Entry 43.1.35 – 10/31/2013

Oh Gerald today was such a good day. Of course it being a good day had nothing to do with work. Quite the opposite actually. Work today was as work is each day. Carol continues to monitor you. That consists of her asking you questions that have no bearing on your job and making demands that you can’t possibly meet thanks to Tom.

You say, “Carol, I’ve tried to explain that there is no way for me to compile, interpret, and report on our sales data until Tom gives me the data he’s collected.”

You want to say that but of course you don’t.

“Don’t make waves bigger than you can swim in”, Momma always used to say.

So what actually comes out is nothing. Your little tortoise head gets pulled inside your little tortoise shell and you weather the assault. You hunker down and endure the siege. The sharp staccato of her imprecise, insulting and often misused words. The the biological warfare that is her mix of coffee breath and perfume. That purple cloud of Shalimar. Important women used to wear Shalimar and she wants to be a grown up too. She is in her forties after all.

No. Today was a good day because you finished a project. Momma used to say you are a man of many talents. She also used to say, “A jack of all trades is a master of none”. Well you feel like you’ve at least mastered two or three of your hobbies. Today’s finished project is a masterpiece if you do say so yourself. (more…)

Entry 43.1.22 – 10/18/2013

You are crying again. Damn it. Damn her. Carol.

Today you were called into Carol’s office right after lunch. You hate being in there, looking at her fake smile on her fake, makeup coated face. An amateurish painting of her lost youth. Carol, reeking of her fake smelling crap perfume. Carol, sitting on her fake leather chair behind her fake cherry wood desk. That smile, framed by her fake, chemically curled, chemically bleached hair. That face sporting her very real smugness about the fake power she wields over an office she pretends to understand. Carol.

“Do you know why I called you in here today?”, she asked with that smile.

You didn’t know for sure but you knew it was probably for something that wasn’t your fault. You’d get blamed. You’d get another office reprimand. You’d be put on notice.

“Your performance has not been meeting the expectations of your position or the standards of this office”, she said with that smile, as if she even knew what the standards were.

See? All your fault of course. You tried to reason with her. It was like talking with a toddler. Talking with a Neanderthal. The hunting has been bad so the tribe must be cursed. A sacrifice to the fake gods was needed. Guess who was being sacrificed. (more…)

Entry 43.1.12 – 10/08/2013

Why not you? Why not?

I will tell you why. Nothing ever allowed to come to fruition. You never can start anything. With other people that is.

Today at the laundromat though, you said hello to someone. To a woman. Of course she said hello first. That’s a given. This is you we’re talking about. But you responded. You responded. And quite well I might add. At least you think so.

“Hello”, she said, which startled you. So out of the ordinary. There she was, a woman about your age, a hippie for sure. Striped tights, the maroon corduroy skirt, olive drab surplus shirt, and hair that smelled of incense. It was like she was wearing a uniform. We are a long way from San Francisco, both in time and space, but here she was and so friendly. They are an open bunch those hippies. Backward and juvenile, yes, but open.

“Hello”, you said.

“I think your machine just finished”, she said.

“Oh, thank you. I should take them out I suppose” you said.

She smiled and nodded. Can you believe it? A conversation with no awkwardness. Not on your part or hers.

You are used to the recoil, Gerald. They never think you can see it so they don’t think they are being rude but you see it. You see a lot. You are more perceptive then most people think. (more…)