Monday, June 9, 2008

Back to the Future


When I was younger and used to think about my life as a grown up, it involved the following:

  • Working Downtown
  • Riding a Train to Work
  • Having a Dog & Cat
  • Buying My Own Groceries
  • Driving a Car
  • Michael J. Fox
Five out of six ain't bad; however, I neglected to add one teensy weensy item to that list. Work days?  Should totally start at 10 a.m. and end promptly at 4 p.m.  

That way, I wouldn't have to wake up at 4:30 a.m. to have time to feed the dog and cat that I so desperately wanted, put on nice enough clothes to work in a downtown office and leave in time to catch the 6:15 train.   The youth of the '80's.  SO misled.  These Generation Y'ers and their entitlement issues?  COMPLETELY onto something.

As I stepped off the train this morning and walked past the buildings that have been in downtown Portland for almost 100 years, I took some comfort in knowing that day after day, year after year, Monday after Monday thousands of people have walked the same streets on their way to work.  And if they could do it?  So could I.  

I stopped for a second to take a picture so those of you lovely peeps who live in other parts of the country could see what Pioneer Courthouse Square and 364 days of gray skies look like.  PCS is referred to in some circles as "Portland's Living Room" but to me as "Where All the Cool Shit Goes Down in the Season We Try and Pass Off As Summer."  Please note the fuzzy photo.  That would be from getting tapped on the shoulder by a homeless gentleman/comedian at the same time I took the picture.

"What's the longest pencil in the world?"  

Pennsylvania.  Get it?!

Perhaps Michael J. Fox could pick me up in his De Lorean?  I'd like to go back to 1982 and restate my goals.  They would be as follows:

  • No pencil jokes.
  • Figure out a fulfilling career where I could make money and not have to get out of my pajamas until at least 10:30 a.m.
  • Have a driver, a la the cartoon character Richie Rich.
  • Mandatory 6 months of vacation time each year.
Now who has some plutonium and 1.21 gigawatts they can lend me?

P.S.  I wonder if the mention of plutonium will get me on the FBI's blog roll?  

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I heard on the Today show this morning that some employers are letting employees work from home a few days a week to show empathy toward rising gas prices. Can I work there?

Anonymous said...

So, do you have the dog and cat? And if so, who takes care of the dog during the day? Or does he have a big kennel?

Yeah, Michael J. Fox and I have something very dear in common: also with Johnny Dep and Natalie Portman - we have the same birthday... yesterday!

How is Mike Holmgren of the Seahawks thought of there?

(Sometimes!) Serendipitous Girl said...

Hi guys! Ash when you start working at that job that allows you to work from home please ask them if they have a spot for me too!

And special shout out to the Birthday Boy! Yes to the dog and the cat and no to the kennel. I'm one of THOSE dog parents that takes her to doggy day care (please don't mock me). Mike Holmgren is football, right? I had to Google it. Um ... I'm SURE people think A LOT of things about him. Although what I don't know. If it doesn't have to do with baseball, I'm usually saying "what team do you want me to root for?" and then promptly pick the other one.