Massive Cuts at Dad Co. !!!!!!

MadeUp News – The workforce at Dad Co. has been given notice that, as of September 6th, they will be transitioned to a part-time basis, working only Mondays and Fridays. A company spokesman was quoted as saying “it’s a definite shift in our workload, but the consumer demand just isn’t there. Our primary client has decided to use another service provider for Tuesday to Thursday, and we can’t offer a competing package.” Reaction from the workforce has been generally sad and mopey, with muttered talk of “my boy is growing up so quickly” and questions about “who will make sure he eats his lunchtime vegetable?” filling the air of the Dad Co. Factory.

 

translation: Max goes back to preschool tomorrow, and this year, he’s going for 3 full days a week. For the first time in 2 years, I won’t be there during lunchtime. For some reason, that’s the part that I’m hung up on-his new level of sandwich autonomy.

I know that he’s going to enjoy going back to school. In fact, he’s been asking about school for the last few weeks, after he reached a state of boredom with our summer routine. My boy’s a social butterfly, and he’s looking forward to having new friends to play with. And it will be good for me as well, giving me time during business hours to try to make money, while also plugging away at my next novel.

But like every parent before me, I can’t help but be sad at the march of time, since that march leads him towards independence and away from me. Last year, I couldn’t fathom reaching this point in time. I thought it was so far away that it would never actually happen, but here we are. Next year he’ll be at the real deal, full day junior kindergarten. Sniffle.

I’m very grateful that I’m able to be at home, spending Mondays and Fridays with him, and being able to pick him up at 3PM after school.  I sincerely hope that I can find some kind of reliable income source that will allow us to keep me here, though I realize how challenging it’s going to be to find some kind of job that will fit within the hours I have available (nevermind my continual battle with the lack of credentials on my CV. Curse you, lack of employer-enticing accomplishments!) So, dear universe, if you were planning to throw some cash my way, this would be a fine and dandy time to do so. I promise that I’ll keep trying to make the world a better place, and I won’t buy even one giant foam cowboy hat.

We’re Watching the Politicians

(I’m addled by the furious wrath of the sun, but I’m determined to get out a blog post before the heat stroke takes the last bits of my reason and intellect. I don’t think I’ve gone mad yet, but you’re always the last to know).

There is an experiment discussed in the personal improvement book “The 4-Hour body” that really caught my interest. One of the volunteer test subjects decided that his method of weight loss would be to keep an accurate record of his weight several times a a day, every day. That’s it-no diet changes, no new exercise, just weighing himself and writing the number down every day in the morning and at night. And he lost weight.

I don’t think this is some kind of miracle cure for obesity, and it’s doubtful that this guy was going to see a dramatic long-term loss through simple observation, but it highlights an interesting feature of our human behaviour. Quite simply, we behave differently when observed. One of the best ways to ensure that people straighten up and keep flying right is to watch them and to let them know you’re watching them. No, I’m not advocating round the clock surveillance.

Let’s look at a specific situation. Last week, our city council met for what was promising to be a cavalcade of poor decisions that sacrificed long-term progress for rash penny-pinching. The council members were greeted by a full gallery of citizens who were ready to watch and comment on all of the goings on. There were a fair number of attendees who were focused on a very specific issue (the closing of a tiny but beloved library), and you can always count on that type of focused group to come trooping out to complain, so I imagine they are fairly easy to ignore. But along with these special interest people, there were a large number of citizens who were there to keep an eye on the general business of council. And as they watched, they took notes, and they tweeted each vote and comment. I followed along at home and it was fantastic to have real-time access and reaction to the goings on, and I was able to join the conversation.The next day, I reviewed the council decisions, and I was pleasantly surprised to notice that most of the decisions that had been made were the right ones, even if it contradicted what the earlier committee work had recommended.  It was almost as if the councillors had noticed they were being watched.

Oh, what a digital age we live in.

Did I ever think that I would hear my dear wife say “I miss your blogging”? No sir, I did not. It’s painfully true that blog production has crawled to a standstill here at Me Industries, and I blame the economy, taxes, and the possibility of zombies.

Okay, okay, fine, I’m the cause of this lack of blog. No need to drag the economy into this, and I like paying taxes. No really, I do. I do not want to pay for my own road when I want to go somewhere. I’d start paving it, and then I’d realize that I was paving over the vegetable garden, and then I’d get yelled at. And if we are brutally honest, the zombie threat is at exactly the same level it was before I started blogging.

It’s not that I don’t have topics to blog about. The issue is that some of these topics are highly passionate and I’m afraid that I’m going to creep you out with my fiery rhetoric. Plus, a lot of it will be politically related, and I’d hate to cheese any of you wonderful readers off by waving my politics in your face. On the other hand, the things that I’m passionate about inform the rest of my life and influence the decisions that I make, so if this blog is about my journey as a dad, my politics come into play. So I guess I should just let ’em rip.

Also, I take everything too seriously right now. It’s the perilous side-effect of paying attention to the world around me. It’s all well and good to have informed opinions tat you’re enthusiastic about, but sometimes you need to dial it down, stop worrying about the fate of humanity, and be happy. I’m working on it.

Speaking of caring about things: I’m feeling a little low on allies (my ever-supportive wife notwithstanding). I was hoping that, if I found the right bunch of fellows, I’d be able to assume we were on the same page at all times and not worry about a difference of opinion popping up. This is, as you may be aware of, unrealistic. It would be easier for me if we could all just sit around agreeing with each other, but the price of civic involvement is learning to find a peaceable accord between differing perspectives. I can handle the big differences (I think), but discovering that one of my new civic-minded friends has a contrary opinion on something gets me a little frustrated. More learning is required.