We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.
Thanks for this, Gerard, and HNY to you and yours - and to all readers. Lots of people can use this today (listen to both performances if you have a minute): Fight Song
The first scuff on a nice new pair of shoes, or the first scratch in the paint of a new car, is a disappointment. You knew it was coming, but the first one hurts. But there are other scuffs and scratches soon enough. Every new pair of wingtips is destined to be a scuffed-up pair of old shoes, every new car is destined for the junk pile. But years are different: The first lost year hurts the least. Then they hurt more. Sometime around 30 or so we approach one New Year’s Eve and, meditating on the year that is past, think: “Well, didn’t make much of that.” We resolve to amend our ways...
Why kid ourselves? Maintain your self-respect by resolving to meet realistic goals. One cool aspect to these is that, if you fail to keep them, it's a good thing instead of a cause for self-loathing. Samples (feel free to borrow):
1. I will not exercise at all and will avoid all forms of difficult or tedious exertion beyond walking around and looking at stuff 2. I will gain weight 3. I will resume smoking 4. I will watch more TV and movies, and read fewer books 5. I will do more take-out and minimize home cooking 6. I will quit vegetables entirely 7. I will not clean out or sort out a single closet 8. I will have a messy desk and disorganized paperwork 9. I will do more things at the last minute, or tomorrow 10. I will buy one more firearm I don't need 11. I will make the HQ a Sanctuary Space for dustballs 12. I will throw more recycles into the regular garbage 13. I will continue to try to avoid the dentist and doctor 14. I will waste more of my precious lifetime looking at ephemeral, meaningless BS on the internet 15. I will ignore "Check Engine" lights and seatbelt alarms 16. I will work harder on loving myself whether I deserve it or not 17. I will give more credit to myself, and less to God.
Tree went up last weekend. That was our first family Christmas because a daughter will be vacationing in Asia during real Christmas. Our daughters love traveling in Asia.
Still, we have the in-laws for Christmas Eve fish supper and candlelight church, and all the other kids for Christmas Day dinner. I think Christmas Day afternoon will be a good day for a chilly long hike with the puppy if the old guy feels up to it...meaning The Dog - not me.
Christmas Day is not for presents at our house. We specialize in food, drinks, and games. After some beverages, we also like dice games. Also, arguments.
The year is winding down and I'm still struggling with the same nonsense I've been dealing with in the office since last August. It is getting worse for a few reasons. But I'm not making a case for the year ending badly. Instead, I've got a different point of view because through these months I've kept a generally positive attitude. After all, there is plenty to be grateful for, and I am looking forward to 2017.
I'll start with politics. This isn't something I'm grateful for, but I'm grateful for learning new ways to deal with the nonsense it represents. In part, I mean the election, though that's minor. I was unmoved by the outcome, but this is NYC and many are still having fits. My new VP decided to start sending a daily email update in which she shares articles and commentary on industry events. Every day includes the latest anti-Trump article. I understand she supported Clinton (I didn't support either major candidate), but I don't care for her bias infecting the workspace. It's unhealthy. I know many people in the office who voted for Trump and don't share her point of view. Neither me or any of them are in a position to say something.
Perhaps they should. It is a dangerous metaphorical story about how a rich, penny-pinching and emotionally-stingy wretch becomes a re-born joyful Christian at Christmastime through the work of the Holy Spirit. Dangerous for innocent kids. Dangerous for adults too.
I would never recommend purchasing Cuban cigars for use in the USA as it is, or used to be, against some dumb law. However, I did happen to notice that Top Cubans has some appealing Christmas and End of Year specials right now.
By the way, when are we going to take down that dumb cigar embargo? It just hurts the poor farmers - and us scrupulously law-abiding Americanos.
Photo is a Habanos Romeo y Julieta
BTW, where is the best cigar wrapper tobacco in the world grown? In my home state, Connecticut in the US of A. Also in Massachusetts in the Connecticut River Valley.
Fading maybe, but still the most popular participant sport in the US. A fine thing about bowling is that you can join in even if you are terrible at it. Where I grew up, bowling was a routine winter Saturday night outing. Very popular for kids' birthday parties too. In summer, old Italian guys would do their lawn bowling game in the parks.
Also invented by Germans: Retirement. It was a 19th C. political maneuver, not adopted in the US until the 20th century to lure people out of the labor market during the Depression. A Retirement Plan With Less Golf but More Satisfaction.
Is retirement a good idea? Would partial-retirement be a better idea for those who want it? And what about age of retirement? If "70 is the new 50", what then? Some people end up retired for as many years as they worked, and that seems crazy, a waste of time, skill, talent, and experience, not to mention taxpayer pension costs. Some have no choice, and that is a loss for everybody. Everybody has a need to contribute to society in a useful way as long as they are able. Wise greybeards are always needed even in the more physical trades.
In my experience, many who retire early get a bit lost, aimless, and regress into purposelessness and hedonism. Free choice if you can afford it, so it's fine but...what? You're supposed to want to golf all day? It has become a cultural meme, a theme, a meaningless theme.
Trump is 70 going on 50 and works harder and is far more energetic than I am at a much younger age. At his age, he is required to take Social Security whether he wants it or not! How dumb is that? On the job 16 hrs/day. He is the type that never retires and will always find productive outlets for his energy. Wilbur Ross at Commerce is 79, for heaven's sake. Indeed, they are a credit to their age cohort and good examples for everybody.
Mrs. Barrister and I update our address book whenever we feel forced to, but only get around to revising our Christmas Card subset of the address book every several years.
Doing Christmas cards is an important tradition, an annual rite of connection. Also, one more holiday hassle. At our house we tend to get around to sending Christmas cards biennially because of the challenge of getting good, full-family photos but we are giving up on that challenge this year. It just didn't happen. We wanted everybody on horses in Montana, but assembling family is herding cats. The purpose of the photo is to prove your continued existence, but all it reveals is your aging and the touch of grey.
Anyway, what I wanted to say was that revising the Christmas list is mostly sad, not cheerful. You see how many have died, moved far away, divorced, or moved entirely out of your lives with no known address. The cheerful side is to stay in touch with those who have moved too far to see with any frequency or at all, and to acknowledge the new good friends you have made since your last revision.
We have been blessed with lasting friendships going back to grade school and prep school, and ones as new as this year. I will never move, as many do, to Florida for taxes or hot weather or, God forbid, California, as many friends seem to do. It pains me when people move away. Some people can not stay put, can live happily with shallower roots. Like restless pioneers, they move on and build rich new lives wherever they go. We do not have that ability or that restlessness; we do not want to rip the relationship fabric or the Yankee territorial fabric of our life however imperfect or highly-taxed it may be - and it is not meaningfully imperfect anyway - just expensive.
This post is my Christmas Card from Connecticut to all of our good readers, site visitors, fellow contributors and friendly bloggers. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Cheery Solstice, and God bless us, every one.
People who rise to the top of organizations generally have more important skills than pure IQ. Knowing how to manage people up, sideways, and down is an essential organizational skill. So is knowing how to keep emotion out of it all, how to maintain a professional distance from others without being cold or aloof, how to gain authority without being a jerk, calm social and organizational judgement, and so on.
People who start their own businesses or other organizations often learn such things slowly, by trial and error. In my career, I found Covey's classic 7 Habits of Highly Effective People to be quite useful.
Perhaps professionalism can be learned, but not taught.
A nice benefit of Maggie's website management are notifications when posts are shared.
Validation is always welcome. It's great to see someone pick up on your writing and think "I am glad I was able to add to the discussion." I believe this holds when a piece is shared on a site opposing what you've written. I'm not interested in an echo chamber.
Twenty months after writing this post on data, I received notification of its inclusion on another site. Upon reading, one might be inclined to believe I'm not a fan of data. Not true, I just don't put my full faith in everything as it is presented, or simply because it's presented, to me.
Since my post, 20 months have passed and nothing has changed. In fact the 2016 election was an example of organizations simply accepting data, becoming reliant on it, while few questioned its value. The data left me, and many others, inclined to believe Hillary would win. At the same time, it left me angry about how it was presented in a "See? We have more information and you don't know what's really going on" manner. The day of the election, however, the long lines I saw (in New York City) left me with the impression the data may not be telling the whole story. If Hillary voters in a safe city were turning out in droves, I came to the conclusion turnout would be high across the board, and high turnout usually coincides with a desire for change. The data itself may not be 'wrong' but whoever was using it was doing so improperly.
When you have kids and enter middle age, you think about what you will leave behind you for the future, for future generations in your family line. Everybody does that, I think, in their own way. It's the way culture and subcultures are maintained.
Valued (or not) material items and photos are one sentimental part of that, but these things become diluted and dispersed over time, as does any money that is left behind. A family's cultural traditions, habits, and pleasures are the best inheritance to leave behind with hopes that they will carry meaning and value as far into the future as you can throw them. Messages from the graveyards - from your own future graveyard, and those of your ancestors.
The parental job is transmission of genes and culture, and the provision of food and shelter. That's about it, but it's not an easy job in today's world. If you were a serf on a lord's estate in England in 1300, it was an uncomplicated if tiresome job.
The Hidden Work of Keeping an Office Running - Debra Leonard-Porch, an administrative professional for over 35 years, reflects on her career and the pride she finds her work. These are the people who make the world work. Generally they have good computer trouble-shooting skills. In my experience, they are well-paid, but not overpaid, for the job.
Around here, an experienced high-energy office manager can be paid between 100-170,000 with annual raises or bonuses and excellent benefits. Often paid more than the junior professionals in business offices.
Why kid ourselves? Maintain your self-respect by resolving to meet realistic goals. One cool aspect to these is that, if you fail to keep them, it's a good thing instead of a cause for self-loathing. Samples (feel free to borrow):
Tree went up last weekend. That was our first family Christmas because a daughter will be vacationing in Asia during real Christmas. Our daughters love traveling in Asia.
