Surviving the Workday

I’ve joined a variety of on-line networking places, where we can connect, if you would like to:

Good Reads
My Space
Friendster

Also, I should list Linked in, but I’m afraid you need to know my real name to be a contact, and I rejoined Zoetrope, which is for writers.

I don’t think that the purpose of on-line networking is to have so many separate networks, so hopefully by posting here, I’ll connect some of the networks.

Commandments from the Vatican on how to drive seem altogether appropriate to me as applications of theology in everyday life. Here’s the list of Drivers’ Ten Commandments:

1. You shall not kill.

2. The road shall be for you a means of communion between people and not of mortal harm.

3. Courtesy, uprightness and prudence will help you deal with unforeseen events.

4. Be charitable and help your neighbor in need, especially victims of accidents.

5. Cars shall not be for you an expression of power and domination, and an occasion of sin.

6. Charitably convince the young and not so young not to drive when they are not in a fitting condition to do so.

7. Support the families of accident victims.

8. Bring guilty motorists and their victims together, at the appropriate time, so that they can undergo the liberating experience of forgiveness.

9. On the road, protect the more vulnerable party.

10. Feel responsible toward others.

Here’s some more advice on surviving your first day at work. It’s advice from Young Money on exactly what you should know by the end of your first day:

Be able to find the bathroom, break room, supplies, the photocopier and fax
Know your contact numbers
Know the names and roles of your co-workers
Know your responsibilities and major projects
Carry a note pad to jot down important information.

I love how finding the bathroom is first. Would you like to make any suggestions or modifications?

You can read more at Surviving Your First Day at Work.

No matter what frustrations and indignities erode our sense of outer worth on the job, inside we remain vividly alive. No matter how insecure our tenure at work, no one can hand a pink slip to our soul. No one can say to our inner life, “You’re fired!” I will say it again: You are the boss of your inner life. You really are.

-Work as a Spiritual Practice: A Practical Buddhist Approach to Inner Growth and Satisfaction on the Job (p. 20)

Our heroes and hobbies are often thought to give a glimpse into our inner worlds. But I’ve often been totally flummoxed when asked who my heroes are. I just don’t have any (John Lewis, maybe?) My husband doesn’t have any either. And when we’ve asked friends who their heroes are, they can’t quite seem to come up with any names either (or they name superheroes).

And hobbies? What’s hobby? Is it only done in my spare time? So then is writing a hobby? I do it for money, but sometimes I do it for free. Is hiking a hobby? I actually think it’s necessary in order for me to work well. What about gardening? Maybe that’s my hobby.

It turns out that both heroes and hobbies are notions influenced by what generation you belong to described at Generations at Work. Generation X tends not to have heroes; Baby Boomers have heroes. And Generation X tends to work to live (considering hobbies part of their lives and not separate entities) while Baby Boomers tend to live to work (and love it).

I find it far easier to survive the workday by working at home. I have done so for two different employers for five years total (and that’s not counting self-employed time). Recently, I came across a list of the pros and cons from monster on telecommuting and thought I would make my own list. I’m not going to advise you to get dressed in business attire (as every discussion on telecommuting does), and I’ll be as honest as I can.

Pros
No one cares what you wear.
You don’t have to commute, which can give you more time for other activities.
You don’t have to make a lunch ahead of time or buy one.
You don’t have to see the irritating coworker.
You are less suceptible to office tensions by virtue of not being physically present.

Cons
It’s quite easy to turn into a big slob.
Without commuting to work, it’s possible not to leave the house for a week at a time.
You have constant access to the fridge. You know what that means.
You have to do a lot more email and phone calls to equal the face time that your coworkers put in simply by being present in the office.
If there are layoffs, it’s easier to lay off people that aren’t physically present.

And here’s that long list from monster here.

I didn’t buy garlic at Trader Joe’s this week, even though I love their colossal garlic, because I noticed it said, “Packed in California.” What can that possibly mean? Well, I emailed customer service, and they too are perplexed by the label, but say that it was grown in California, and that they clearly label anything that is imported.

How to Fail Successfully: When to Give Up on Our Ambitions? in the Chronicle describes Glenn Kurtz’s painful (and, I would add, worthwhile) struggle with giving up his dream of life as a concert (classical) guitarist:

Kurtz’s is a story many of us know at some neurotic level, whether we’re musicians, ball players, painters, writers or tightrope walkers. Owing to a confluence of doting parents, late capitalism and a vague cloud of nurturing in the air, we’re told to pursue our ambitious passions, or maybe our passionate ambitions. Follow our hearts and we’ll eventually prevail, we’re told from an early age; over and over the movie music swells and the plucky hero beats the odds, and we drive home and think, “What does Ralph Macchio have that I don’t?”*

Oh my how that rings true, not only as a musician, but as a writer, both of which I’ve given up almost innumerable times. The only reason I write is that it brings me joy. But if the joy leaves, I probably won’t write because I can’t think of any other reason that makes it worthwhile. What Kurtz describes is the same struggle with identifying that you truly will not “make it” in the sense that you were hoping for, and that you are still okay.

*Text in italics is quoted material. Usually I indent quoted material, but blogger insists on single spacing everything after it indents.

Wondering what to set the thermostat at this summer?

China has a 26 C campaign, which encourages workers to dress casually in order to keep the temperature in public buildings at 26 C (79 F). Japan has a similar campaign for 82 F in public buildings.

Read more in Chinese Workers Told to Wear T-Shirts to Save Energy.

If you’re a kid in Chula Vista, California, a cheese sandwich as your lunch option means your parents haven’t paid your lunch tab. It’s the punishment food. I don’t recall this being a problem when I was in public school. I brought my lunch. But apparently in Chula Vista, kids can run up a tab for lunch, and if it exceeds $5, the kid gets a cheese sandwich rather than what other kids are eating.

Cheese sandwiches and other “alternate meals” have been added to menus in school districts across the country as they try to take a bite out of parents’ lunch debts.The strategy worked in Chula Vista: Lunch debts in the district fell from about $300,000 in 2004 to $67,000 in 2006.

Some angry parents say success came at too high a cost, however.The cheese sandwich, they say, has become a badge of shame for the children, who get teased about it by their classmates. One student cried when her macaroni and cheese was replaced with a sandwich. A little girl hid in a restroom to avoid getting one. Many of the sandwiches end up untouched or tossed whole in the garbage. Sometimes kids pound them to pieces.

Read On the School Menus: Cheese Sandwich, parental debt for more details on this “compassionate” stigma.

Surviving Your First Day at Work from Career India has some fascinating advice for your first day at a new job that reminded me not only that workplace attitudes can be culturally different, but also strikingly the same (note the last point):

Avoid going about introducing yourself, you will most certainly be branded a braggart.

Refrain from being over friendly on the first day.

Sit on your desk even if it only means twiddling your thumbs.

And if a senior passes by, concentrate on the computer screen, make notes and look busy and absorbed in work.

It is really easy to criticize. And a group of writers can be just about the most critical intellectual force on earth. But last year at Tin House, our workshop leader Jim Shepard managed to get us to bond and support one another in workshop. I’m not exactly sure how he did it. He read us poetry. He slowed down the workshop so that we didn’t jump into critique the first day, but instead parsed sentences. He didn’t allow certain people to dominate discussions. He led.

So a little less than a year later, a number of us from the workshop got together again at Vermin on the Mount to hear one of our workshop members, Pia Ehrhardt, read from her West Coast release of her short story collection Famous Fathers. She read most of the title story after a surprise reading by Stephen Elliot.

What’s the surprise here?

Goodwill. Community. Thank God. Thanks to Jim Ruland for creating Vermin on the Mount, an opportunity for writers to read their own work and thanks to Jim Shepard for creating community. Bravo!

Has anyone ordered business cards from moo? I was reading about moo in the SF Chronicle and have been looking for new business cards. The idea that I can crop photos from my flickr account and use them as business cards is really appealing.

Certain freeways in Southern California could be much more pleasant if they were a lane or two wider. There’s a stretch through Montecito on the 101, for example, in which traffic almost always comes to a stop. I realize that the people in Montecito don’t want to lose any land, but I assume they know that idling cars produce all sorts of noxious gases.

Similarly, there’s a section of the 405 through The Valley and Brentwood that is one of the inner circles of hell. In fact, when my former job moved from the Miracle Miles to the Westside and required commuting down the 405, my boss let me telecommute. It’s just that bad.

CalTrans has the unenviable job of negotiating with the rich folks in Brentwood to widen the 405, thus making the commute better for thousands, if not millions, of people. And the thing about rich people is, well, they have money to fight Cal Trans.

From the Los Angeles Times:

“It’s going to be a nightmare. There must be a way to resolve this without such a devastating impact on the neighborhood,” said Jason D. Kogan, a member of the Brentwood Glen Assn. board. He said that under the broader proposal, the residences lost would amount to 16% of the neighborhood.

Trust me. It’s already a nightmare for anyone commuting on the 405.

Photograph courtesy of Philip Greenspun

Some Thomas the Tank Engine Toys are being recalled because they are covered in lead paint. Lead, of course, causes all sorts of problems when kids eat it. And they do eat it. It’s sweet, at least, immediately when it’s in the mouth, and then after it’s incorporated in the body, it has been connected to a slurry of neurological problems.

Guess where the toys are manufactured?

I don’t really have to tell you, do I? They were manufactured in China, home to capitalism run amuck.

For more information on which specific products were recalled, check out Totally Thomas. And, if you own those toys, I suggest writing a letter to the manufacturer, RC2 Corporation stating that their slogan, “compelling passionate parenting” is far easier with toys that don’t cause neurological problems.

GhostGirl sent me this delicious link to a Disney article in which people get to live out their “dream jobs” as Disney employees. I’m sorry, I meant “Honorary Disney Cast Members”:

The “Honorary Disney Cast Members,” enjoyed a once-in-a-lifetime weekend at Disneyland Resort with costume fittings and hair and make-up to help them look the part, a class in “Disney Traditions” training, rehearsals, participating in interviews with media from around the country and on-the-job training that included learning the perfect curtsey, or tips on getting giggles from the crowd as a Jungle Cruise Skipper.

What’s missing from this Disney experience as staff? The struggle to survive on what Disney pays.

As I’ve mentioned Disney actively campaigns against low-income housing, many units of which are for its employees.

Yoohoo! Mental health? Are you there?

I’ve been taking morning walks before work with my dog in the backcountry behind our house for three months. The good news? I’ve lost weight. How much? No idea. My clothes are looser. And I feel much much better. Much more balanced. Much less scattered.

My walks are part of working through Vein of Gold, which is a book about dealing with your personal-painful crap in order to be more creative. I believe the back cover is more eloquent than that. The general idea is that with three practices (daily walks, morning writing, and artist dates), you can recover and deepen your creative practices.

It does sound sort of flakey. I really get that this sounds like something for people who wear broomstick skirts. But what I’ve found is that technical writing is creative, spreadsheets can be creative, accounting practices can be very creative (ha, ha), and that creativity is something everyone needs. And for some reason the walks contribute directly into creativity.

Now I can walk in the morning before work, but who else is walking? I fear not so many people are. While reading the news today, I came across How Children Lost the Right to Roam in Four Generations, which basically describes how cloistered children are today in Great Britain, and I reckon, in the United States. These kids aren’t walking without close supervision. And there’s a great map in that article that shows how little roaming area kids have in this generation compared to the last three.

Not only is walking healthy for your body, I think it’s healthy for your mind. There are great benefits in terms of introducing serenity and peace into your life when you walk in nature. This is not to suggest that nature is serene and peaceful. It’s not. It’s wild. But there is some physiological reaction that occurs when you are outside in nature that you don’t get in a sterile cube.

Via BoingBoing

If you’re self-employed, you are taxed slightly differently than if you have an employer. Self-employed people pay self-employment tax of 15.3%, of which 12.4% is for Social Security and 2.9% is for Medicare. If you’re employed by someone else, the employer pays half of this 15.3% and you see the other half deducted from your paycheck. If you’re self-employed, you pay all of it. It doesn’t seem like a huge deal at first, but on 100,000**, it’s roughly an extra $7650 of taxes that a self-employed person pays that an employee doesn’t.

Is self-employment tax fair? Probably. Is it painful? Absolutely. And it’s important for people who are self-employed to charge accordingly.

*At least on the first 94K that you earn
**This figure is not my income. The math is just easier with 100,000.

I have warm fuzzy feelings when I think of Morgan Freeman. And, without therapy, those feeling have been traced to their source with the help of You Tube: The Electric Company. Did you know Morgan Freeman was on the Electric Company? I certainly didn’t. But that does explain the state of ecstasy I enter when he speaks.

With that said, I loved 10 Items or less, a drama featuring Morgan Freeman as himself and Paz Vega as Scarlet, a store cashier. Filmed in 15 days on the tiniest budget imaginable, this is something you will need to rent. In 10 Items or Less, Freeman researches a role in a low-budget film (oooh metafiction!) at a grocery store, and meets Scarlet. They spend most of the movie becoming friends and driving around the parts of Los Angeles that never make it on the movie screen, the not so clean parts, the industrial parts, the parts where, say, the majority of the people live.

It’s primarily a film about taking a day to help each other clean up their lives. Scarlet needs a new job badly as her ex-boyfriend as boss has dumped her for another cashier, and Freeman needs to recover from some poor role choices in the past. Both need to regain emotional strength that work has drained from them. You might know the feeling.

it’s time for a quiz.

Take the creepy Work Interest Quiz from the United States Department of Defense.

Note how each work style has both a civilian and a military job. How handy!

My work style is “social” (I could be a minister as a civilian or a military chaplain!).

You can list your “options” here in comments, if you wish.

I wrote about unplugging unused electronics back in December with a delightful story of burning out a generator in the wilderness in Wyoming because I did not understand the concept of phantom load.

The general idea is that when a device is plugged into the wall, it uses electricity, regardless of whether it is “on.” So my cell phone charger plugged into the wall? It’s on even with no cell phone plugged in. My computer? It’s on even when it’s off, if it’s plugged in. The lamp in the corner that looks great, but that I hardly turn on? It’s sucking electricity too when it’s off.

Putting Energy Hogs in the Home on a Strict Low-Power Diet in the NYT investigates how much phantom load one writer has in the home-office. He uses the Kill-A-Watt and finds quite the phantom load from his desktop computer. Seriously.

Why is this important? If you use less electricity, not only will your electric bill be less, but you will contribute less to the demand for coal, which fuels many electrical plants and contributes to greenhouse gases.