From Giddy to Slightly Less Giddy in Six Hours

I have to admit, I was giddy to the point of inappropriateness this morning. Everyone was out of the house for the first time in two weeks and I could walk around shouting nonsense words at the top of my voice and nobody complained. I could dictate emails aloud to myself without interruption. I put on some music and turned it up so loud that I couldn't even hear myself dictating emails. It was pretty much the pinnacle of bliss. (Well, maybe not the pinnacle but at least somewhere up the slope.)

To add to that I think I've re-figured out my requirements for enjoying a job. Infinite power over the processes that impact me you might suggest? Nah. Gobs and gobs of money? Um, no. A chance to wield all my powers of intellect in a maximally entertaining and productive fashion? Hardly. The adulation of my co-workers and bosses on a job well done? Not necessary. Processes that make optimal use of my time and don't make me perform unnecessary steps to get a job done? Not even that. No, I think the only real requirement is that I have a job where I can actually succeed. A job where I can come in, sit down and do what's expected of me and have those expectations not be utterly impossible. That's it. Give me a job I can do and I'm good. Heck, give me a job I can do 80% of the way and I'll have fun stretching to get to 100%.

Now, that's not to say that the other things wouldn't be nice. Clearly it's in a company's best interest to provide interesting work that puts their employees to the best possible use but that's not necessarily a requirement from the employee's point of view. I need to constantly remind myself that the point of work is to make money. Nothing more. If it's enjoyable at the same time, all the better but it's not required and generally the exception rather than the rule. It's also not my fault if I'm not put to the best possible use after I tell the people I work for again and again and again what I think that best use is. There's only so much I can do. Despite what Henley may say to the contrary, I am not the master of my fate when it comes to work.

Unrelatedly, I'm starting the believe in the power of 'presumed familiarity.' Someone once told me simply that she assumes people are her friends until she hears otherwise. I think that's a powerful concept; there are a couple of people that I've tried this out on recently and it really seems to work. The trick seems to be to just convince yourself that you've talked to this person at least 10 times more often than you actually have and when you take that stance people can't help but reciprocate. This of course makes future contact all the more likely and chances are good that you'll actually fill in the presumed familiarity with real familiarity or at least have a lot of fun presuming. Again though, the theme is the same. Smile and the world smiles back... Scowl and the whole world scowls back... Be friends with the world and the world calls you for coffee on Saturday morning... Just remember to go dutch.