I almost called this post “Fucked to Death,” but that seemed a little much.

Second thing first:  I’ve JUST synced my readers between my iPhone, my laptop, and my OctoCore, so I hope my reading will finally become regular, since I’ll know what the hell I’m supposed to read.  Jeez.  I love multi-platform syncing, though… it makes me understand why people are hoping The Cloud will become a full-function reality.

Anyway. I was just sitting here, pre-Home Depot and pre-Target, about to write out what I need to buy to build my oldest a kicker ramp, when I remembered I was supposed to burn a CD for my neighbors.

I dragged the files into the little “What to Burn” window, and I realized that because of the way the burning software names the CDs, the folders would all seem like they belonged to one band, instead of two. I thought there was no good way around this, because of the folder hierarchy on the computer… so I’d have to move stuff around on my hard drive and THEN add it to the “What to Burn” window.

THEN I realized that the “What to Burn” window was just representational.  That it used a metaphor for organization that mimicked the computer, but it was really just a bunch of aliases (or shortcuts, to you Windows folks), and I could move and rename everything as I saw fit.  So I did.  And now the organization of the CD makes sense.

THEN I realized that so much of life is exactly like this.  We feel like we HAVE to define things and people a certain way because that’s just the way they ARE.  But in reality, we don’t.  In reality, what we think we know about people is almost universally incorrect, at least partially, and we should take the time to assess whether or not we we are told to perceive is what we should perceive.

People. Intentions. Situations. I need to reorient my thinking to:

• Engage the good.
• Do not engage the bad.

Simple, huh?  Hm.

In business, the overarching question is:  “Will this generate revenue?”

In my personal life, I need make sure I engage the good in people, and avoid jumping into that energy-sucking vortex that is Engaging the Bad.  Even when I engage bad situations, I can do it to the point of functional completion, then exit.  No lingering… physically, mentally, spiritually, or emotionally.

Love to all. Even you, the driver who complains about OTHER drivers while driving very, very fast.

Holy tamagotchi, yo.

I closed on jobs today that are going to add about $12,000 in sales / week for my company.  That’s a good deal of what we lost over the last month.  We’re working like FIENDS.  Thing is, I can’t freakin’ catch up.  And you wonder why I post shit that happened at the office.  It’s because that’s ALL I KNOW.

Oh my Lord, I’m starting to do the caps thing like Kaply.

Glurg.

I just walked in from work.  It’s 10:50pm.  I got to work at 8:45am.  But you know what?  It was a GREAT fucking day at the office.  God help me for saying that.  But it’s true.  I just have SO much more shit to do, it’s unreal.  And I won’t get it done tonight.

I offered someone a job today.  I think she took it. This lady… well… I don’t think she needs the job, exactly.  She’s published four mystery novels AND a book on busines writing AND has given me a list of days she’s off lecturing.  This is a part-time job, you see, so the 20 days where she’s giving seminars around the country are highly acceptable.

I think she wants the job because she’ll be exposed to stuff she wouldn’t experience on her own, and it’s part-time, and she gets to meet tons and tons of people.  That works for me.

Anyway:  I need to eat something and go to sleep.  There’s work to be done tomorrow.

And maybe a teeny bit more to be done tonight, too.

Love to all.  Even you, the guy with the 3 meter umbrella.

My train time is double booked.  I need to update my company’s website, and start wireframing a side project I’m doing with my Art Director pal.  To accomplish this, I need the help of a certain combination of songs.  Last week, I found a short mix that works really well.

1. Just a test - Beastie Boys
2. Burst Generator - The Chemical Brothers
3. Someone Great - LCD Soundsystem
4. The Warning - Nine Inch Nails

With these on a loop, I can bear down like you wouldn’t believe.Love to all.  Even you, the spring-footed potato chip muncher.

Worst customer service ever:  Dice.com.  (No link, because they suck donkey ass.)

Best customer service ever:  webmail.us (Big link, because they rock.)

That is all at this time.

Love to all, even you, “Jill D.”

This is the text of a note I sent to an ex-potential client.

*  *  *

Okay. I have to be honest, here:

This was the second most disingenuous thing I have experienced in 14 years in staffing. Actually, it might even be the winner. I have to sleep on it. There’s no nifty plaque, though, so I guess it doesn’t really matter all that much.

But seriously:

Many times, we have negotiated agreements with potential clients before placing a job. On rare, rare occasion, we have not been able to work with a potential client because the terms the company required were unworkable for us. That was their right, of course, and we would never hold them in ill regard for setting their own standards, regardless of whether we agreed with them. That would be silly.

However: [Your Company] signed a legal contract, inducing us to believe certain things were true, and then attempted to replace the contract with terms that were exceptionally harsh, contradictory, with the adherence thereto being inherently and structurally impossible.

Why would [Your Company] execute a legal contract that it clearly had no intention of honoring?

Why would [Your Company] sign a contract on 10/16, then attempt to replace it with something completely different and classically-inappropriate on 10/17?

Our employees are good human beings whose time and talents should be valued. [My employee] was VERY excited about working with you. This assignment was perfect for her. You told me specifically that:

“She’s a great find. We might have work for her beyond this assignment. I’ll keep you posted.”

Now, because of this unprincipled behavior, she doesn’t have any work at all.

I need to remind you that we will hold you to the contract executed by [Your Comptroller] on 10/16/2007. Do not attempt to hire any of the people that we submitted to you (by hire, I mean directly, indirectly, freelance, perm, contract, etc… see your fully executed agreement for details), until the 1-year exclusivity period has passed, or we will pursue you for the full permanent placement fee, regardless of the duration of the violation in question. Or, if you so choose, you can stick to the contract which you already signed, and bring [My Employee]/[My Company] on board in the manner we have already discussed.

That would be karmically kick-ass, at this point.

If any recipient of this email would like to take the time to tell me why [Company] executed the contract in the first place, it would really be helpful, if only from an academic standpoint. I just don’t get it. And I’m sorry it worked out liked this.

Anyway: best of luck to you, and all success.

* * *

Love to all. Even you, [Your Company].

In my ongoing saga with my contract- and written-agreement-ignoring partners, many folks have suggested “give it to the lawyers.” And they’re right to suggest this. But the major drag is that once it gets to a legal fight, it doesn’t much matter.

If it gets to a legal tussle, the terrorists win.

Take the example of our phones. Since they have control over the numbers, we’re basically fucked. If we move out, and there’s a two-month battle to get the numbers ported… that’s two months of people calling our phone number and THEM answering it. Even if we get the numbers later, we lose.

So, contracts are great. Written agreements are great. But unless people actually honor them, sometimes they might as well not exist.

Love to all. Even you, the cat who dumped the kitten food from the top of the refrigerator.

So instead of whining, I’m taking a picture of my camera taking a picture.

Love to all. Even you, the partner who told everybody very different versions of the situation, and then bailed on the partners’ meeting.

Yes, I’m on the right. No, I’m not a communist. Yes, my family is from the Soviet Union.

Love to all.  Even you, the guy with the weird lump o’ hair grease.

I’ve always named my computers after a Soviet surveillance aircraft called the MainStay. About two years ago, I stopped doing that, and started name my computers stupid shit like “Acceptance.”

Well, fuck that. I just got myself a brand new, 17-inch, 2.4Ghz dual-core MacBook Pro with 3GB of RAM, a 7200prm drive, a bad-ass graphics card and a hi-resolution, 1900×1200 screen. This fucker’s name is MainStay.

Love to all. Even you, the inexperienced lass who looked for a job for a week.

Everyone said I should get one. Maggie, my business partners, everyone. You’re an Apple Developer, they said. Your a Technical Evangelist, they said. You run a firm that services creatives, they said.

I’m almost ashamed.

My friend Eric asked if I was excited about getting one. I said “I don’t need one.” He said: “Need? Since when does that have anything to do with it?”

That would be true, if I somehow justtfied the 17″ MacBook Pro, an AppleTV, etc.. I mean, even though the 17″ Macbook (with high-density screen and 7200rpm drives) costs so much more, it would still allow me to work just a little bit faster, hundreds of times a day. Cost be damned, because I’d be more productive. But, since I carry my MacBook Pro pretty much everywhere, and use it constantly, the iPhone would have to at the very LEAST allow me to cancel my Verizon v640 service, using the iPhone as a modem instead.

Then… oh, Lord. Then…

I need to brush these thoughts from my mind. The Apple Store is offline. When it comes back online, maybe I’ll take a peek at that 17″ MBP.

Love to all. Even you, Jesse James Garett.