It’s Only Rock and Roll But I Like It

Sysiphus was an ancient Greek king who for his crimes against the gods was banished to Tartarus to endlessly roll a huge boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back down again, throughout eternity.

On every Monday morning, we know how the old king must have felt. There at least are no dark shadows and moaning shades in our brightly lit offices, and no three-headed hound to prevent our departure at the close of the day, not counting the noisy sales group in the conference room, and that guy from accounting with the annoying laugh.

But our work is never-ending. We create a report or build a database, or process forms or handle the needs of the public, and when one day ends, the next will await us with more of the same. Unceasing drudgery.

But is it really? Oh, it can be tiresome, it can be the same old thing every day. And if we bring none of our own joy to it, it can be cheerless. But it pays our bills. It feeds us, and when the day is done, we can take to our home and hearth a sense that, whether or not it was the most enjoyable way to spend our day or the most glamorous of vocations, it has given us a sense of purpose, and some sense of accomplishment. These are not trivial things.

Our work does not define us; we define our work, or at least we should. So let Mondays be a little less dreary, and let us welcome each new day’s chance to do our work just a little bit better. If we do it well, then we have placed our own stamp upon it, and we can take some comfort in the knowledge that the world perhaps was made a little better by our unsung exertions.

But then again…it is Monday….

Bowling Balls and Beer, Carols and Corporate Parties

I spent the afternoon bowling with my coworkers at our department Christmas party. I found out two things: I am lousy at corporate parties, and I am so out of shape I can’t bowl without hurting myself. Also, I am very competitive, and a lousy loser, but I knew that already.

After the first game of “Wacky Bowl”…don’t ask…and watching my compatriots having a huge laugh and lot’s of fun, I began to wonder what the heck is wrong with me. I mean, I had a nice time, but I can never just let loose with people who will be reviewing my work performance, or deciding whether my job will still exist when the company next considers downsizing.

Am I paranoid, or what?

There is another issue: the corporate culture includes a alcohol, which kind of leaves me out. Oh, I have no objection to a drink, but as a diabetic, and as someone who dare not get to feeling “handsome and bulletproof”, as my elder brother describes it, with people who might…see above. Anyway, I can’t drink alcohol without trying to count carbs and test my blood sugar, and the fact is that I never, ever liked the feeling of being out of control. Thanks to insulin shock, I know a little too well what it’s like to wake up not quite sure where you are, or what just happened, or what you might have done. No one this afternoon was that far gone, but, well, I’ve never been able to just drink a beer and not be careful…or not since the grafted pancreas went south. So even the relaxing effects of alcohol are denied me.

Plus, of course, I’ve never really had a good head for it.

Maybe I’ll take up bowling. It’s not a bad sport, and if I get some shoes that actually fit…and stretch a lot before I start, perhaps I can be ready the next time we do the corporate bowling-thing.

Or I could just continue to sit around and become just like my very dead father.

Hmm. Tough choice.

Not.