The Washington Post, led by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward reported the Watergate scandal. Since there was an active effort by the White House to hide the facts, Mr. Felt, "Deepthroat", helped Woodward "get to the bottom" of the scandal.
Now, if you are a person who helps reveal a crime or helps reveal a scandal, I certainly don't see how you can be depicted as a villain. Obviously, it would have been a lot easier to look the other way and go on about his business and not tell anyone what was going on. But that's how strong and partisan feelings run even after 32 years. The ones from the Nixon crowd who call Mr. Felt a villain are far too partisan to call him anything else remotely objective.
1. Subordinates of Nixon authorized and hired former CIA and armed services men to break into the Watergate Hotel where the Democratic headquarters were.
2. Although Nixon did not personally direct the burglary, he was aware of and involved in the cover up. (If you disagree, then read the transcript of the infamous tapes, especially the one where Nixon asks how much it will cost to get rid of the scandal and John Dean replies that it would be $1 million to which Nixon replies that money could be gotten).
3. It was the cover up that forced Nixon to resign and many of his subordinates to wind up in prison after their convictions for obstructing justice.
So, obviously, the Nixon administration was involved in wrongdoing. The Washington Post, led by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward reported the Watergate scandal. Since there was an active effort by the White House to hide the facts, Mr. Felt, "Deepthroat", helped Woodward "get to the bottom" of the scandal.
Now, if you are a person who helps reveal a crime or helps reveal a scandal, I certainly don't see how you can be depicted as a villain. Obviously, it would have been a lot easier to look the other way and go on about his business and not tell anyone what was going on. But that's how strong and partisan feelings run even after 32 years. The ones from the Nixon crowd who call Mr. Felt a villain are far too partisan to call him anything else remotely objective.
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