All my troubles seemed so far away…
(Conscience requires me to post this Cowboy Bebop video now, but please don’t watch it if you’re still watching the series. Like I am. Yes, yes, I know it came out in the 90s. I watch some shows slowly, you know? Especially shows where one episode can be the fodder for a year or so of artistic reflection. Other shows I haven’t finished yet: Korra, Samurai Champloo.)
Point of fact, yesterday was pretty great. (Which I guess is also the message of the song.) I returned from a holiday party with former coworkers a little before midnight, too tired to sleep. I wonder why more companies don’t make a big deal out of their alumni—people leave, and change, and most importantly grow, and there’s no reason to banish former employees from the community just because they no longer happen to be receiving a paycheck. Sure, some folks are happy to say ‘good riddance,’ but it seems to me like graduated talent is a great resource.
Though, of course, folks tend to build communities of friendship independent of the company, as a kind of support network—bonds with former classmates and coworkers and the like—so you have interlocking webs, a corporation composed of a number of people all of whom have their own network of guanxi. And all those ties bind both ways, which makes for interesting conflict.
Outside of parties and ruminations, yesterday was a tight day, creative work stuck between meetings and other obligations. Today, the Work Waits. Let’s get back to it.