April 27, 2002
I don't think I've ever needed a vacation more.Thursday I had eight hours of meetings at work... by the end of the eleven-hour day, I had lost my will to live. I was ready to curl up under my desk and go to sleep.
Fortunately, I took Friday off. Granted, I had to spend a chunk of it watching my youngest brother's graduation ceremony, but I got to sit next to my sister and my other brother and tell jokes, so it worked out just fine. We sang along to the 'Pomp and Circumstance' march:
This song goes forever
This song goes forever
This song goes forever
(everybody now, with gusto) Let's sing it again...
(repeat)
My youngest brother just got his Masters of Business Administration, which is a higher degree than anyone else in this generation in my family has gotten. Randy, Aly, and I stopped at with Bachelor's degrees because (insert obligatory "BS" joke here), and that's all of us. In order to widen the gap, Bill is going to go on and get a doctorate in something-or-other. It kind of makes me want to go back to school. Fortunately, all I need to do is think it through for a few minutes, and I realize I'm perfectly happy right here.
Listening to the speaker (Robert Gay, senior partner at Bain & Company) was quite an experience. He did a good job motivating me to do a better job at the things I've set my mind to. I shudder to think at the motivation those poor, helpless graduates are now being compelled by. Here's hoping that reality greets them both as quickly and as gently as possible, like running headlong into a brick wall where the mortar has not set, and the bricks have not been fired.
(insert obligatory sound effect here-- something heavy and wet)