Jeff Hendricks – Page 41 – Living Outside The Box

March 1, 2012August 28, 2014

Fellowship Of Misery

What happens when your heart is no longer in what you do? At what point do you still consider it “doing what you love?” 10%? 5%? I don’t have hard numbers, but what I “love” doing is no longer what I’m getting paid to do, by a long shot… somewhere down the road, computer techs have become secretaries and accountants, cause all we do now is answer the phone and fill out paperwork. I relish the few hours I get to actually fix things, while I spend 30+ hours a week just answering emails and filling out forms. And heaven forbid if I forget to fill in a blank on the form! And we have to remember not to use other blanks, cause they changed the process and didn’t bother to remove the blank.

So this is what corporate America has become. Companies pay $75 an hour for skilled contractors, and the actual people working get 20% of that if they’re lucky. Why not cut out the middle man? These staffing companies are getting harder and harder to work with. They are cutting deals with global companies to provide levels of service that we can’t achieve… at a price we can barely survive on.

I am firmly convinced that a corporate environment is dangerous to your spiritual health. There is nothing uplifting here, nothing good, just a bunch of dissatisfied people working out of force of habit. It’s a shame when a company remains running simply because all the workers share a “fellowship of misery” and stick together.

Note to companies: if you want your employees to enjoy their work, try actually letting them do their job!

The only thing keeping most computer techs like me from working on their own is more paperwork. If you can find someone to do your taxes and forms for you, then we’ve got the “fixing stuff” part down.

February 16, 2012October 2, 2014

Hawaiian Shirt Fridays

One of the few things that makes my job worthwhile is getting to chill on Fridays. I always wear a bright Hawaiian shirt on Fridays, just to remind myself that I’m supposed to be relaxing at work. Not going to let people demanding things I can’t do ruin my day.

This week, pick a day to relax where you’re most stressed… get a tiny little fountain, or put on some soothing music (I really like Franz Liszt) or something whimsical (Bob Marley?) or just do like I do, and declare “Vacation at your desk” day every Friday, complete with Hawaiian shirt.

I need to get some little paper umbrellas to put in my coffee cup on Fridays.

January 24, 2012August 9, 2015

Frugal Living Challenge Day 1

Something that’s become sort of a dirty world lately is “Frugal.” What exactly does it mean to live frugally? Wiktionary defines it as “Avoiding unnecessary expenditure either of money or of anything else which is to be used or consumed; avoiding waste.” So much of what we do today is wasteful. When I say “frugal” I’m not talking about throwing away everything you own, that would be even more wasteful! In a nutshell, being frugal is making the most of what you already have, so that you don’t need to buy more.

One of the blogs I’ve stumbled on recently is Frugally Sustainable. I can identify with much of what Andrea writes, as it echoes my sentiments almost exactly. She’s started something called the 23 Day Frugal Living Challenge, and it’s quite a challenge indeed! Start with Day 1, and go from there. Continue reading “Frugal Living Challenge Day 1”

December 11, 2011August 9, 2015

The Cake Is A Lie

The unspoken rules of conspicuous consumption (ripped off from bikesnobnyc):

1) You are what you “own” (or, as is more often the case, lease from a bank)
2) The more money you spend on a vehicle the more human rights you have
3) Anybody smaller and smarter than you deserves to be punished

And there you have it. Anyone still wondering why Occupy Wall Street is happening? This is why. The affluent are taught that anybody who isn’t buying the most expensive stuff they can afford isn’t “successful.” Never mind the fact that there are people who don’t want the most expensive cars and houses they can afford, or the headaches and horrendous work hours and/or ethics required to make that much money. Yes, those people exist.

What if your goal in life wasn’t to make as much money as possible? What if you simply wanted to be the best writer, or musician, or artist, or teacher you could be? What if living within your means makes you happy? What if being a “good businessman” means your family goes neglected, you compromise your beliefs daily for the sake of profit, and you think anybody else who doesn’t is stupid? If that’s success, then count me out. What is wrong with not wanting to be rich and powerful?

Sadly, with today’s America being what it is, people aren’t being taught to be the best at what they love. They are being taught to obey, submit, conform, and surrender, and maybe someday if they’re good at bootlicking, they can achieve “success.” Sorry, but I’m not interested in that definition of success.

I read a story (in “The 4-Hour Work Week” by Timothy Ferriss) about a businessman who went to Mexico on vacation. He met a local who sat on the beach most of the day playing music with his friends, and occasionally would go fishing to earn just enough money to feed his family for a while.
The businessman told him “You should fish all day, every day, to make more money.”
“Why?” replied the local.
“So you can buy more boats, and hire people to work for you,” the businessman answered.
“Why?” replied the local.
“So you can grow a huge business, take over the market, and earn enough money to retire,” the businessman answered.
“Why?” he asked yet again.
“So you can sit on the beach all day and play music with your friends, and go fishing every now and then…”

Sadly, this is the world we live in now. It’s funny, but only because we know it’s true. What is the purpose of killing yourself trying to achieve the unachievable? What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, but lose his own soul? (I should do a review of The 4-Hour Work Week, there are some good tips there, but I think Ferriss misses the point)

By the same token, we aren’t called to hate the wealthy. Unlike most Americans, I am not envious of them, nor do I want to be like them. I feel sorry for them, because the real enemy is affluency itself. Jesus Christ himself put it this way: “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.”

We are taught self-indulgence, when we should be practicing self-denial.

Oh yeah; Merry Christmas.

October 20, 2011August 9, 2015

Portal 2/Tron Legacy Mashup

Just finished making this little tune, almost completely from samples from the game Portal 2 and the movie soundtrack from Tron: Legacy.

I made it entirely with a program called LMMS (Linux Multimedia Studio)

July 31, 2011August 9, 2015

How Your Life Changes In Two Seconds

Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Got up at 5:00 and packed the bike with a day’s change of clothes, lunch, and ate breakfast.

5:50 I jump on the bike and head down my street. I’m wearing reflective ankle bands, a reflective vest, and my bike has reflective tape on the frame, as does my helmet with mirror. I have a 4-watt led headlight in front, a solid and a blinking tail light, the big ones powered by a special front wheel I built using a generator in the hub, never needs changing batteries.

I decide to ride to work through Nicholls State, crossing Bayou Lafourche at the Audubon street bridge. All is quiet, no traffic, making good time. I haven’t been pushing myself hard today because I was trying a new higher handle bar setup, and wanted to see if it was more comfortable.

There’s a short stretch where the shoulder runs out just as you get to Rosedown off of 308. Up to there, you get 20 miles of a huge shoulder, which isn’t bad, until you pass Reienzi and the shoulder narrows down to nothing, essentially forcing bike traffic and pedestrians into 45MPH 2-lane traffic. This is called a “pinch point” and it is very dangerous, so I either go into the lane early to force people to slow down, or I am forced to wait.

Today there is little traffic so I go into the lane, causing a car to have to slow a little to get around me, only for 50 feet or so. I then ride up Rue Loudon to cross Canal street at a “safe” intersection, traffic signal, etc. I wait till the light turns green for me (yes, bikes can trigger most light sensors) and when it changes, I stand and take off across the intersection.

Within the space of about 2 seconds, I get hit by a car, I end up laying in a twisted heap on the side of the road, my bike was thrown into the middle of the intersection. My left leg is pointing in the wrong direction. Time to stop and rethink life.

July 21, 2011August 9, 2015

Words Cannot Describe

I’ve pretty much been out of the loop for a while. I’ve got a good excuse, however: last week, while riding my bike to work, I got hit by a car. The impact shattered my left femur in pieces, and I had to be transported to a trauma specialty hospital in N.O. because of the damage.

I just got home yesterday from the hospital after they rebuilt my leg. Things are different… it seriously winds me to walk on a walker around the room. Going to the bathroom is a major ordeal that takes planning. Just getting dressed could take half the morning if you include medicines, changing bandages, etc. and nothing is really simple.

And yet, I see things more clearly now. I could easily have died being hit like that. I’ve always had a lot to be thankful for, and now, I’ve got even more.

Still hurts like crazy, though… but at least I’m alive.

June 19, 2011May 20, 2015

My First 200K Rando Report

Well, some of you know I’m somewhat of a bike nut. Some of you may even know that I’m a little on the crazy side. That’s why, when I discovered the “sport” of Randonneuring, and I saw how crazy the people are, I had to get in on some of that action.

Randonneuring, or “rando” for short, is basically slower paced long-distance cycling. The official rules have options for 200K, 300K, 400K, 600K, and 1200K rides, all basically without support, and without stopping for any real length of time. You’re basically riding around the clock, and the 1200K rides are known to stretch into 3+ days.

I figured I would hook up with the New Orleans chapter of RUSA and see what the fuss was about. Now, to most people, I’m a pretty accomplished rider. I log about 3000 miles a year commuting, and I’ve done several 75-mile-a-day charity rides. I don’t think twice about knocking out 50 miles. How hard could it be to do 125 miles, right?

Hah. Continue reading “My First 200K Rando Report”

June 1, 2011August 9, 2015

Non-Comformist, Just Like Everybody Else

I was reading a blog post this morning about Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay “Self Reliance” and it got me thinking. Anybody who knows me can verify that I’m a non-conformist in the purest sense of the word. I have this compelling urge to do things differently, sometimes for no good reason. It’s gotten me in a lot of trouble, but has also provided experiences I would never have been able to see if I had been “normal.” This particular morning, however, I was brought to the realization that much of my non-conformism is a form of selfish idolatry.. for me to simply exercise my right to be different without any goal is simply selfishness.

What then is the good of being a non-conformist? Emerson seems to think the act of following your own will is the ultimate expression of individuality, but all too often, my will has led me astray. The only direction I have that has any meaning is that direction I receieve from God, for I know it’s true, it’s pure, and it is selfless. Only then, when I am bucking the system for the sake of loving and serving others, does my role as a non-conformist become truly satisfying and complete. Everything is justified, and I need not answer to anyone but God.

A lot of misguided people have been led astray by their own will, claiming it was the will of God. I can see in Emerson’s writings how following what you feel can end up that way. Possibly he assumed everyone listening to his voice was a follower of God, and reading the essay, it seems that’s the case. One thing is for sure: God will not give you a vision that does not accomplish His goals, nor will he give you a mission that tarnishes His perfect image. I am tempted to back away from the ledge, and for fear of going outside of God’s will, do nothing radical at all. But I still hear the call to go and serve, and I can’t ignore it. It drives me, it was in my blood even before I knew God, because He had put it there for me to use to serve Him.

Non-conformism for the sake of serving and loving people as an example of God’s love is a worthy and noble cause. Non-conformism for the sake of getting attention and thrills will only end in disappointment and spiral into more grandiose acts of rebellion, none of which will satisfy the itch that God has placed in you.

So in your non-comformism, whom are you serving?