lean and mean

Back in the 90s every corporate system in the country started learning how to "be lean" through thousands of company sponsored training programs aiming at getting the front line worker to buy into the idea that if you bust your ass for work you will be compensated when the money gets saved. It's a no brainer right? Happy employees with a common mission will do you proud every time. But what happens when you use up their creativity and loyalty to where they just don't give a rat's ass anymore. One can only attend so many pep rallies while the slashing is going on. My ex-husband's employer used him in that way because he knew the mechanics of his line and all of his co-workers liked him. I watched as these corporate types trotted him up there to do a public speaking gig for some out of towners and commence to forget the entire humiliating experience with multiple shots of Crown. His boss brought him and the truck home. Now THAT is a bossfriend.

My experience has been this...and of course it's never in a nutshell with me, the creator of multiple run along sentences. I followed in my mother's footsteps by being a peacemaker long term co-dependent on many levels including work. My boss at the time was a man whom everyone loved but who pretty much just let us run the place because he was the only guy. We all adored him and wanted his approval but never quite got it because he believed that if you are on time, dependable and work hard you are average. Yep, a solid 3 out out of 5 with of course the latter being "walks on water." So needless to say I haven't seen many of those. It can be discouraging when you try your best to give an honest effort and get told that it's nothing special. Everybody's got something, mind you. There are just some who will push themselves to keep things from falling to pieces because they are so wonderful! stuck on themselves as being the hero that they go out and LOOK for opportunities to work and fix!

Anyway, since there wasn't anything even resembling a pat on the back for a job well done, I got used to it and soldiered on because I was younger and could deal with stress better (except with PMS which is a whole'notha story). Fueled by caffeine, nicotine, Miller ponies and a desire to save the world I was a poster child for the company that bought our county place because I was one of their own as were my parents and grandmother. One would think that being all churchified and such they would think twice about launching a mission that was too big to fail like buying seven hospitals at once. In an ironic dejavu kind of moment, the highest bidder won the prize that was the best years of my life. And I'm just average.

Enough about me though. Nobody comes here to listen to me whine so I try to keep it brief, meaningful and hard for the cyberpolice to trace so I don't get dooced before my note holders take me to debtor's prison. Since I almost never read the news I was shocked to suddenly see pictures of gassed Syrians and their grieving relatives that happened what..7 days ago? Is security that tight ya'll??? I see a big political move coming on where whomever scores the win on this is a coin toss because only 9% of the population supports intervention, particularly short sighted acts of fist beating. Dudes..if they do have the gas? Why risk that kind of exposure for both our troops and the innocent civilians? Get.A.Grip.Washington. Daddy used to tell this story about the old country vet who got called for a sick cow. "If she makes it, tell everybody I saved her. If she dies, tell 'em I didn't get there in time."

Now, I can rest better after that little rant, like it makes a difference. In a sense it does because it's off my chest and back in Big Ernie's hands. It's a good thing because I was having a pain in it. Probably indigestion from the steroids and antibiotics!

Happy hump day ^j^