Going South

Haven't gone away during March Break for years..not since the kids were small, and now unexpectedly I find that I am going to fly to the place of palm trees, sandy beaches, swimming pools and bright sunny days. I am thinking that with all our recent precipitation, I need to have a super duper powerful pair of sunglasses to prevent having difficulty when engaging in anything ambulatory. I will not need to avoid puddles anymore than I will need to beware of slush and/or black ice, all of which can be a shock to the eyes and to the feet as well. How foolish would I look stepping high to avoid the obvious and flat paved surfaces? My feet will have to feel their way around the sand and this will be done in the absence of the cloddy boots I have worn non-stop since December. I will need to leave the heavy parka, scarf, hat and mitts behind and get reacquainted with the lighter version of myself who can just walk out the door in jeans and a tee shirt. I wonder how I will fare with all those extra layers suddenly gone. I could easily blow away were a sudden sou'wester to come from out of nowhere and I am wondering how best to anchor myself so I do not feel out of my winter element. Flying into the same time zone does not of course result in any manner of jet lag, but what about jet 'perception'? The truth is that this is certainly a going concern when flying south from a home which is still under the thumb of Old Man Winter. I am going to do some research now to find out what to do to avoid this side affect, then I will be flying south better equipped to deal with the sudden shock of beautiful summery weather.

Say What You Have To Say

Yesterday a 'friend' at work decided to accept a position in another company. No, my friend wasn't looking to make any major changes in his life, but when he was given his assignment for 2011-12, he found that leaving was the only option, given that his new assignment was totally implausible and quite ridiculous. While you may be wondering if my friend had delusions of his own importance and if ego played a part in his decision, let me assure you that this is the farthest thing from the truth. The real story is that my friend, the voice of reason and sanity in our workplace has been a veritable thorn in our new boss' side. We his colleagues who while not utter buffoons, have nothing on our colleague's brain power and so it fell to him to be our conscience, to keep it all on the straight and for our boss, too narrow. When you work with a group of people who are easily divided ergo easily conquered, that old model of 'uber boss' is able to thrive and march on unchecked in her quest to ensure that her underlings tow whatever party-line said boss espouses and woe be to anyone who dares to point out even one single sensible,humane and palpable alternative. It matters not at all that the 'pointing out' is always done 'respectfully' the boss does not do well with any type of stop gap checks so now you will understand how my friend met his fate. Under the 'umbrella' of "there's nothing I can do" about your job, my hands are tied, my friend was effectively forced out. Talk about feeling powerless...it is interesting that my friend had no power to change anything anymore than his colleagues and I had any power to change anything. The only one with the power is our boss who absolutely did have multiple options available but chose instead to be cruelly 'creative' when offering my friend a position which was not only nonsensical, it was also nowhere close to being in his field of expertise. We all know that our boss has confidence issues but at some point even she needs to admit that she will never have enough digits to plug all the holes she perceives. The bottom line is the saddest of all. We lose an invaluable member of our crew, and I lose the joy of having him be part of my day to day life at work. Now that I am older, I see some things a little differently. I no longer believe that we can change every important outcome if we speak out and make our true and valid points. I do however feel the need to express what I feel and to make those true and valid statements. I am not afraid of fallout nearly as much as I fear not saying what in my heart I know needs to be said.

Never

Haven't we all at some point or other been advised against using the word 'never'? That almost over-used warning; "never say never" is all too often an admonishment, should we slip, and after years of brainwashing I know that whenever I dare to use it, I feel a tiny pang of worry. I do not worry about the actual use of the word, I do however worry that I will not be able to do it justice once it has left my lips. If I cannot redeem myself and stick to my guns then why bother to speak at all? I can swear off late night eating and say that I will never again have that last bowl of ice cream prior to lights out, but can I stick to my word? I can say that I will never be overly critical of anyone I work with but that is purely good intent and definitely not etched in stone no matter how emphatically I might have said it. I can say that I will not bother with anyone who has revealed themselves to be ultra selfish, but to say that I will never speak to them again is far from the sublime..it is in fact much closer to the ridiculous. I can say that I will never go to bed angry and never wake up still angry but everyone knows that upon leaving the heaviness of deep sleep there is too little control to make that 'never' stick. In short, after much reflection which I 'never' really like to engage in, there seems to be only a few 'nevers' in my life that are genuine and true and I am actually glad about this. I recognize that in fact I can say it and mean it when I say I will never climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, I can mean it when I say that I will never bungee jump anymore than I will dance ballet or sing opera, but I cannot say never to karaoke, as I may revisit that one although until recently, karaoke was well protected under the never umbrella. Now you've guessed it..my never realm is inhabited by a multitude of things which frighten me.They will remain there until/unless I can find a way back to fearless, when I NEVER said never.