Long week. I hit the wall around Tuesday but since I’m committed to adulting, I trudge. Reminds me of that delightful scene in “A Knight’s Tale,” where the term is gloriously defined:
To trudge [truhj]: The slow, weary, depressing yet determined walk of a man who has nothing left in his life except the impulse to simply soldier on.
That’s me. That’s probably all of us at one point or another, but this week that’s especially me, professionally, at least. Perhaps it’s just my mid-life crisis. What do I do with the next 43 years of my life, etc…. #firstworldproblems #worldismyoyster
I was on Glassdoor the other day. My dashboard tells me that my worth has decreased over the last 30 days. Between Mint.com telling me I “might want to look into” my unusual spending and now Glassdoor telling me my worth is decreasing, the only thing I can think to do is fall into the hammock and smooch on Alfie.
Yes, I struggle with finding my worth in my marketability. I’m a proud corporate shill. Nine days out of ten, I dig being a sell-out to The Man: the benefits, the salary, the fancy tools and processes, the swag—but every now and then, it’s like we put ourselves in our own crosshairs and pull the trigger.
A couple of weeks ago, I ran across the most quintessential corporate “corporate-ey” thing ever:
A 2 MXN peso expense report was rejected because it didn’t have a receipt. Last time I checked, 2 MXN pesos is approximately -$.01. But the Finance Audit team required a full formal accounting of this suspicious AMEX charge. You have to admire the attention to detail; anyone who thinks they can fly under the radar in a big company is whistling Dixie. At last accounting, it cost The Man around $142 USD to rework, re-justify, re-submit and ri-hee-hee-dicule that 2 MXN charge. Because believe me, there was some chortling going around when that expense report came back.
Speaking of currency, the other day I got $40 out of an ATM at 7-Eleven.
“TAKE CASH,” it said on the screen.
So I did. With relish.
The machine lit up and I heard what sounded like a little trumpet salute: “Toodle-loo!” I reminded me of hitting three lemons at a one-armed bandit in Vegas.
I grinned at the cashier. “Didn’t expect fanfare for using my debit card.” She didn’t look like she found it as humorous as I did.
ANYWAY…on my way out, dressed in my Official Business Casual Corporate Attire (white capris, cardigan and my deadly red lipstick), I held the door for a guy wearing a black T-shirt that said “DOPE”.
“You sure are a beautiful lady,” he said. I won’t lie: I preened. It was the lipstick.
So, all in all, it was a worthwhile trip to 7-Eleven. During a week of trudging, I’ll take a shot in the arm however I can get it.
As the Geoffrey Chaucer character so delightfully portrayed by Paul Bettany in “A Knight’s Tale” says,
“Trudging does represent pride, resolve and faith in the good Lord Almighty.”
