Archive for August 2010
“Stick to the knitting – stay with the business that you know.” – Tom Peters and Robert Waterman
Career paths do not always lead us to exactly where we want to go. Many of us take small detours (intended or not) and later in life very often wind up in a career that is very different from what we set out to do. Early in my career I opted to take a huge detour, which was more like an off ramp. Thinking that I always wanted to be a programmer (my education is Accounting and Finance), I took a job that would allow me to get my “foot in the door”. I quickly learned (the hard way) that, not only wasn’t I qualified to be a programmer, I was not very good at it. The “off ramp” scenario can sometimes be “career-threatening” and is very different from the occasional (and somewhat common) detour.
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When I was a kid, my mantra for having a perfect school year was try really, really hard — harder than the year before, and pay attention. I started the school year the same as everyone else, with the right school supplies like sharp pencils, a brand new notebook, and new clothes. Add to that my daily chanting while in class, and perfection was just a breath away.
But I was flying solo. Eventually, the deep distrust I felt for school would penetrate my body. No one had any idea what to make of me, and I knew my learning process, so vastly other than the system I must try to learn in, would never be free from such a rigid educational culture and narrow teaching methodology. I felt dumb, alienated, and experienced an array of somatic symptoms that were the bruises and cuts that sliced my body into fragments of my true self.
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Our new dog, Dallas, decided to step up his territorial behavior when we sold our home of the last ten years and moved into an apartment. Layla, our yellow lab, had a clear stake when we lived in our house by virtue of being a single pet for eight years, so he rarely marked territory there. But, being no dolt, Dallas realized the apartment was an unclaimed territory. You gotta love him; I found a little drizzle of piddle on the carpet every time I turned around. Now, I wanted the apartment to be clean and tidy at least for a little while, so I was on my hands and knees blotting any suspicious-looking warm and yellowish spot. I spent way too much time at the kitchen sink rinsing and wringing out wet rags. Read the rest of this entry »
Odds, Ends, Beginnings. 