Story #23: Food for thought, more free flowers, Coffee @ Cafe on the Ave, Dinner, and quiet time
From Richard Higgison's Questions of Business Life:
1. Feudalism: You have two cows. Your lord takes some of the milk.
2. Fascism: You have two cows. The government takes both, hires you to take care of them, and sells you the milk.
3. Communism: You have two cows. You must take care of them, but the government takes all the milk.
4. Capitalism: You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull. Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows. You sell them and retire on the income.
5. Enron Capitalism: You have two cows. You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of credit opened by your brother-in-law at the bank, then create a debt equity swap with an associated general offer so that you can get all four cows back, with a tax exemption for five cows. The milk rights of the six cows are transferred through an intermediary shareholder, who sells the rights to all seven cows back to your listed company. The Enron annual report says the company owns eight cows, with an option on one more.
The free flower this time was a thistle. I figured this time I’d give it to the first male stranger I met (Braveheart, which is an amazing movie, and which I have watched recently, causes me to automatically think that thistles are somehow a masculine flower).
Went to Café on the Ave, handed it to the male baristas behind the counter (they were really surprised yet pleased), and engaged in a conversation with them as well as another female customer regarding Point 5.
All three of them were students. Asked them what their goals and dreams in life were. One (Barista #1) was a biology major, wasn’t sure yet what he wanted to do in life. Neither was his friend (Barista #2). Girl customer wanted to travel.
We discussed Point #5: I told them how I like to sit in a certain café downtown by the busy business district, observing the clientele around quitting time (after 5 P.M.; and because it’s Seattle and people get offended if a stranger stares at them too long, I wear my dark sunglasses). Oftentimes you will see very well dressed businessmen and women coming in after a long day of work to “relax” by drinking large quantities of very expensive extra shot mochas (don’t ask me why), and pull out their laptops… to work some more. I don’t understand. They have just worked for eight hours or more in a cubicle, and they create a NEW cubicle by opening up their laptops, turning the volume up on their iPods, and shutting themselves off from the world. And frighteningly enough, they are sitting right next to somebody who is dressed identically and doing the SAME THING.
Occasionally, I will sit down right next to one of them (and this always invokes a reaction of being intruded upon). More often than not, if there is an empty table ANYWHERE in the café, they will look to it, and look at me quizzically. 50% of the time, the person who had just been so diligently typing away will suddenly remember the rain gutters they need to demagnetize (get away from this crazy lady who’s trying to communicate with me!).
The other 50% are willing to at least talk. I find that while many seem to be leading rich lives outside of work, many of them are workaholics (I can identify) and are without children (don’t have time, though would looove to have kids someday… though many are women who admit they are pushing 40+ and having biological kids is starting to become out of the question). A couple of them revealed to me that they’re going through bouts of depression because of the horrendous stress at work and the lack of direction that many of them are finding.
I find this tragic.
Baristas #1 and #2 told me that they see the same thing happen in their café, only in the context of students. They told me that often the students will look pretty miserable.
I don’t write this to condemn others, nor do I claim that ALL corporate workers (or students!) are like this. However, I originally entered the business school with the sole intention of becoming a high powered, highly paid corporate woman to whom a vast number of terrified minions would answer and to whom statues and monuments would be raised.
I’ve gradually realized how empty my life would soon become (barren of children, whom I love, and barren of someone else I’m desperately trying to love the most). I still realize that everything I do, even charity work, is done with the selfish intent to self-glorify and turn into a monster, and it is only the quality of the honest relationships with friends around me that keeps me from becoming completely evil.
Spent the next few minutes mulling this over while I headed over to my friend Alison, with whom I promised to help cook dinner; shared a meal with her and her housemates, whom I am getting to know much better. One of them loves to hike. One of them likes musical theater (and has a wonderful voice to match!). One of them is an engineer who’s working with a bioengineering team to create a mechanical glove that will aid in life-saving surgeries. I encouraged him to enter it into the annual Business Plan Competition.
1. Feudalism: You have two cows. Your lord takes some of the milk.
2. Fascism: You have two cows. The government takes both, hires you to take care of them, and sells you the milk.
3. Communism: You have two cows. You must take care of them, but the government takes all the milk.
4. Capitalism: You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull. Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows. You sell them and retire on the income.
5. Enron Capitalism: You have two cows. You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of credit opened by your brother-in-law at the bank, then create a debt equity swap with an associated general offer so that you can get all four cows back, with a tax exemption for five cows. The milk rights of the six cows are transferred through an intermediary shareholder, who sells the rights to all seven cows back to your listed company. The Enron annual report says the company owns eight cows, with an option on one more.
The free flower this time was a thistle. I figured this time I’d give it to the first male stranger I met (Braveheart, which is an amazing movie, and which I have watched recently, causes me to automatically think that thistles are somehow a masculine flower).
Went to Café on the Ave, handed it to the male baristas behind the counter (they were really surprised yet pleased), and engaged in a conversation with them as well as another female customer regarding Point 5.
All three of them were students. Asked them what their goals and dreams in life were. One (Barista #1) was a biology major, wasn’t sure yet what he wanted to do in life. Neither was his friend (Barista #2). Girl customer wanted to travel.
We discussed Point #5: I told them how I like to sit in a certain café downtown by the busy business district, observing the clientele around quitting time (after 5 P.M.; and because it’s Seattle and people get offended if a stranger stares at them too long, I wear my dark sunglasses). Oftentimes you will see very well dressed businessmen and women coming in after a long day of work to “relax” by drinking large quantities of very expensive extra shot mochas (don’t ask me why), and pull out their laptops… to work some more. I don’t understand. They have just worked for eight hours or more in a cubicle, and they create a NEW cubicle by opening up their laptops, turning the volume up on their iPods, and shutting themselves off from the world. And frighteningly enough, they are sitting right next to somebody who is dressed identically and doing the SAME THING.
Occasionally, I will sit down right next to one of them (and this always invokes a reaction of being intruded upon). More often than not, if there is an empty table ANYWHERE in the café, they will look to it, and look at me quizzically. 50% of the time, the person who had just been so diligently typing away will suddenly remember the rain gutters they need to demagnetize (get away from this crazy lady who’s trying to communicate with me!).
The other 50% are willing to at least talk. I find that while many seem to be leading rich lives outside of work, many of them are workaholics (I can identify) and are without children (don’t have time, though would looove to have kids someday… though many are women who admit they are pushing 40+ and having biological kids is starting to become out of the question). A couple of them revealed to me that they’re going through bouts of depression because of the horrendous stress at work and the lack of direction that many of them are finding.
I find this tragic.
Baristas #1 and #2 told me that they see the same thing happen in their café, only in the context of students. They told me that often the students will look pretty miserable.
I don’t write this to condemn others, nor do I claim that ALL corporate workers (or students!) are like this. However, I originally entered the business school with the sole intention of becoming a high powered, highly paid corporate woman to whom a vast number of terrified minions would answer and to whom statues and monuments would be raised.
I’ve gradually realized how empty my life would soon become (barren of children, whom I love, and barren of someone else I’m desperately trying to love the most). I still realize that everything I do, even charity work, is done with the selfish intent to self-glorify and turn into a monster, and it is only the quality of the honest relationships with friends around me that keeps me from becoming completely evil.
Spent the next few minutes mulling this over while I headed over to my friend Alison, with whom I promised to help cook dinner; shared a meal with her and her housemates, whom I am getting to know much better. One of them loves to hike. One of them likes musical theater (and has a wonderful voice to match!). One of them is an engineer who’s working with a bioengineering team to create a mechanical glove that will aid in life-saving surgeries. I encouraged him to enter it into the annual Business Plan Competition.