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Sorry to See You Go
I’ve pretty much worked or gone to school or both for 46 years now. I’ve met a lot of amazing people that way. Some have become lifelong friends. Some have taught me some pretty profound life lessons. All have shown me the diversity of humanity. It is a shame that not every teacher in one’s…
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“How can you be tired?”
Every long-term relationship I’ve had has been with someone who does some version of construction for a living. When they come home, cut up and covered in grime, after a long day of putting shingles on roofs or re-plumbing the crawl space under a house or rewiring a hot attic, it’s obvious they’re exhausted. Tradesmen…
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Working on Holidays
I love that more and more people are refusing to shop on the holidays in order to pressure companies to not force their staff to spend those days at work. And I love it when I hear of a company that chooses to do the right thing and close during those periods. I will always…
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My Morning
Last night I got off work at 11pm. I went straight home, and managed to squeeze in 5 hours of sleep before getting up at 5:45am in order to go back to work at 7am. Oh, but there’s more. I get out to my car, and all the windows are frosted over. It’s 32 degrees…
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Arbitrary Deadlines
When you feel as though you’re not meeting a deadline, it can be extremely stressful. That is, if you’re like me and you like to meet your deadlines. It doesn’t seem as though everyone does. But given the amount of anxiety they produce, it surprises me the number of arbitrary deadlines I come across on…
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Dirty Jobs
I must say that I love having an employer that not only allows me to dress like a hobo, but actually expects me to. I come in contact with grease and motor oil entirely too often to wear nice clothes. My shoes are so greasy, in fact, that I leave them here at work. I…
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The Gag Treatment
When I was young, I was taught that if you have a puppy who likes to bite your hand, rather than pulling your hand away, you should push it ever so slightly further in. You don’t want to hurt the dog, of course, but if you make him kind of gag and spit out your…
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My Own Personal Garden Song
After pulling up stakes and moving 3000 miles across country to a place where I know no one, essentially starting over at age 50, I spent a lot of time beating myself up because upon arrival I didn’t instantly have it all figured out. I don’t know what I was thinking. Was everything supposed to…
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Work Friendships
At every job I’ve held for any length of time, I’ve made some pretty intense friendships. I suppose when you find yourself hunkered down in the same foxhole you tend to develop a bond of sorts. Comrades in arms. At least that has always been my experience. Whenever I’ve left a job, I’ve attempted to…
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The Luxury of Leisure
Ah, to have a beautiful sunny day and no plans to fill it with! To read a good book, bask in the sunshine, feel a sea breeze across your face, and play with your dogs. To take a nap in mid-afternoon with only the sound of a distant lawnmower to lull you to sleep. Bliss.…