All work and no play…
…makes Jack get the fuck out of my way when he sees me coming. Heh.
I tell you what, I haven’t been doing anything but working, getting ready for work, commuting to work, and winding down from work. That doesn’t leave a lot of time for thinking about anything else. Thanksgiving was a nice break but it didn’t seem like it lasted very long.
For the past two weeks I’ve been knocking out some backlog project work for a pretty good fellow over in Texas City. It’s an on-site gig so the drive is pretty tough. The commute is one hour each way and though the cummulative miles are hard on an aging body, the worse thing about the commute is that it is unpaid. Ten hours per week that are non-productive and non-recuperable. Totally wasted.
If you make your living billing by the hour like me, that’s not a good feeling. If you need extra time to pursue other activities (like your next paying job), that’s not a good feeling. If you need to spend a little more time with your kids so they don’t turn out to be fucked-up units, that’s not a good feeling. If you would like to just read more books or lay on your ass, that’s not a good feeling.
I know, I know… my expenses are supposed to be figured into my rate. I know all that stuff. I’m just saying. Sitting on your ass doing nothing for ten hours a week hoping the cops don’t pull you over and rob you is not a good feeling. Especially when most of the time it is not even necessary.
You know what else? My radio fried about four weeks ago. I’ve been driving back and forth to Texas City for almost three weeks in silence. I thought it would be good meditation time. Pfft. Too much thinking about stuff just pisses a person off because eventually it all boils down to the same conclusion: There ain’t fuck all you can do about any of it.