Oh, what I really hate are....

Bullies.

I've never been able to stand their ilk. Growing up, I took a special interest in bullies and not always to my benefit.

As I got older, I'd seen less and less of the bullies. There'd be the occassional jackass, but, by and large, he was off-set by at least one other guy, so it'd be OK.

Until now.

My boss is a bully. He ridicules and threatens everyone with impunity. Is it possible to have the perfect job ruined by one person? I'm finding that to be the case here...

Theoreticly, I am in charge of 3 other folks. The boss chooses to use that whenever it suits him, otherwise, he'll go directly to one of the blokes and hit them up for things. No biggee. My guys are good folks and can get things done. What really chaps my ass, though, is when he comes back to me with a blast about how AFU we, as a whole, are. No vision, no planning, etc. Since we each support a different team, we, as a group, have only a loose hegemony of standards. Not the ideal, to be sure, however, that is how the boss has established the norms.

So, the question becomes: Do I take charge and establish control? Break up this "association" and establish norms across the board? To do so would relieve a lot of the stressors that adversely effect our collective efforts to support our customers. But it would also incur the undying rath of the boss who seems to dispise IT folks, as a whole. A regrettable but necessary association of folks, in his eyes.

In the end, I have to let my conscience be my guide. That whole "Do the Right Thing" thing again! And if he fires me, I'll just have to deal with that. But my conscience would be clear. Or, I can try to ride it out and see if the new boss can be any better.

There is hope....

Just another day at work...

Well, I've had another day at work. That makes two over three years. On the whole, not bad at all.

>>Remember, find a job that you like and you'll never go to work again!!!<<

As I was fuming over a nasty email from the boss, I contemplated the whole spectrum of responses then realized that it just don't matter. Don't make it easy for them bastards. I've gotta make them fire me. And the only way they'll get to me is if I let them. This is no different than being in the 82nd and having to put up with the CFC, AER, AUSA, 82nd Association donations. Just another thing. Everything has a beginning and everything has an end. Just gotta deal with it.

And, if I want that Mini Cooper, I've gotta keep this job. If nothing else, I'll use that as my motivation to put up the shit this boss is handin out. That and the fact that he should be moving on shortly. Gotta just keep on keepin on!!

Retirement woes

I tell my kids, "Find a job that you like and you'll never have to go to work again!" I have that job right now; however, there are downsides to it that I'd've never anticipated. The biggest detractor is the lack of recognition and respect. I wouldn't've guessed that this was as important to me before now. I've had this job for three years now and am wondering if its all worth it. Dunno. Further compounding the problems is the fact that I am getting closer to being able to retire. I'm not sure what effects, if any, this has on my attitude....

For a computer guy, this is the ultimate job as I am responsible for all aspects of IT, from the keyboard to the Internet: email, networking, servers, Microsoft, Cisco, Solaris, etc. Whereas 99% of the jobs out there are very structured and stovepiped: all you do is the Exchange Server administration, no help desk, no Cisco. Just that one narrow aspect of the whole spectrum. I like the diversity and I like the scope. For example, I deal with all manner of Cisco kit; from 1605 routers to 6513 Catalyst switches. A very broad expanse, indeed. Great. Excellent.

What I don't like is the lack of appreciation. Everyone has an opinion, however, mine is not heard. When I do offer it, I'm blasted as being over ambitious, too complex or just too damn expensive. Also, equipment and technology is shoved down our throats and we're expected to make it work though we had nothing in the testing or evaluation of the kit. So, when it blows up, we're blasted as incompetent!!! Finally, I don't like that I am at the mercy of every swinging louigi who comes through my door for support, regardless of whatever it is he wants and what I happen to be doing at the time.

I could get another job, which wouldn't be as demanding nor as diverse, and almost double my pay; however, I really like this job, the benefits are great and the longer I stay, the more retirement I earn. And I really like the mission focus that the organization, as a whole, exhibits.

So, I'm trying to determine my path. Hell, I don't have a clue what I'll do once I do retire. My retirement will enable me do almost anything I want, as long as I have a steady job. My car and house payments will be covered by my retirement check; however, I need to figure out what I'll do afterwards. I joke about working in the tool bin at Home Depot, just for the employee discounts. I dunno if I wanna stay in IT once I'm retired. In any case, I have as little as one year up to 6 years to figure that out.

It was easy for me to figure out what I was gonna do out of high school: be an Airborne Ranger. No problem-o. This is tremendously harder. Wow...

Now what?

What now?

I've got 37 years of practice in asking that question. Haven't found the answer, though. Mostly it seems that the question should've been "Now what?" instead.

Being a typical AAA-type personality, I've managed to structuralize my environment. In doing so, I have developed guidelines, or lessons learned, to help define the structure. Most folks would call them witticisms, "folksy". Whatever. They help establish the rules of life that I've learned the hard way.

The first one was a saying I learned from my dad that goes like this:

There are two ways of doing things in this world: your way and the Right Way.

Now, he spent upteen years with the Navy before retiring from NASA after 31 years. I took that to heart; however, once I had children, I added to it:

There are two ways of doing things in this world: your way and the Right Way. The difference between being a man or a boy is knowing which one to do.

With that, I've made this world a better place. For my children, anyways. And that is how I define success in life: making it better for my children.

And so it begins.....

This is the mindless ramblings of an old Texas boy who's done many things: good, bad and down-right ugly. No plan in the content, just a mediocre attempt at self-analysis...

With that, just sit back, grab your favorite beverage (or other consciousness-altering composition) and watch the show. Sorta like seeing a car crash: it can be pretty horrific, however, you cannot even force yourself to stop looking....