Are You Working to Live or Living to Work?

Posted over 2 years ago

Artist:
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The Cure
Album:
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- QUEUE
Boys Don't Cry
Track:
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Boys Don't Cry

...I heard an Anton Chekhov quote earlier today ("*which is also his birthday*":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Chekhov )that went something like "any idiot can handle a crisis-- it's the day to day shite that's tough to deal with...I've never envied those who have to go to an "according to Hoyle" 9 to 5 gig as I did it myself for decades and probably will again...and soon...but not right now, son...I'm no slouch when it comes to getting down to brass tacks and hookin' shit up and that's word but sometimes it seems like-- and this might just be me but I don't think so -- my collegues are working in unison to get me all tore up in the face...the more I know people, the more I love animals...I realized, in my moment of duress a few hours ago that I've got access to the ultimate on-the-job-jaggoff repellant: Music...today when the inter-office ass-clowns were amassed at my door's border, knives drawn to shank me in the shower...I cranked up some jams like these...

....as the lyrics of that last tune (and this Guinness brand oat soda sitting on my desk) can attest, I'm feeling much better now...here's to telecommuting...

Comments (10)

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Dave says Shit, I did the whole four-hour round-tip commute, office politics, do crappy work on purpose thing for way too many years. I'm very lucky to be able to freelance full-time from home. God help me if I ever have to go back, I don't think I could!

Permalink posted 01/29/2007
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mickimicki says Same here, Dave.... btw Crash I love those tunes... and that SIGN!

Permalink posted 01/30/2007
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nicki says I'm very much about working to live, despite the 8:30AM to 5PM slog...and despite the fact that I'm still working out the "living" part. Just don't take away my tunes. Grr. Rawr. (Thanks to mnerd!)

Permalink posted 01/30/2007
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chandlersford says Are You Working to Live or Living to Work? Wow - I'm really of the opinion that here in the UK (as for my experience), we are tipping that very balance (Or lack of) towards the orchestrated removal of human individuality and meaning. It seems that increasingly I've had to deal with other peoples shit! Other people’s inability to do the job for which they were employed (and presumably applied for being of sound mind and not under duress) and you would assume capable and willing to do in some small part. But no, you end up working for those who know less than you and ultimately make them richer than you and dealing with the fall-out of their meaningless paper trails. This is why people hate the work they do! I am firmly convinced that you could lose at least 80% of the 'Jobs' in this country with no effect on the economy, standard of living, development or indeed lives of the rest of us. The jobs exist merely in a self fulfilling mechanism. How many times do people have to write a report which isn't read but sits on the desk of the person who has no purpose but to summarise it and send a copy to another person who does the same? I made the mistake once, of working for the Civil Service. I did so after qualifying with my apparently worthless degree in Fine Art. It was a time of Margaret Thatchers economic strategies and the fruit of her work as PM leading to most people being well and truly up the financial river without a fucking paddle. (I was in debt). At first I thought the job was basic, boring and ultimately non too taxing. That would have been fine for me at the time, just go to work hang up your coat and your brain on the way in and pay off my debt. But NO! that wasn’t the way the game goes in this world. You have to be part of the team! You have to take it all SO seriously, you have to want to become a fucking manager and make a 'career' out of it. Then you have to buy in to the petty politics and back stab along with the rest of them. Imagine (If you have never had the misfortune to work in this environment) grown ups behaving like school children. Heads down when the manager (See School Teacher) walks past. Sucking up to the supervisors in the hope of gaining some sort of 'gold star' for moving paper from one side of the desk to...well the other! Not for me! I set up my own business after being a free-lancer and ran it for 10 years (ten not always easy but ultimately satisfying years) of being in charge of my own destiny. Not having to answer or act on someone else's decisions that I know to be wrong. No more team meetings agreeing 'compromise' which as we all know means 'no one gets what they really want'. Most importantly, as I've come to realise, many people employ in their own image. The less people know, the more they want to be surrounded by those who know less. (I was in danger of being driven slowly mad by these people - see my previous blog http://mog.com/chandlersford/blog_post/37661) great sign - I want to wear the T-shirt! (But only when I'm slacking, just to make the point)

Permalink posted 01/30/2007
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Jonh Ingham says Checkhov quote: great. Road sign: want one. Chrissie Hynde's voice: perfect.

Permalink posted 01/30/2007
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Hattie says Working to live, but just barely. The sign expresses my sentiments exactly! “I would say I'm sorry,” too, _THE CURE_, if I didn’t mind making other people’s shortcomings look like my mistakes. They mess up my project, but it in the end I look like the incompetent one because the _all_ the effort and well-crafted writing don’t mean shit; it’s all about the end product (the pretty package that arrives in Atlanta on frickin’ time). Have I stated lately how I hate working with chimps? …Wish I could telecommute right about now. MOGging and the White Stripes always make me feel better, though and so do literary references in MOG posts. Peace.

Permalink posted 01/30/2007
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Amy Honey says i've been self employed for 5 years now... it's better than working for da man, but it's harder in ways i never thought possible. it's hard for me to call in sick to myself, and have myself believe it. still, i'll take this over a straight gig anyday.

Permalink posted 01/30/2007
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chucky says Two years ago at Christmas I ordered post-it notes from despair.com for my coworkers. I picked the perfect saying for each co-worker - a subtle dig that none of them ever really understood. Good times.

Permalink posted 01/30/2007
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ROCKNROLLPIMP1 says grrrrrrr us blue collar *SLAVES*

Permalink posted 01/30/2007
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BellaVendetta says I moved to a cheaper city and took a huge step backwards "professionally" to do a mindless job part-time, so that way, I can save brain power for fun artistic stuff. Sure I liked having my own office, being the boss and all that, but I chain smoked, took work home with me and said motherfuckingshitfuck way too much. I sort of wanna buy a house, but then I'd have to work full-time and the house would be left empty all day -- where's the point in that? Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work and driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for - in order to get to the job you need to pay for the clothes and the car, and the house you leave vacant all day so you can afford to live in it. ~Ellen Goodman

Permalink posted 01/30/2007