I haven't posted here in quite some time. Can't imagine why. Maybe it's because everyone and their mother has a blog. Maybe it's because I've been so busy working that I haven't had time to sit around, posting the thoughts I keep in my hope chest. Or maybe it's because I forgot my damn password. Yep, it's the last one.
I don't know if I'll be posting here very often. If ever. Not like anyone is reading this drivel. Hell, I'm not even gonna read it, so why should you?
Anyway, I don't have much to say. Not now, at any rate. Maybe tomorrow, after I've been drinking.
Stop reading. Get away from the computer. Go for a walk. That is all I have to say.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Saturday, July 17, 2004
My first rant...
So I'm sitting here, naked, and I'm trying to come up with something profound with which to start this first blog.
I got nothin'.
I guess I'll start with a story. The Executioner Sheep started as a joke back in college. I was a student at the University of California, San Diego. My friends and I were members of various committees whose sole purpose seemed to be giving money away to other campus groups that didn't really need it.
But that wasn't the biggest problem.
Without fail, members of these committees "rubber stamped" everything that came across their path. Here's a typical one:
"We need some money from the Resident's Council to throw a party for students living off campus."
"Will on-campus residents be allowed to attend?"
"Of course not. This party is for people living off-campus."
"And you want the residents to foot the bill?"
"Yes. Oh, and we'll need to use one of your common areas, preferably one with an ocean view."
"But people have to live there."
"Well, for a couple hours they can share."
"Okie dokie, sounds fair to me."
The result of that particular vote? Twelve in favor, four against. I was one of the nay votes. That was when we decided that something had to be done. We were all in college, yet no one seemed to have any critical thinking skills. Additionally, no one seemed to have any desire to rock the boat lest they be seen as not being "team players." Well, we had no intention of playing for that team.
So, the Executioner Sheep were born. We were a small group at first, numbering all of two. We voted no for no other reason than to get people to think. We asked questions. We expected people to be held accountable for their votes. We said what was on our minds, without first thinking about how it might affect our chances of getting a recommendation from one of the committee advisors.
We continued our quest for free intellectual thought once we became Resident Advisors. As RA's, we felt it was out responsibility to give our residents the opportunity to become adults, not sheep. Amazingly, some of them actually followed our lead, and the list of Executioner Sheep grew. I think we were up to six by the time I graduated.
It wasn't until I got into the real world that I saw how pervasive the sheep mentality was. Not only were people at my office rubber stamping things, but they were going to meetings whose sole function was to give them something to do. No one rocked the boat for fear that they might be counseled or pulled aside for a "management moment."
With my battle cry (BAA-AA-AA-AAA!) I tried to rally the sheep. A few responded, and our ranks grew once again. But the rest of the sheep continued along on their docile path to peaceful coexistence. Fools. As always, life never got better, just more complicated with additional layers of meetings. But we tried.
I left that job, and I'm now trying my hand as a hobo. No bureaucracy, no meetings, no sheep.
But the spirit of the Executioner Sheep lives on. My friends now have real jobs themselves, and complain on a regular basis about the futility of meetings, the foolishness of coworkers unwilling to let their voices be heard, and the general apathy that fills every nook and cranny of their working lives.
So, I have decided to resurrect the Executioner Sheep. Sheep need a voice, an alternative, a place to run and hide. This is that place.
If you're a sheep, if you wish you weren't, and you need a place to feel comfortable, this is that place. If you're already and Executioner Sheep, but you're tired of being alone in the wilderness, this blog will be a beacon of hope (I hope). Leave a comment and I'll try to post those that shed light on being a sheep, or fighting the wolves.
Good luck.
Wonk
I got nothin'.
I guess I'll start with a story. The Executioner Sheep started as a joke back in college. I was a student at the University of California, San Diego. My friends and I were members of various committees whose sole purpose seemed to be giving money away to other campus groups that didn't really need it.
But that wasn't the biggest problem.
Without fail, members of these committees "rubber stamped" everything that came across their path. Here's a typical one:
"We need some money from the Resident's Council to throw a party for students living off campus."
"Will on-campus residents be allowed to attend?"
"Of course not. This party is for people living off-campus."
"And you want the residents to foot the bill?"
"Yes. Oh, and we'll need to use one of your common areas, preferably one with an ocean view."
"But people have to live there."
"Well, for a couple hours they can share."
"Okie dokie, sounds fair to me."
The result of that particular vote? Twelve in favor, four against. I was one of the nay votes. That was when we decided that something had to be done. We were all in college, yet no one seemed to have any critical thinking skills. Additionally, no one seemed to have any desire to rock the boat lest they be seen as not being "team players." Well, we had no intention of playing for that team.
So, the Executioner Sheep were born. We were a small group at first, numbering all of two. We voted no for no other reason than to get people to think. We asked questions. We expected people to be held accountable for their votes. We said what was on our minds, without first thinking about how it might affect our chances of getting a recommendation from one of the committee advisors.
We continued our quest for free intellectual thought once we became Resident Advisors. As RA's, we felt it was out responsibility to give our residents the opportunity to become adults, not sheep. Amazingly, some of them actually followed our lead, and the list of Executioner Sheep grew. I think we were up to six by the time I graduated.
It wasn't until I got into the real world that I saw how pervasive the sheep mentality was. Not only were people at my office rubber stamping things, but they were going to meetings whose sole function was to give them something to do. No one rocked the boat for fear that they might be counseled or pulled aside for a "management moment."
With my battle cry (BAA-AA-AA-AAA!) I tried to rally the sheep. A few responded, and our ranks grew once again. But the rest of the sheep continued along on their docile path to peaceful coexistence. Fools. As always, life never got better, just more complicated with additional layers of meetings. But we tried.
I left that job, and I'm now trying my hand as a hobo. No bureaucracy, no meetings, no sheep.
But the spirit of the Executioner Sheep lives on. My friends now have real jobs themselves, and complain on a regular basis about the futility of meetings, the foolishness of coworkers unwilling to let their voices be heard, and the general apathy that fills every nook and cranny of their working lives.
So, I have decided to resurrect the Executioner Sheep. Sheep need a voice, an alternative, a place to run and hide. This is that place.
If you're a sheep, if you wish you weren't, and you need a place to feel comfortable, this is that place. If you're already and Executioner Sheep, but you're tired of being alone in the wilderness, this blog will be a beacon of hope (I hope). Leave a comment and I'll try to post those that shed light on being a sheep, or fighting the wolves.
Good luck.
Wonk
Welcome, I guess.
Never had a blog of my own. Not sure what I'll do with this one, but
that's okay. Everyone has to start somewhere, right?
So, welcome, and enjoy.
-Wonk, aka Executioner Sheep #1
that's okay. Everyone has to start somewhere, right?
So, welcome, and enjoy.
-Wonk, aka Executioner Sheep #1
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