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This Is The Reason….

… you need more Zaal in your life.

Are you known for your biting sense of humor? Would your friends call you caustic? Is irony the highest form of verbal art (in your   humble opinion)? Then you can also be considered something else besides “sarcastic”: intelligent.

The article goes on to add that several studies done at Harvard investigate the way sarcasm is an indicator of potential intelligence. Give it a read here if you’re interested.

No, I don’t think I’m super intelligent because I’m sarcastic. But the possibility of the reverse may very well be true. 😉

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BlackJack: Or How I’m Proving I’m Not My Father

Sly and I have made an annual trip to Vegas during the Xmas break. It’s turned into a bit of a tradition and I’ll tell you why (in no particular order):

  • Inexpensive
  • Endless entertainment options
  • World Class dining establishments
  • No snow
  • No (family) drama

After our first trip we really understood how Vegas could answer the holiday blues for us. When it came time to decide our vacation the next Xmas break, it was a very easy decision to make. So we went again. And it was glorious.

We ate at Burgr, had a champagne brunch (bring on the pitcher of mimosa!!!) , and saw Zarkana, another of the incomparable Cirque de Soleil shows. We visited the Mob Museum, wandered around Fremont Street and did some shopping at the North and South Premium Outlets! Our hotel last year was the MGM Grand and our room was so fantastic, we’ll be using them for our hotel again due to the amenities and the proximity to the theatre we attend to see a movie or two. (Last year we managed to get into a preview of Into the Woods! So cool!). See the gallery below for some pictures.

You’ll notice something from the list of activities above: no gambling in a city where gambling is one of the main draws. Not to say we didn’t gamble! Sly and I spent a bit of time at a Walking Dead slot machine and had a great time. We even ended up coming out significantly ahead due to a lucky spin. But that was it, nothing else. No poker, no blackjack, no roulette.

As you may or may not know, my Father was a gambler. Even worse, he was a gambler that didn’t know when to quit and, I realize now, didn’t understand that gambling to excess is like anything else: damaging to yourself and those around you. Eventually he lost something of value beyond a few restaurants and money: he lost his family.

Continue reading “BlackJack: Or How I’m Proving I’m Not My Father”

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One year, One Month: An Ode to Unmet Expectations

Note: I’m going to try to keep this short but it’s bursting to come out. I may ramble. Sorry. (not really)

It’s been a year since I posted about my hiring as a ‘full time’ employee of the Applied Research department at SAIT Polytechnic. In fact, I was quite enthusiastic. I was kind of hoping to do a retrospective of how things are now, how my attitudes have altered and how things have, or have not, changed.

First off, I’m still as busy as ever.  I didn’t leave work tonight until 1900. I’m not sure why I thought that wouldn’t happen as often as it used to but I did. Now that I’ve spent the past two months since I returned from summer vacation running around like a chicken with my head cut off, I’m starting to realize that this is unsustainable.  I’m not as young as I used to be and my energy drains more quickly than it has in the past and takes longer to refill.  The vacations I find myself taking with Sly aren’t quite keeping up with the deficit I’m running in the energy and enthusiasm department.

Second, the level of responsibility that I am saddled with doesn’t really jibe with what I agreed to, on paper, when I signed on.  This isn’t completely a surprise to me as I’m always the schmuck ready to aid when someone says they need an extra set of hands to do something and then, miraculously once the task has begun, the person I was helping can no longer help and I’m left holding the bag.

Third, I’m accruing an inordinate amount vacation days. By default we get 4 weeks a year of regular vacation and I’m almost back to that level after my two weeks over the summer.  Should I be taking more breaks? Longer breaks?  I’ve never been in a place where I could tell my boss I’ll be taking a week off and having them nod, smile, remind me to get any loose ends tied up and then just go so I’m unsure if I’m doing it right.

Yes, I know the first two were negative and the third seemed positive but that’s not how it feels.  I see those numbers sitting in my HR info page and realize they are just sitting there, mocking me. I can’t actually just pick up and go when I want. Our next trip isn’t until Xmas for a quick jaunt to Vegas for a few days where I hope to burn off a metric fuck-ton of steam.

WTF is my problem? Am I burning out? Am I losing drive to be the best I can be while being slowly, inexorably, ground down from the pressures of my job? All of the above?

Sly always says I should be thankful for what I have and not be pissed off about what I don’t.  Am I in the wrong to think this should be (somewhat) easier? And if it’s not supposed to be easier yet when does that start so I have something to look forward to?

Fuck it. Movement is life is a motto I enjoy keeping in my mind. I’ll keep moving and see where it takes me. But for how long can I maintain this pace?