January 1st, 2012 came and went. I found it to be as eventful as watching snails race on a quarter mile track. Aside from spending a fabulous New Year's Eve with the best of friends, nothing else about January 1st, 2012 blew my hair back. I couldn't even pull myself together until 6 PM that night...and that was only in order to fetch dinner. In case you're wondering, dinner was The Old Spaghetti Factory take-away; Cheap, fast and close. Yes, very low-brow and perhaps a bit déclassé, but I am unemployed people! Five star establishments just aren't in the budget these days. When asked how my day was by the hostess, I replied with pretty much the same answer. "But it's the first day of 2012?!?!" she (over) enthusiastically blurted out.
Well, thanks for pointing that out, Sparky. Your point being...?
It was football, food and ho-hum at chez Jane Q. Public. Nothing to get excited about. When all of the football games were over and done with, I flipped through the channels and found a movie. Lost in Translation is not a new film, all the same, I had not seen it. I began with my 15-20 minute due diligence; this is the precise amount of time it takes me to determine if the film is Jane Q. Public worthy. About 13 minutes in, this movie blew me away. It struck a very sensitive nerve and I was left dumbfounded. I literally sat there; bug-eyed with mouth agape.
You see, I am currently unemployed and have been for about six weeks. After 3+ years of hard work and dedication, the company decided to close the facility where I worked. "Thank you very much, you have been rendered obsolete." I'm not completely bitter, it effected everyone at my site; save for a select few individuals...and even they will have their walking papers soon.
As I am watching this movie - at 1:15 AM (technically Jan 2 now) - I see Bill Murray's character, Bob Harris and he can't sleep. He looks at the alarm clock and it reads 4:30 AM. The look of incredulity and bother on his face was so familiar...WHAM!!! It hit me hard. Though I have not actually seen that look on *my* face, that is the EXACT same thought running through my mind when this happens to me. Every morning. For six weeks now. My thoughts are: I can't believe this is happening, why is this happening and this has got to STOP. In that order.
Back to the movie...
So Bob can't sleep, and 3 minutes later (in movie time) he's got to get up, pull himself together and get to the job site. He's doing a commercial in Japan for a whiskey. As he's sitting there, he's getting an earful of direction from the director. In Japanese, none of which, he understands. The interpreter is there and interprets the earful into 1 sentence. Bob asks his interpreter "Is that all he said? I don't think that's all he said." To which the interpreter replies 'yes'. BLAMMO!!! This was a roundhouse kick to the head for me. People talk at me all the time, lately, and they may as well be speaking in Swahili. I hear and absorb about as much. Not to mention that a few of the people I talk to, upon discussion of my current status, suggest careers that I don't understand! How does one become a Life Coach? Or a Motivational Speaker? Don't you have to be famous for people to pay you for speaking engagements? Where is the skill, the knowledge or the analysis in that? I'm an IT professional!! I analyze, troubleshoot, test, resolve, document and train. I don't know how to make people feel good on cue. I don't know how to get people to want a better situation for themselves. Just like the photographer shooting Bob for print ads asking for a "007", "Roger Moore" and "Stronger, more intense" attitudes. How in the hell do you do that? Needless to say, I watched the entire movie and didn't change the channel.
The bottom line here, for me, is that I am fairly flabbergasted (and relieved maybe?) that someone out there (someone notable) has the insight to actually identify with the masses. Specifically, me Jane Q. Public. From time to time I experience isolation and loneliness during this journey, and for what it's worth, it feels nice for someone out there to equate with this. It means that people do understand what's going on outside the bubble.
Well, thanks for pointing that out, Sparky. Your point being...?
It was football, food and ho-hum at chez Jane Q. Public. Nothing to get excited about. When all of the football games were over and done with, I flipped through the channels and found a movie. Lost in Translation is not a new film, all the same, I had not seen it. I began with my 15-20 minute due diligence; this is the precise amount of time it takes me to determine if the film is Jane Q. Public worthy. About 13 minutes in, this movie blew me away. It struck a very sensitive nerve and I was left dumbfounded. I literally sat there; bug-eyed with mouth agape.
You see, I am currently unemployed and have been for about six weeks. After 3+ years of hard work and dedication, the company decided to close the facility where I worked. "Thank you very much, you have been rendered obsolete." I'm not completely bitter, it effected everyone at my site; save for a select few individuals...and even they will have their walking papers soon.
As I am watching this movie - at 1:15 AM (technically Jan 2 now) - I see Bill Murray's character, Bob Harris and he can't sleep. He looks at the alarm clock and it reads 4:30 AM. The look of incredulity and bother on his face was so familiar...WHAM!!! It hit me hard. Though I have not actually seen that look on *my* face, that is the EXACT same thought running through my mind when this happens to me. Every morning. For six weeks now. My thoughts are: I can't believe this is happening, why is this happening and this has got to STOP. In that order.
Back to the movie...
So Bob can't sleep, and 3 minutes later (in movie time) he's got to get up, pull himself together and get to the job site. He's doing a commercial in Japan for a whiskey. As he's sitting there, he's getting an earful of direction from the director. In Japanese, none of which, he understands. The interpreter is there and interprets the earful into 1 sentence. Bob asks his interpreter "Is that all he said? I don't think that's all he said." To which the interpreter replies 'yes'. BLAMMO!!! This was a roundhouse kick to the head for me. People talk at me all the time, lately, and they may as well be speaking in Swahili. I hear and absorb about as much. Not to mention that a few of the people I talk to, upon discussion of my current status, suggest careers that I don't understand! How does one become a Life Coach? Or a Motivational Speaker? Don't you have to be famous for people to pay you for speaking engagements? Where is the skill, the knowledge or the analysis in that? I'm an IT professional!! I analyze, troubleshoot, test, resolve, document and train. I don't know how to make people feel good on cue. I don't know how to get people to want a better situation for themselves. Just like the photographer shooting Bob for print ads asking for a "007", "Roger Moore" and "Stronger, more intense" attitudes. How in the hell do you do that? Needless to say, I watched the entire movie and didn't change the channel.
The bottom line here, for me, is that I am fairly flabbergasted (and relieved maybe?) that someone out there (someone notable) has the insight to actually identify with the masses. Specifically, me Jane Q. Public. From time to time I experience isolation and loneliness during this journey, and for what it's worth, it feels nice for someone out there to equate with this. It means that people do understand what's going on outside the bubble.
It also means that I have some serious self analysis to perform to figure out what it is I want to be when I grow up.
In the immortal words of Erik Proulx: "It's not a pink slip. It's a blank page."
I guess I'd better start writing it.
In the immortal words of Erik Proulx: "It's not a pink slip. It's a blank page."
I guess I'd better start writing it.
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