Kim Kardashian’s ex-husband knocks Rajon Rondo to the floor early in Wednesday night’s game.
For a brief period yesterday, football and the Patriots got pushed off the front pages and down the list of topics covered by Boston’s talk radio morons hosts. The reason was that Rajon Rondo, the point guard that fans love to hate, pushed Kim Kardashian’s ex-husband into the crowd after he committed a flagrant foul on the Celtics’ Kevin Garnett. Continue reading
In America, work is often who we are. Some might take issue with this. By-and-large, we are what we do. If you think something different, ask yourself why, when attending parties or the requisite networking after hours some of us are subjected to, why the line of first questioning always settles on, “What do you do for work?”
Our current cultural norm places a positive moral value on doing a good job. This is rooted in the Protestant Reformation, which made physical labor acceptable for all persons, even the wealthy. Prior to the 16th century, working hard (in the absences of compulsion) was not the norm for Hebrew, classical, or medieval cultures. Continue reading
When consumers call, someone must pick up on the other end.
We live in an age of transitions; at least that’s what we’re being sold. Gone are the glory days of union-wage jobs and pension funds. “Bring on the free agents” cry the 21st century prophets (or perhaps, profiteers) that tell us that all we need is a better, or more diverse tool set to succeed in the new economy.
Moonlighting—that age-old tradition of holding a 2nd job in addition to your primary wage-earning position—is something that more than 8 million Americans are engaged in. I’m one of those, juggling multiple paying gigs, all adding up to one mess of 1099s and a coming tax-paying train wreck of an employment situation. Continue reading
Shoppers stream into Macy’s for pre-Black Friday bargains.
Life is often filled with uncertainty. Not knowing can cause anxiety and worse, even fear. Often, fear is irrational but it still stalks us creatures craving directions and crystal clear pictures of the future.
My year began with so much excitement and then, I got dished a large dollop of unpredictability, which segued into a period of dissonance, and eventually, employment’s door shut in my face. By late June, I was uncertain about what new revelations were just around the corner. Continue reading
I’ve been blogging for more than 10 years. My maiden blog launch occurred when I was sitting in a cubicle at a large insurance giant. At the time I was plotting my eventual escape and writing for a blog—or ranting as so much of my early blogging tended towards—offered me a venue to craft thoughts and ideas and set them down in a narrative for a growing assortment of readers. And yes, sometimes I just let it fly.
That first blog, one I recall with fondness, was developed by a co-worker named Chris. Chris was a great guy and someone with HTML and design skills. He recognized the budding writer/blogger in me—someone with a desire to communicate, especially communicate using words—so he designed my very first website and blog. Continue reading
The lives most of us lead in these waning days of 2012 are crammed full of activity. Ask anyone how they are and inevitably, almost as if on cue, they’ll tell you just how busy they are.
Busyness and minimal room for reflection of any kind, especially self-reflection, just might be one of the scourges of our time during the 21st century epoch we find ourselves living in. Continue reading
Success requires hitting some goals (and missing a few).
I keep notebooks. They’re scattered across shelves and tucked in cubbyholes in my office. Sometimes I like to take stock by taking a look back.
Yesterday, I found this notebook I was using in 2008. The date indicates I’d just started working on Moxietown, and WorkReady was still a fledgling program.
Some of you know the rest of the story.
Paul Bunyan, keeping watch over Bangor.
All of us have a special place, or maybe a couple of locales that hold a unique position in our personal geography. Often, hometowns hold both special memories, as well as memories clouded by family conflict and the struggles that go along with coming of age in that place where we’re born. Continue reading
Linemen in New Jersey repairing damage from Hurricane Sandy and the Election Day Northeaster.
Electricity is a marvel of modern life. An argument could be made that having an available flow of electric current is one of several essential elements sustaining our 21st century lifestyles. It’s also something that you never think about until the availability of and access to the power supply is compromised and no longer available at the flip of a light switch, or the powering on of one of our multitudinous electronic devices.
Since last Tuesday, large swaths of the northeastern population corridor, mainly near New York City and sections of New Jersey, have been suffering without electricity. I use the term “suffering” because absence of electricity removes the ease and convenience of daily life quicker than almost anything else, and sets those without power back into a time warp reminiscent of the 18th and 19th centuries. Of course, people back then were better prepared to survive without present day “essentials” requiring electricity. Continue reading