Well, I'm still under the gun, work-wise. I'm also rather fearful and anxious, because I have no gigs lined up after this project is done.
What I am about to say may seem inane and foolish, given the parlous state of the economy, but -- even though a lot of people would kill to get a project like the one I just did -- I'm sick of doing what I do for a living. Burned out. Have been for some time. I feel like I'm no good at it any more. Sure, most of the time I can fake competence -- but I'm not really good. Not these days. As the minstrel sang: "Oh, that magic feeling -- oh, where'd it go?"
I'd like to take a year off to work part-time at a Taco Bell, blogging in my free time. That seems like heaven.
(Hmm..."Taco Bell's Cannon"...why does that sound so familiar?)
Speaking of our parlous economy, the video embedded above is a superb hour-long British documentary on the Super Rich. Yes, this one goes over familiar ground -- the subprime crisis, the securitization bubble, and so on. But it goes deeper, and it brings us up to date. Apparently, the ultra-affluent have socked away a lot of their dough in order to buy up under-valued companies around the world. That will happen soon.
And here is how the socking-away process takes place...
Tax Havens-Tax Evasion of Corporates,Monarchs,Dictators Pt1
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Tax Havens-Tax Evasion of Corporates,Monarchs,Dictators Pt2
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You want to know The Secret? In a word: Ruthlessness. The Law of Never Giving a Sucker an Even Break. That's the real secret.
9 comments:
Dear Joe,
I am REALLY sorry to hear of your burnout and description above. It might help, but only very little, to know that I've been/am there and I understand and have deep sympathy regarding the problem. I expect others will respond similarly.
The real secret has nothing to do with becoming bestial. Any personal shortcomings we may perceive in ourselves, because we are imperfect human beings, are not the root of the problem. The problem is political. ("A republic, if you can keep it," said the man.)
Get thee to the library and read the writings of Sun Yat-sen, Like Fundamentals of National Reconstruction. Do not bother reading any biographies; they all fall way short. He understood. Your republic is under attack.
Sincerely,
Gary
(Raised in the Valley, 1953-1969.) I'm homesick.
When I felt the way you do now, I went back to school are started a second career path. Lots of people do this in midlife.
Good luck with the fast food adventure as there will be plenty of competition for the "Do you want fries with that?" occupations.
You can thank your sell-out Senators and Representative for that.
Yeah, economically speaking, this is a really poor time for something so self-indulgent as a mid-life crisis...
Maybe a two week stink at McDonalds will give you a better appreciation for your present line of work or give you the incentive to find something more compatible with your talents.
Off-topic, but would your Cannon family ever have been French Huguenots Canons from NYC in the 17th century, then moved to MD?
pj...about my family history: I don't know. My father came from Ohio. He died when I was young, and we lost contact with his family. His family history was, I am told, very convoluted.
And I have no doubt that you are right about the first point. Look, a mid-life crisis doesn't have to make sense. These things aren't rational. They just...are.
That should have read two week stint, but stink it might.
Yes, you do what you have to do, right time or not.
Ruthlessness? I have recently been wondering if the whole point of the pre-revolutionary russian aristocracy was that it was too dumb to realise that its collective ruthlessness was counterproductive.
I dont think this time will work according to plan for the super rich. This might be the time they push things too far.
Harry
I actually worked a stint at Taco Bell. Believe it or not it WAS relaxing. I worked 20 hours a week with a bunch of teens and college students. The guy in charge pretty much left me to my own devices, the kids were great and fun to work with and I only worked Sun thru Thursday(which was when I wanted to work schedule wise). Other than pay which was extremely low I'd recommend it for burn out.
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