Nothing funny, just work and not interesting work, just work-work.

Performance review time is back again, patiently waiting for me to somehow cram all of the things I do into a few simple paragraphs and content-constructs that will enable HR to seamlessly upgrade my position and create for me a higher earning potential. That’s my boss’s plan, anyway. I’m going away in less than a week but I haven’t really had a chance to think about that. I suppose that’s a good thing as it will allow the experience to have a somewhat alien quality about it, though I feel this is something that would have a happened naturally enough, anyway. Besides, I have my own particular way of looking at things that tend to make them unique enough in my own right. Still, there’s no accounting for planning, and there’s no taste like a new one. My phone rings non-stop at work now. People calling and asking me the same questions every day. It’s almost fun, but so much rides on giving them the correct answer, it can drive you crazy. I have to present a confidence about my replies that leaves no doubt as to the veracity of my response, but this is a game where the rules keep shifting and what seems concrete this week may be redirected and turned to mud next. Anyway, this is reason enough that I need a big pay raise and new job title. I need to be on a more equal footing with the people I’m helping. I mean, that just makes sense. I’m also at the compliment-saturation point here. Right now people say so many good things about me it must be getting annoying to them. It’s also a fairly good rule that you can only inflate for so long before you pop, but since my compensation is lagging behind my contribution to this overall system I think I have a bit of a pressure-release valve going for me. I’m not complaining, though, I know plenty enough people who have jobs they hate or can’t find any sort of inroad to a good career, so I’m not going to bitch about it. But I will continue to navigate a path that leads to a decent pay day and a decent working environment. I’m half-way there, I just need to make it home. A couple of people have already come to me for some advice about how to phrase their own performance reviews. Given the number of resumes, cover letters, and interviewing assistance I’ve given I still can’t figure out how that would be a job I’m good at. I can’t imagine liking doing that. Too much face time with people trying to pull out of their own minds the skills they possess. It’s the same reason I would never have gone into therapy-based psychology: I don’t really care all that much about the outcome; I’m far more interested in the process. I’m pretty sure that my burn-out time would have been about one year. I’m still craving a Cuban Cosmo. That was one of the best drinks I’ve had in a long time. I’d have two right now if I could.