A Brave New Year

Usually, I find New Year's Eve just another excuse to get drunk. I believe this because once the clock hits midnight, you drink some champagne, maybe get a kiss, and nothing really changes. This year this is not the case. Once we move into 2008 all the smokers in the bar will be forced to extinguish their cigarettes and they will have to stay out forever. The days of going home smelling like smoke are over. I was talking to my local bar's manager and asked him what he was going to do with the ashtrays. He said they would probably sit in a box in the basement until someone got motivated to throw them out. Who knows, some day they may be collectables.

Downsizing

I learned this morning that my group within my employer's company is going to be shut down over the next couple of months. The first part of this downsizing effort was eliminating three people's employment. Upon arriving at work this morning, I spent about fifteen minutes at my computer and watched my boss flip out (which was typical start to my day). Then he called the three into the next office and upon coming out I heard comments, such as 'well, it's been nice knowing you,' and 'do you know what just happened?' They informed me they had just been 'canned.' I was shocked, even though I knew some changes were going to occur in the near future. But liquidation was not what I had in mind.

I know this kind of thing happens all the time, especially in big business, but I was not expecting my small employer to pull this kind of stunt when they didn't have to. Although I survived this round of cuts, I find it very unsettling that any day I could walk in and determined to be 'fat' and trimmed out of the company. Everyone likes to feel stability in their lives, but this is another example of exactly how little control we actually have. Three coworkers with more experience and more passion than I have were let go while I was allowed to stay. If anything, these events just affirm my belief that in order to have any control over your future you need to work for yourself. Until today, I was starting to have thoughts that companies that take care of their employees as long as they can really do exist and perhaps I have found one. But now I know I don't work for one and am once again quite skeptical they exist.

Control

Today I was notified of my year end bonus amount and it fell far short of my expectations. Although I worked unmeasurably harder this year than last year and I got two raises during the year, I am going to have the same income as last year. So I started to think about how my effort really has nothing to do with my compensation. In fact, I really have little input on my professional life in most regards. More and more I am starting to think that everything people accomplish is a matter of circumstance, rather than effort or ability.

Brian Westbrook

I would like to take an opportunity to comment on Brian Westbrook's unselfish act of taking a knee on the one yard line so his team could run out the clock and win the game. Through your unselfish and team-first act, you have managed to total screw over my fantasy team. You helped carry my team all year and then in the playoffs you do something completely unthinkable for a professional athlete, you put your team ahead of personal glory. Or did you just do this to get featured and talked about on Sportscenter? Very clever Brian.

Christmas

I think I am become a lesser fan of Christmas each year, and it shouldn't be hard to see why. Here is an excerpt from an email that my mother sent me this evening: 'This is one of those items that they keep low in stock to create a ruckus and a mess for all of us law abiding citizens who just want to lead normal lives, and not wait in long lines for (shoes), or wii's or anything else they tell us that we can't live without. Am I ranting?' Have we learned nothing 'A Charlie Brown Christmas?' This was a movie that came out over 40 years ago, and I don't think the people back then could even fathom what we go through now. After experiencing a Saturday trip to Nordstrom's, all I can say is thank God for Amazon.

A Good Shower

After several days of dealing with a shower whose drain spewed up waste that collected in the tub and several months of dealing with a shower that only provided cold or scorching hot water, I was greatly pleased to take a pleasant shower this evening. A quick response by my landlords made it all possible. For is there anything better than a hot shower on a cold December day?

Groups

I am learning the power of groups, today especially. After reading a chapter of my book ('The Tipping Point') which pointed out not only that 'close-knit groups have the power to magnify the epidemic potential of a message of idea' but also that a few people of different character traits can also be overwhelming successful in starting an epidemic. Then tonight, I started to see these points work out in front of my eyes at my beer society meeting. Brewing and beer drinking is such an intrinsically social activity that trying to take on either of these endeavors by yourself seems outlandish. Tonight, I think my brewing started a mini epidemic which spurred debate and discussion amongst several of the higher-ups in the beer industry. One experienced brewer even showed interest in begin a joint venture in my basic plans. Not only was the support of members of my group reassuring but also they recommended that I branch out to the online community to connect with people with similar interests who have spent a lot of time researching my niche of brewing. Online connections could be mutually beneficial as the information I collect would be just as useful to me as the information that I possess. With something that is so social, I always kind of knew that I would not be able to go it alone and tonight showed signs of others who would want to work with me.