The Lurkers: Why Socially Awkward “Supervisors”
Make Me So Uncomfortable

So today I am deciding to vent about something. Something that has bothered almost every since I started working, but especially since I started at the new company I am at. What is this something you ask? It’s The Lurkers. The Lurkers are the people at your job that just happen to always be right behind you, the lurkers are the ones that seemingly appear from out of nowhere whenever you least expect it. Throughout my post collegiate career I was fortunate enough to only have to deal with two; all I can say is…I can’t stand The Lurkers.

I will admit that my mind drifts at times, probably because I have very little passion for the work that I do; this is probably why I am great prey for the Lurkers. I have noticed that the Lurkers tend to have impeccable timing; they can always show up when you are chopping it up with a co-worker, or when you are reading an article on the web that has nothing to do with your job. Yes I will concede that I probably should be doing work (for explanation of why I am not busy see this post), but that is not my problem with The Lurkers, my problem is that they don’t say ANYTHING or if they do it is of little importance.

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Reasons Why People Become Lifers Continued:
Helplessness

**Note: This post is a response to a comment that was posted by one of my readers, Ralph. Ralph has a great site that deals with attaining success and maintaining a lifestyle that is conducive to success. Check it out @ http://potential2success.com/***

Last week I wrote a post about what causes people to become lifers. One of my readers, Ralph, added a pretty good comment where he included helplessness as one of the reasons people wind up becoming lifers. Ralph went on to describe the fact that some people feel as if they are not qualified, perhaps because of lack of education or other reasons, to do anything but the job they are doing so they don’t try to do anything else. I thought this was such a great comment, I felt like I should expand on it.

I have met a few people that feel like they are lucky to be in the position they are, and because of this they may not work to meet other goals they would like to set for themselves. Some people may think that because they lack higher education or come from a modest background they should consider themselves lucky to be where they are. While it is true that coming from a rich family or having higher education can make success a little easier to attain, just because one may lack those things does not mean that they can’t make an effort to try to work towards the life they desire. When I hear people say they don’t have an education, or that they are not rich and that’s why they cant’ truly be in the position they want to be in, I simply reply why not. History is littered with examples of successful people that lacked education, and/or rich parents. Continue reading…

Fresh Fridays: July 24, 2009 Edition

So I know I didn’t get up with you guys last week, I definitely dropped the ball. Anyhow I am back. Another Friday is here and its time for a release, its time to enjoy ourselves and reflect on the past week of servitude. Everyone has vices, one of mine is shoes, sneakers to be exact. I used to be on jordans and stuff but as I get older I am moving into the more casual sneaker look. I saw these and had to post.

VANS VAULT AKAT” BY TAKA HAYASHI .

available @ Bows And Arrows

Chukka Peacoat Wool Grey Vans Vault 09

also available @ Bows and Arrows

The Lifers: How and Why People Become
Unhappy Lifetime Employees.

I have met various type of people since I began my sentence in corporate servitude. I’ll never forget a conversation I had with one of my past co-workers, who was about for years older than me, about the categories she put different workers in. Of all the categories she mentioned, none scared me most as the “lifers”. The lifers are the employees that are dedicated to the company. The lifers are the ones that would never dream of quitting. The lifers are the ones you see in the grocery store with the company t-shirt on Saturday. They’re the ones that have been with the company for more than 15 to 20 years. They’re the ones that bleed the company colors. They are the ones that every new entrant to Corporate America with an entrepreneurial spirit should be scared of becoming.

How does it happen? How does one become a lifer? Since I am not one (and have no aspirations to become one) I can only offer thoughts and conjectures. I have a few reasons why I believe people become lifers. One of the primary reasons is that they drank the company kool-aid. Another reason is safety, but ask yourself, is one truly safe when solely relying on employment from an external source? A third reason is indolence and comfort; and yet another reason is fear. I have only given a brief introduction into the reasons I believe people become lifers here, but worry not; a more in depth discussion follows after the jump.

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Fresh Fridays: Yessss The Week Is Over

I was reviewing the posts that I have written and I noticed that a lot of them have been rather melancholy, which is probably a result of how I have been feeling lately. Anyhow, I have decided from this day on to reserve Friday posts for things that I have encountered throughout the week that I deem fresssssssshhhh. Yeah it’s great to be serious, methodical and analytical, but a huge part of my blog is about not letting the 9 to 5 rob you of your essence. So I have reserved Fridays just to exhibit some of the things that I think are cool. Please feel free to post your links of cool things you have encountered during the week, whatever they may be. Everyone’s essence is unique, but everyone must strive to keep it, especially in the midst of corporate servitude. I invite you to share your individuality with me…

Kris van Assche Fall/Winter 2009 High Top Sneaker

Kris van Assche Fall/Winter 2009 High Top Sneaker

Almost called it a night (or a morning according to the time), but I had to share these with you all too. It’s all about Essence Maintenance.

via: Highsnobeity

COMMONWEALTH CMON HAND TEE

I like to think I elevated past tee shirts. I’ll still do some fitteds with a polo and some nikes, or boat shoes. Mostly I stick to plain tees as of late. If I do get a tee, its got to say something, and I don’t mean a label name. It’s got to have a dope message. I was in Commonwealth and I ran across this and I loved the message, so I copped it. Side note, this is definitely one of the best spots to shop in DC.

via: Commonwealth

Junya Watanabe Cardigan

Never even heard of this brand, and I had kinda been off argyle for a minute, but the patches just make this kinda hot. Perfect for trying to maintain that effortlessly fresh look for work.

via: Highsnobeity

2424 Lofts in Adams Morgan

The real estate rush that took over DC the past few years really created some gems. This one is right in the heart of Adams Morgan along 18th street. I fell in love with these condos when I first saw some pictures on another site for a different unit. I recently got this notice in an email newsletter, found out its going for a cool 1.9 million. It was in pdf form so I had to shrink it down to get it on this blog. THESE PICS DO NOT DO IT JUSTICE, I URGE YOU TO FOLLOW THE LINK BELOW THE PICS AND LOOK AT THE REAL FLIER.

2424 Lofts Adams Morgan

via Fred Bates Real Estate

The Quarterlife Crisis:
Where do we go from here?

I always say that once I graduated college I felt like the world was my oyster. Sure I moved back home with my dad, but that was just temporary in my book, I was just going to do that long enough to pay off my loans and buy a house. I had a job that had the possibility of turning into a career. The job I had afforded me the luxury to be able to purchase the things I needed and wanted, and hey I even got these cool business cards from a prestigious company with my name on it, which was just the epitome of cool to me. After about two years, once the novelty of the business cards and the paycheck wore off, I began to wonder what was next. I mean two years had past, I was still living at home, I was unhappy with my job, and my days just became a monotonous routine, and I didn’t feel like I was on the path to anything different. To be quite honest I started to get depressed, I started to feel like something must be wrong with me as to why I was feeling that way. I felt like a lot of my friends and family were proud of me and telling me what a great job I was doing, why was it that I did not feel that way? Why was it that I felt like I had no clue where I was going with my life? One day I was talking with a group of my friends from college about this and I was surprised to find that a few of them felt the same way; it was at this moment that one of my friends said he thought he was going through his Quarterlife Crisis. I remember thinking what the hell is a Quarterlife crisis?

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