I considered "Well, Here We Are!" but I think I used that before, or something similar and well, it just has nothing to do with this blog post.
I also entertained "It's been real, it's been fun, but it hasn't been real fun" but thought that might send the wrong message -- that maybe you would think I was signing off forever and ever and that the Blunt Edge would no longer be there for those witty, somewhat sarcastic, and otherwise enlightening posts that make your mortal existence worthwhile.
Maybe after reading this, you will think the entry should be entitled "I Have an I Problem" because of the egregious use of the personal first-person pronoun. I'll just leave it that the number of sentences in this particular blog that do not contain a form of the personal first-person pronoun is less than two full hands worth of fingers.
It has been a long while since I took the time to blog anything, and just about as long a time since I looked at anyone else's blogs. I guess life has a way of doing that to you.
Just so you know, I did finally land a job where I am again being paid a wage. I've been working again for almost half a year now. And at almost half of what I was making back in 2008 when the economy started it's nosedive and my previous employer graciously informed me that my services were no longer needed. And this new job is almost half as fulfilling personally as any other job I've held.
I guess part of the reason I haven't blogged is because of this new job. For one, I haven't had the leisure to think much, and the schedule is such that I don't get a lot of time really for myself. Another reason is if one believes all that one reads, one always should be wary about employers snooping online for what their employees are saying in social media, and then them holding it against oneself.
Well, right now, I don't care. I'm not saying bad things. I'm not saying good things. I'm just not saying anything publicly, and very discreetly privately. I know that this job isn't something I want to be doing long term, nor is the company one I want to be associated with long term. In the mean time, I will do my best to fulfill the responsibilities I have and be an asset to the employer and team I am part of.
I mean, let's face it. My professional career is and always has been pretty much screwed ever since I got my BS many years ago. I have taken the jobs that have been available and despite the fact I am able to be a solid performer, employers these days don't necessarily have a place for a "nice guy". They want the aggressive Type A personalities who can do everything perfectly immediately. They want people to have the proper "life balance" when it comes to their job. In more simple terms, "life balance" is putting your job and employer at the number one, and probably number two as well, spots in your life, putting your family life, spiritual needs, personal desires, health, and any number of other things a distant third or more in the hierarchy of "life balance".
I've found this to be with this company I work for. Lots of the window dressing of being employee friendly and compassionate, but nearly the exact opposite when it comes to actual policy and operations. Maybe I'll go into it more sometime later AFTER I am no longer beholden to this employer for the paltry paycheck I am provided by them.
What do you do when you feel like you are nothing more than an indentured servant to your employer?
How about what do you do when are you made to feel like you just aren't committed to the mission of the employer if you have a life outside of the job and employer's influence?
And lastly, what do you do when you feel like you can't get peace from the poison tendrils of this sort of environment, not even in your sleep and dreams?
You do as I just have and take the mental effort to cast off the oppressive chain, even if just for a few moments, by posting to your blog.
