Cabin Sunset with Streaks in the Clouds

Sunrise, sunset
Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly fly the years
One season following another
Laden with happiness and tears
From Fiddler on the Roof

Today was another day of Sisyphean effort. All day long at work, I was huffing and puffing and pushing that stone up the hill. After about an hour of hard labor I would get that rock to the top of the hill. Then like clockwork, either my grip would slip, I’d loose my footing and stumble or I’d take a break for lunch or a soda and that boulder would go rolling right by me and roll back down that hill. It is those moments after the fall that I treasure the most at work. I get to take a wee bit of a break, as I trot back down the hill. There is a moment or two to look around and smell the roses, before I have to start exerting myself again. In those moments of rest in-between bouts of exertion, I have time to contemplate the little things, like life, the Universe and everything.

Lately, I’ve been spending most of my workday shuttling from one building to the next. My two desks are both on the fourth floor, but the buildings are only connected on the third. I go down two flights of stairs and then up two flights of stairs, my own personal Stair-Master workout. On busy days like today, by the end of the day, I really do feel as tired as Sisyphus. Instead of pushing rocks uphill, lately I find myself more often pushing rope. It is easier to lead from the front, because then you can pull the rope behind you. When you lead from behind, you find yourself pushing it. It is hard to get anything done when your only choice is to push other people into doing their jobs. It gets frustrating.

I do have one humorous anecdote from today’s adventures. In addition to shuttling from one desk to another, I find myself increasingly traveling to ‘the land of broken toys’. I joked with my boss yesterday that since I am more frequently going there, maybe I should get a radiation badge. He thought it was a good idea and said that he would look into it, we’ll see. There is a big safety campaign that was launched this year. Anyway, back to the anecdote. My main point of contact over there is a women engineer. She is new. I’m also working with another young male engineer. We had set up a meeting for the afternoon, to discuss some things. Word got out and as we were about to go over there four other guys decided to come along too. So, I show up with five new hires in tow, my point of contact sees us and turns to her supervisor and exclaims, “OMG, he’s brought a boy band with him!” I hope that there is a Bieber among them.