Jump to content

Dealing with Managment


Recommended Posts

  • Members

Any Technicians Work for a big Corporation?

 

A friend of mine (fellow audio engineer) posted this on his FB page. I thought it was so succinct, pertinent to what we do and SO FUNNY that I'd post it here.

 

Enjoy

af644d7ba2012745d32074f5f56b15a5.thumb.jpg.72fa96c5036dd12996822f8985d14824.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Well... I'm fixin to attend my high school graduation class's 40th. year reunion tomorrow. I attended our class's 10th, 20th, and 30th reunions... and managed to avoid any sort of serious socializing by "playing in the band" as entertainment for those previous reunions... with ample amounts of immersing myself in set-up and tear down before and after the entertainment. I did take breaks from "the band thing" in previous years to make passes through the buffet table prior to playing... but of-course I didn't engage in conversation during the dinner hour (can't converse with my mouth full). However, this year I don't have an easy out from the socializing, as the band couldn't get it together for the event... even with my pleading (sigh).

 

This is an RSVP event, complete with a questionnaire accompanying the RSVP invitation that was sent out a couple months ago. The questionnaire was titled: "Let us know what you've been doing for the past 40 years!" My sense is that the questionnaire is likely a window to the popular socializing subjects for the upcoming event.

 

First question was: "Name and contact information:" (fair enough)

Second question was: "Occupation" The blank to the side of this "question" was pretty short... room for only a couple of words.

Third: "Spouse's Name:" (obviously the organizers take it for granted that you're married)

Fourth: "Spouse's Occupation": Again, a real short blank space to fill this in.

Fifth: "How many children and what's their names?" Lots of blank space to fill in all sorts of names.

Sixth: "How many grandchildren and what's their names?" Tons of blank space to use as needed here as well.

Seventh: "List your hobbies:" The lower 1/3 or more of the page was devoted to this.

 

I've been working on getting mentally prepared for this reunion now for the past few weeks... as I suspect I'll be engaged in conversations about kids, hobbies, and what a buffoon "the boss is", and "counting the hours till retirement". But since I don't have any kids (that I know of), and I don't have any hobbies that didn't turn into jobs, and I am the boss... and I'm fixin to retire at about the same time as they pull the plug on whatever machines are keeping me alive when that time comes... I dunno... It might be a long afternoon. I'm hoping the beer's cold... I'd better stay away from anything stronger as that generally puts my mouth into gear... probably be best just to listen, smile, and nod my head in an empathetic sort of way.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Interesting position to be in Mark -- curious enough to attend but anxious/ambivalent enough to not look forward to it <WINK>!

 

I've heard that more "real diets" (diets that are adhered to) are because of class reunions than any other reason. That's not on my to-do list for the upcoming social event, but I did make an assessment of my clothing situation... which amounts to stage attire or "work clothes". The past 3 reunions I've gotten by just fine wearing stage attire... but I'd probably look "out of place" this year going dressed like Sgt. Pepper or Ernest Tubb... and then it dawned on me that all my other clothes, being my work clothes, well... there's some problems. My pair of "shoes" (the pair of "regular" shoes I own) is a cheap pair of wore-out tennis shoes being held together with shoe-goo, and gaff tape holding the shoe-goo together. And all my work shirts (all of which are Aloha shirts) are all missing one or more button. And all my work pants (all being Levis 501's) universally have rips, stains, paint splatters, welding burns, etc... sigh... And I really hate to go shopping... especially for clothes. Maybe I can borrow some suitable attire from one of my employees?

 

I do own a tie though... a really cool tie. It's silk and has a buffalo surfing on it. Too bad this isn't a tie affair.

 

I dunno... this class reunion thing is really a stresser for a bass player who's been nearly exclusively "socializing" by "hiding on stage and playing bass" for 4+ decades.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members
Well... Our class's "class song" is likely no-longer fitting... as I recall it was a Carpenter's song: "We've Only Just Begun".
A good friend of mine wrote the music to that song then sold the rights, credits and all, to pay living expenses fresh out of college many, many years ago,
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members
Our class's "class song" is likely no-longer fitting... as I recall it was a Carpenter's song: "We've Only Just Begun".

 

Yea. What happened to the while lace & promises? I seem to wear black shirts and get periodic B.S. :-)

 

I guess I gave up on white lace and went for the red panties instead. And thinking about it B.S. is promises, they just aren't kept.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Yea. What happened to the while lace & promises? I seem to wear black shirts and get periodic B.S. :-)

 

I guess I gave up on white lace and went for the red panties instead. And thinking about it B.S. is promises, they just aren't kept.

I dunno about all of that... guess I never did.

 

I was a big Frank Zappa fan in high school... still am 40 years later. I guess cause Frank seemed to more-so speak my language than The Carpenters or something... I dunno... it might have been some arrested development thing with me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Mark I totally feel for you! I should be going to my 30th this year. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately!) I went to too many high schools to have very many real ties to one school. Playing bass in a sea of wanna be guitar players kept me adequately socialized from the stage through all those schools and even graduated early from the last one to hit the road with a band. So no one particular school is "home" and I've managed to maintain relationships with those that mattered, while gracefully avoiding reunion email lists from various schools. I could loan you a Hawaiian shirt if it would help!

 

"...curious enough to attend but anxious/ambivalent enough to not look forward to it " Well put, Dave.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Well... as Pete said: "Enough of talking about me... let's talk about me." I did survive the reunion. My 2 weeks preparing for the event fairly well had me mentally prepared... I was able to generally put names with the faces of most of my class mates... and I believe I did an admirable job of being involved with the socializing (in a passively engaged sort of way). My attire seemed suitable for the occasion, and I did drive the "suitable vehicle" to the event. I had a feeling showing up in a vette or riding in on a scooter wouldn't have been suitable... so I drove my wife's Tahoe. As it was, I doubt the vette would have made it to the reunion location... and it would have been "tricky" on any one of my scooters... as the reunion location was at a fellow classmate's "cabin" up on a mountain... which involved a few miles of crazy steep washboard gravel (rock) "road"... nice place though once there. But, my "training" didn't physically prepare me... as I found-out, and I'm still healing up. I honestly don't believe I've ever sat for 8 hours in a lawn chair... and that's what they and I did: Sat in lawn chairs, eating, drinking, and looking at baby and vacation pictures on smart phones. You can't be the first to leave from an event like that... I was the second to leave... but that opportunity only came about after said 8 hours in a lawn chair. And my digestive system is still attempting to stabilize: "How about another piece of cake and some more ice cream?" deep breath... "Sure" I generally eat one meal a day... and admittedly the reunion only involved one meal... one 7 1/2 hour meal... that was still going strong when I exited stage right. I believe I was way out of my league in that crowd... as there seemed to be some total pros in attendance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • CMS Author

Mark, I attended my 25th reunion. Hadn't seen most of the class since graduation. It was rather traumatic to see all these fat, balding, matronly people who only moments before were in my memory as teenagers. Then thinking, "geez, do *I* look like that to them? Probably". It took quite some time to shake all that off.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members
Mark, I attended my 25th reunion. Hadn't seen most of the class since graduation. It was rather traumatic to see all these fat, balding, matronly people who only moments before were in my memory as teenagers. Then thinking, "geez, do *I* look like that to them? Probably". It took quite some time to shake all that off.

 

One of the main topics of conversation at our 40th. reunion was "retirement". Seemingly many (most) in attendance are 58-59 yo, and have been working steady career jobs since their 20's (or late teens)... and are fixin to retire at 62... being a few years from now. A couple of the guys and one gal retired from military careers "some time ago" and are fixin to retire from their second career right directly. I don't know if there is some anomaly with my classmates or what... but I was looking around... and all... literally all of us look to me like any one of us could pass for being in our 40's... the whole bunch of them are fit and trim and bright eyed and "looking reasonably good in traffic". Clearly "we" aren't kids anymore, but as a group... talking about retirement??? We certainly don't seem that old looking at us. I fairly clearly remember when my granddad retired in his early '60's, and from what I recall: he was old & bent (fully die-cast for the couple of years of retirement he was afforded before he passed away). But then Liz and I went out for burgers, shakes, and fries today... and I noticed the background music at the burger joint was easy listening from the late '60's and early 70's... you know... that same tape the '70's vintage shopping malls have been running since they opened. I got to thinking: Was the background music in restaurants, stores and such back in the 60's... was that music out of the 20's? Or have times changed?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...