tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post5795603756524971867..comments2024-03-28T09:06:06.709-05:00Comments on Every goddamn day: 03/28/24: Maybe offices are like gas station attendants Neil Steinberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11468057838260476480noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-18266623828412879282021-09-29T09:07:30.464-05:002021-09-29T09:07:30.464-05:00People type "lol" all the time... I actu...People type "lol" all the time... I actually DID lol when I read that line. <br /><br />"distribute the savings to the staff as bonuses"dkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00297263685720170848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-85420437024378392812021-09-28T19:47:10.318-05:002021-09-28T19:47:10.318-05:00and if you like your gas pumped for you a visit to...and if you like your gas pumped for you a visit to NJ will make it happenJay brohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06916785791692242249noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-86601650462790164812021-09-28T13:47:55.203-05:002021-09-28T13:47:55.203-05:00Laughed out loud when I read that line. I'm i...Laughed out loud when I read that line. I'm in the office so I have to be careful. I think Ed Gold would have had a different take. FYI: They also have gas station attendants in Oregon.Connellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18406704590565406630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-54967111934414667372021-09-28T11:26:17.413-05:002021-09-28T11:26:17.413-05:00I love the street photos that Neil entertains us w...I love the street photos that Neil entertains us with from time to time, each with dozens of clearly delineated individuals whose faces and general disposition are worthy of inspection and delight.<br /><br />johntatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10088632798195131329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-89811010223234914092021-09-28T11:09:16.874-05:002021-09-28T11:09:16.874-05:00" and the smartest thing any business could d..." and the smartest thing any business could do is ditch their physical space entirely and distribute the savings to the staff as bonuses."<br /><br />Gee Neil, I had no idea you wanted to be a comedy writer!<br /><br />It more likely they would distributes the savings as bonuses to the CEO & his henchmen.Clark St.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09634234069783123180noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-16649770901202343662021-09-28T09:42:18.721-05:002021-09-28T09:42:18.721-05:00My office for forty years was a company provided m...My office for forty years was a company provided mobile office. Usually, a Chevy or Ford. In the early days the only visits to the bricks & mortar office was to drop off paperwork, pick up supplies, or attend meetings only if doughnuts or lunch was provided. With the advent of emails, faxes, and other electronics, visits to the main office became less frequent. <br />I learned early on that those in the the brick office suffered from mindless chitchat & and hair brained plans of improvement which had no bearing on the real world. Production of paperwork was their bane of existence. I blame years of inhaling carpet glue had caused their minds to accept living in cubicles, kowtowing to fax and copy machine, and an addiction to the worst tasting coffee.<br />Give me my four wheeled mobile crisis center where I could pick from fine coffee shops and avoid the rules of what could go into the microwave.John Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02712600193130373091noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-78187415564263884332021-09-28T09:42:12.074-05:002021-09-28T09:42:12.074-05:00My office for forty years was a company provided m...My office for forty years was a company provided mobile office. Usually, a Chevy or Ford. In the early days the only visits to the bricks & mortar office was to drop off paperwork, pick up supplies, or attend meetings only if doughnuts or lunch was provided. With the advent of emails, faxes, and other electronics, visits to the main office became less frequent. <br />I learned early on that those in the the brick office suffered from mindless chitchat & and hair brained plans of improvement which had no bearing on the real world. Production of paperwork was their bane of existence. I blame years of inhaling carpet glue had caused their minds to accept living in cubicles, kowtowing to fax and copy machine, and an addiction to the worst tasting coffee.<br />Give me my four wheeled mobile crisis center where I could pick from fine coffee shops and avoid the rules of what could go into the microwave.John Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02712600193130373091noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-89917261191694276312021-09-28T09:34:53.869-05:002021-09-28T09:34:53.869-05:00When I was in college, training to toil in the mac...When I was in college, training to toil in the machinery of upward mobility, I worked for a year pumping gas. It was perhaps the most enjoyable job I've ever had. A work day consisted of dozens of brief, enjoyable exchanges of small talk, never lasting long enough to get into anything controversial. It was a rare job with a perfect, human scaled rhythm. At the end of the day I always left work feeling good about humanity - which certainly doesn't happen in this era. The work wasn't hard, I was outside much of the day and it was the only winter in my life I didn't catch a cold. I was healthy as a horse because of the nature of the work. My coworkers were hilarious, there were lots of girls to flirt with, the owner of the station was a rich, proto Trumper who was such a buffoon that he provided endless entertainment for the workers. No pressures, no worries, and a parade of easy interactions. For some reason older women were the only problem customers. They'd get two dollar of gas and ask that we check the oil, wash the windshield, fill the radiator, find a squeak in the shocks, check the air in all four tires. We'd kill them with kindness and occasionally lose one of their valve stem caps. Funny how they would disappear like that. Didn't make much money but went home with a smile on my face.<br /><br />Pumping gas as a profession is as dead as a town crier and a button hook maker - except in the great state of New Jersey. But I bet the tassel shoed corporate mid-managers have taken the joy out of pumping gas now - probably making workers clean toilets when no cars are on the lot, even though old timers know that an empty lot means it's time to go behind the station for one hitters. All work and no play kills joy and joy should be the mission. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.<br /><br />Dennis Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03936110563379328219noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-55944519360342902142021-09-28T07:26:57.238-05:002021-09-28T07:26:57.238-05:00Necessary is the key word. As Doug inferred regard...Necessary is the key word. As Doug inferred regarding real live, in-person contact, it may be going the way of men’s hats. <br />Real live, in-person contact is necessary for the human race to exist. It’s something that must be learned. It’s not easy communicating with people who are “different” from us. The less we practice it, the worse we are.<br />The trend of online everything is pushing us in the direction of isolationism. That can’t end well.Leshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16679840606511726447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-77577520959218092552021-09-28T06:47:00.978-05:002021-09-28T06:47:00.978-05:00After 19 months, my wife will start going in three...After 19 months, my wife will start going in three days a week next month. She's always enjoyed the 22 block round trip walk to Michigan and Wacker and having real live, in-person contact. Much faster and efficient than texts and emails..Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-6343731016327992482021-09-28T02:06:07.766-05:002021-09-28T02:06:07.766-05:00I'm an office guy. Working at home sucks. Too ...I'm an office guy. Working at home sucks. Too many distractions. I need the discipline. And Jack moved to New Jersey, where it's long been illegal to pump your own gas. When I stopped in Allamuchy years ago and started to do it, out of habit, Jack nearly kicked my ass. He got even more pissed when I said "Al-la-MUCH-y." It's "All-uh-MOOCHIE." How the hell did I know?<br /><br />It's the town where FDR routinely stopped, on the way from D.C. to Hyde Park. His train would pull onto a siding, and he would do the deed with his longtime mistress, who lived there. The station, or what's left of it, is still standing...but just barely. Tried to explore it, but state troopers were lurking there, to chase away history buffs like me.Grizz 65https://www.blogger.com/profile/02892702223228764894noreply@blogger.com