When life gets in the way.
The other day at work, we were in the middle of morning rush. Basically, "rush" is a group huddle of a dozen employees where a couple managers spout off business figures us commonfolk don't pay much mind to and remind us of things like sell the latest promotions and don't forget the rules. One of the rules the manager brought up at this rush was about "No Call, No Show." It's basically a strike against us if one of these crops up on our CDC's (Community Development Calendar i.e. Permanent Record). It's pretty self explanatory--a No Call, No Show is when we don't call about why we don't show up for the day. The manager went on to say that he can understand if calling in slips our minds or an emergency occurs and prevents us from doing so. But he embodied this sentiment in a phrase something along the lines of "Life gets in the way sometimes" and I immediately thought, 'What an absurd thing to say.'
Imagine that, life getting in the way. Getting in the way of such a menial trudge. Granted, it's a menial trudge that keeps a roof over my head, a late-night-partying bass-bumping sound engineer under my floor, a Netflix account with instant viewing on my Mac, and a phone line with which to instantly view so for that I am, in a word, grateful. But imagine something getting in the way, obstructing your path from diving head first into a garbage disposal. And then someone calmly telling you to make sure you remove this obstruction whenever possible. Or you might lose your job. If this scenario tilts your head to the side with a whatthefuck, then you can imagine the feeling silently evoked in me as I stood among my coworkers.
Life getting in the way. Huh. Then I would have to ask, 'You don't do much living, do you?' Or maybe the appropriate question is 'How does life get in the way? Isn't life everything? Everything that happens?' Isn't it? I am just really boggled, my mind is just really boggled by a man saying this aloud to other people and issuing it as a doctrine. Granted, I know that the words of managers are not often heeded. I'm a first hand witness. But managers are elevated to their positions based on their qualifications which essentially state such persons are certifiably superior to you... are they not? The incompetence of upper management. I am not saying that everyone in an upper management position is incompetent, but certainly this concept is a familiar one. Enron. Fannie Mae. Freddie Mac. Countrywide. The White House from (among other years) 2001-2009. Generally, people in higher positions (however ascribed) are supposed to be those who lead the rest, those whom we aspire to become. Or replace. But in replacing we become because what is a replacement? (n. substitute, equivalent.)
And yet... and yet so many calamities at the few hands in which so many placed their trust. The incompetence of higher management. Just as absurd as the thought of life getting in the way. Why are these things presented as infallible truths and why do we accept them? Because then I can't watch 30 Rock from my Instant Queue.
Imagine that, life getting in the way. Getting in the way of such a menial trudge. Granted, it's a menial trudge that keeps a roof over my head, a late-night-partying bass-bumping sound engineer under my floor, a Netflix account with instant viewing on my Mac, and a phone line with which to instantly view so for that I am, in a word, grateful. But imagine something getting in the way, obstructing your path from diving head first into a garbage disposal. And then someone calmly telling you to make sure you remove this obstruction whenever possible. Or you might lose your job. If this scenario tilts your head to the side with a whatthefuck, then you can imagine the feeling silently evoked in me as I stood among my coworkers.
Life getting in the way. Huh. Then I would have to ask, 'You don't do much living, do you?' Or maybe the appropriate question is 'How does life get in the way? Isn't life everything? Everything that happens?' Isn't it? I am just really boggled, my mind is just really boggled by a man saying this aloud to other people and issuing it as a doctrine. Granted, I know that the words of managers are not often heeded. I'm a first hand witness. But managers are elevated to their positions based on their qualifications which essentially state such persons are certifiably superior to you... are they not? The incompetence of upper management. I am not saying that everyone in an upper management position is incompetent, but certainly this concept is a familiar one. Enron. Fannie Mae. Freddie Mac. Countrywide. The White House from (among other years) 2001-2009. Generally, people in higher positions (however ascribed) are supposed to be those who lead the rest, those whom we aspire to become. Or replace. But in replacing we become because what is a replacement? (n. substitute, equivalent.)
And yet... and yet so many calamities at the few hands in which so many placed their trust. The incompetence of higher management. Just as absurd as the thought of life getting in the way. Why are these things presented as infallible truths and why do we accept them? Because then I can't watch 30 Rock from my Instant Queue.