Day 14252

I work with a guy who shows up to work to do his job. Carefully chosen words there. I did not say he had a career. He is a great guy, does well, and would be a great asset to the company if he chose to stay on. I don't think he will. Instead, I think he works to pay bills. Those bills are being taken care of right now. Furthermore, he has money for entertainment. This is bothersome. Not having money...oh, you know what I mean, or soon will.

You would think the hardest aspect of my job would be to fire people. Truth is, though, those that get fired, earned it. Usually this happened because they refused to use common sense, i.e. don't steal, don't lie, show up to work on time, actually do some work, etc. It's hard to feel sorry for those I have fired, as they were all given specific instructions on how to maintain employment before things ever got to an extremely ugly point. They just chose not to take my "advice".

Anyway, the hardest part of my job actually is watching someone go through the motions, void of passion. This gentleman I mentioned earlier is one of those. He is not excited to be at work. He enjoys the company of his co-workers and our customers for sure, but it is obvious that he doesn't know what he wants to do with his life. He appears to be aimlessly wandering.

I couldn't say what his dream job is...he won't admit to one. I will tell you that he is very funny. He'll probably never be a stand-up comedian, but could someday become a comedic writer. He comes up with some of the most off the wall stuff. One of my recent favorites is "The Lonely Guy Hack". Essentially it's an apparatus designed for a solitary person to play hacky sac. Think of one of those cat toys on the end of an elastic string hanging from the ceiling! Now replace that stupid yellow, fake bird with a hacky sac. Simple. Easily visualized. Funny. You could practice in your home free from ridicule, preparing to play hack in full public view at an outdoor music festival with some trustafarians!

Recently, he and I discussed an idea for a movie, a comedy. We must have brainstormed for a couple of hours, coming up with scene after scene. We laughed nearly non-stop. We also managed to do quite a bit of work. That afternoon flew by and it was definitely one of my better days. Now, all I can think about is how he is toiling for a paycheck and nothing more. Nobody should have to work a job they don't love.

Me, I have wanted to write a movie for some time now. I would love to do this with him, but there's this whole supervisor/employee relationship that is supposed to stay strictly business. Of course, these relationships don't always stay that way. There are couples in our company who met, dated and got married because they were co-workers. Collaborating on a script shouldn't be a big deal, but in my mind it will be a problem at the very least for some of our other co-workers. Jealousy sucks. I think I'll be taking that risk, though. I mean, come on. I live in California, surely I have a movie script in me somewhere!

Which brings to mind the question, "What do I want to do with my life when I grow up?". The answer is, I don't know! When I was younger, I wanted to pitch for the Montreal Expos. That's pretty tough to do nowadays. Later, I wanted to be a pro fisherman or a fisheries biologist. I abandoned those ideas fairly early in life. Let's see, next was musician. Unfortunately, I don't have the skills. Then it was investment analysist for a mutual fund company. I, at least, have a degree in finance to show for that interest. Currently, as I said earlier, I don't know. A writer, maybe?

Think I'll sleep on it.