Work 'N' Stuff

Housekeeping item: It seems that my blog is a bitch in heat to the comment spammer dogs of the world. Grrr. I hate those guys. I hate them A LOT. I'm seriously considering taking comments off entirely. Anyone else with this problem? Does it help to actually have a Typepad account? Anybody?

Now that that's off my chest, on to work-related news. The "big change" in the air a couple of weeks ago was the purchase of my small, beloved 18-person new media shop by a gargantuan 300-person Ad Agency. We attended seminars the first couple of days at the new joint that drove home to me that all of a suddon I'm now an Ad Man. I actually changed majors in college because I didn't want to be That Guy - the Ad Man. And yet, by default, here I am. I've been working for dot-bomb startups for 6 years, so my self-view is full of scrappy and underdog-ish images. And now I feel like I'm really working for The Man. Philosophically, this is a BIG shift.

It's not that the Big Bad Ad Agency is really that bad, or that big for that matter. They have taken on all of our staff in the purchase, including me at my part-time status, and at the same salaries. They are able to afford things like company retreats and have an actual pub on premesis. They have FIVE DEPARTMENTS of people who split out the job I have been doing. I'll be able to do better, cooler things, I'm sure.

But, I'm stuck in the I-don't-wanna phase. I've tried the head-in-the-sand-and-maybe-it'll-go-away tactic. No dice. I've also clicked my ruby slippers. Kansas has yet to appear. Yet every time I try to pull myself into a happy frame of mind about the change, something happens to cause backsliding. I guess the best thing is that it IS happening. Like a black hole coming inexorably closer. I just have to stick around, get sucked in, and see where it goes.

Besides, it might be refreshing to work for a company that could still be in business when I might eventually leave. The last five - yes five - companies that I've worked for are no longer around. For a variety of reasons. Really! It's not just me. I swear.

Verklempt

I'm quite sure that's not how you actually spell that, but it applies anyway. There are some major changes happening at my work that are making me uber depressed. My workplace is changing significantly, and, for all intents and purposes, I'll be getting a new job, even though I didn't feel finished with the old one yet.

I like my job. I like the people I work with, and the stuff I do, and the environment in which I do it. My workplace has been through several significant periods of change in the last couple of years and it had recently (I thought) settled down again. But alas, no. More big changes. And I don't wanna!

Maybe if I try the Little Man's tactic of screaming, carefully laying down and banging my head against the floor repeatedly, I'll make it all stop. It never works for him, but for me? Maybe.

I'll let you know how it goes.

I See Stain People

I can't remember a time when I didn't see people in the stain on doors. It's kind of like seeing shapes in clouds, only with wood grain its easier because it doesn't change shape and there are some doors that you end up staring at a lot (bathrooms . . .)

When I was growing up our bathroom door had what looked like a man in a hooded cloak imbedded in it. Over the years he was a monk, a wizard, the grim reaper - whatever I happened to be into at the time. My bedroom door housed a couple of gorillas.

I find it oddly comforting to be able to see images in the wood grain. That's one reason why I prefer houses with stained wood. It gives a place personality.

I still see weird things in doors- in the bathroom door at work there is a cartoon goat in the corner of the door, and right smack dab in the middle is what appears to be a woman in labor (or as Mr. Me would say, "waiting for a bus"). I have to admit, it's a bit unsettling to have to stare at that every time you sit down for a tinkle.

Next time you see a stained door, stare at it for a minute. What do you see?