No, Not That Awful Show, but something a lot less annoying. Unless you find overly long posts annoying... Well, it's been a very long time between posts from this author, I certainly apologize for whatever you may have been missing out on while I was away. How do I explain my long absence from the blogosphere? The only thing I can say is that I've had a lot for my small mind to process over the past few weeks. I guess the best way to explain it would be to chronicle it for the ages on the Internet for all to see, or at least those who will care to click this link.
Friendship Pyramids
Approximately four weeks ago, I randomly ran into a friend I hadn't seen for ages. I won't give any clues as to who that might be, but if he is reading this, I'm sure he'll know. Things were pleasant at said encounter, and we decided to catch up again in the following weeks.
Sounds all innocuous at this stage, doesn't it? I thought so too, but the truth was still to come. We met up a few times after work to have a bite to eat and talk about what was going on in our lives, you know the usual kind of banter. At one of these meetings he mentioned he was starting some sort of business. I was intrigued. A business at our age? That was certainly something different and remarkable when taken in at that sentence alone. So I asked him what it was about, but he would not give me any more information at that stage. Fair enough, I thought.
And so the next few catch ups (there's that phrase again) went on well enough, until he finally decided to let me in on his little enterprise. This all happened at a nice little bar in the city where all these other partners gathered to have drinks and chat the night away. All in all, a very nice looking arrangement going on. I wanted to know more about how it all worked, despite the feeling that it was all too good to be true. The guys were more than happy to make an appointment to see what they could offer me.
When that night came, I didn't quite know what to expect but the way things had been built up over the past few weeks, I knew I would finally learn something tonight. So there we were, the four of us including my old friend, his two business partners and myself. As they explained how the business worked, I came to the realisation that this bore a strange resemblance to a pyramid scheme. All these diagrams converging towards the one point at the top of the tree, promising exponentially exorbitant amounts of growth for all those who could sell enough to get there. And here I was, to start at the bottom and climb that ladder to wealth and glory.
For all the potential profit and cashflow to be had, they had the uncanny knack of deemphasising how much it would all cost me. Of course I could just sign up enough friends to join the business, or just offload enough stock to promote myself up that mighty organisational chart. I don't know about you, but I have a really hard time trying to justify recommending anything to anyone, especially when I have all the reasons in the world for doing so. Pushing products onto my family and friends is not something I could do in good conscious.
The worst part was not finding out how the machine worked. No, that was all well and fine, but the hard part was trying to get out of something you had gotten yourself so deep that you could not extract yourself without resorting to loud noises or rude insults. Like a telemarketer trained in his job, they are reminded to never take no for an answer. And so it went on for what seemed like an eternity, trading questions and uneasy answers back and forth. I should really learn how to say no properly.
And so I emerged from that little encounter after almost an hour all argued out and hungry (I thought dinner would be involved!), and wondering how a friend could use someone like that for his own means. I dunno, maybe I was wrong about their intentions for all I know. But being cynical finally came in handy for once.
The End of a Beginning
Another reason for my lack of blogging was my decision to leave work. Well really, the mutual decision between my boss and I. Perhaps I should explain. I have been working at a building company for the past six months in a job I have no real intention of carrying on in the future. I happen to be studying construction when really my dreams lie in architecture, especially in design.
So here I was in the wrong degree doing something I knew I would not be doing after this year. While that is alright for the most part, I suppose ideally I should be doing something more relevant. That's not to say I didn't learn a lot from being there though. Through my estimating role, I came into contact with a lot of methods and practices I did not come across at uni. I also learnt a lot about the building process in a way I'm sure I would not have at an architectural firm. It was especially interesting to find out how a design and build company handles a job from start to finish. It certainly made me think that a setup like that could appeal to me someday. For all that I am eternally grateful.
But the fact remains that I was not really in a position that I truly loved. I liked it, don't get me wrong, but that was mostly because of the people there and how they weren't jerks and all. Occasionally I'd have the rough day but there was nothing to really complain about. At the end of the day, there was no real point in staying when I could be spending the remaining six months looking for something I really wanted to do. And my boss knew that too, so he approached me about it first. It was a tough conversation, but at the end I knew what I had to do.
And so here I am, without a job. Though the timing isn't too bad, as the holiday is much needed. Working full time for the first time was a lot to take in, and near the end I was starting to lose a lot of coherence trying to wake up each morning, just surviving til the end of the week where it could all start again. Frankly I'm amazed I went for so long without having a job of any type. I'm not sure if I should be congratulating myself or giving myself a good kick up the backside, but that's just how it's panned out.
It's nice to know my last week there wasn't all in vain. I managed to tie up most of the loose ends and say most of my goodbyes before I departed, but I have this feeling I may have a few more things before I am truly done there. But in the meantime, I managed to conjure life out of office stationary. Behold!
In case you were wondering, the thing on the left is a humanoid clip based lifeform that happens to be doing the splits. The thing on the right is a stapler remover (or destapler/counterstapler) with crazy eye ridges again made of clips. Too much time on my hands? Never!
Oh, I had another story prepared after this, but this is getting way too long, even for me. More in subsequent posts.
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