Where Are You, Snow?

I’m very disappointed that we haven’t really had any snow this year. We’ve had a mere flurry or two that lasted less than an hour. It’s been so warm that even if it has flurried, it’s gone as soon as it lands.

I know there are readers of my blog who don’t share my disappointment- yes, mother, I am talking to you- but I can’t help but be a little sad that the world around me has yet to be covered with a soft white carpet and I can have my annual “YAY, it’s snowing” mug of peppermint hot chocolate.

The thing is, it hasn’t really even been that cold yet. We’ve had a few cold days but mostly, it’s been rather mild. Yesterday, for example, it was 63 degrees.

I like 63 degrees in the autumn. I like it in the spring. It’s quite nice even in the summer when it gives you a break from the hot summer days.

It’s just that, well, there are ten days until Christmas and it’s just too…warm!

One of the novelties I always found about California when I lived there is that I’d go Christmas shopping in Santa Monica and it would be 68 degrees, warm and sunny about a week before Christmas. I used to smugly think of my family and friends back in the Midwest who were usually in the middle of a frigid spell and bask in the novelty of the warm weather. Of course, I wouldn’t have been so smug if I hadn’t known that I’d be flying back to the Midwest in a few days and I’d get to experience the cold weather.

I was spoiled, you see. I got to come home for the holidays and enjoy a taste of winter but go back to a place where it rarely gets below 45 degrees.

Yet I missed my snow. I missed the days when it was too cold to do anything but wrap up in a blanket, make a mug of tea and sit on the sofa watching movies, reading a book and enjoying the fact that winter gave me an excuse to be lazy.

I won’t wax poetical on why I love snow. All you have to do is search my blogs for the mention of “snow” and you’ll see that I’ve already waxed poetical on the stuff. I’m not just a fickle fan of snow- liking it to fall at Christmas because it’s tradition and then wanting it to go away. I’m a real fan of snow. I like it when it snows and I like it when it sticks around. The only time I don’t like it if it’s worn out its welcome in April and is stepping on the toes of spring or when it’s really messing with my life and being rude which usually means the roads are terrible but not terrible enough for me to be able to stay home, my icescraper doesn’t work or it’s not really snow- it’s ice which is a total different thing.

No, I’d like to see a little gentle snowfall now. It’s time. I’m a traditionalist. I’d like a white Christmas. Also, it feels rather wrong to go outside and have it be warm and balmy when you’re in Ohio in December, only ten days away from Christmas.

I’ve even tried wearing my snowflake necklace. It is actually working its magic but it seems to be a little broken because the magic is working for my parents, two and a half hours north, not for me. Each time I’ve worn it, they’ve seemed to have an unexpected snowfall. The first time I wore it, they were supposed to have a warm day with a little rain. They ended up having a cold day and got four inches of snow.

I’m annoyed. I like my snowflake necklace a lot but I’d like it to bring ME snow! Perhaps this is wrong but, well, I like my snow, as I’ve mentioned quite a few times already.

Still, I suppose I should just do the right thing and appreciate this warm spell. In two months, I’ll probably be dreaming of warm days where I don’t have to wear five layers of clothes, sleep under a heavy comforter and have two dogs with freezing noses fighting to warm them on any exposed part of my body they can find.

It’s just…hard. I mean, I’m listening to Christmas music in my car when I drive and it just doesn’t feel the same knowing that it’s warm outside.

Still, this time of year, I shouldn’t be selfish. Not everyone loves snow or even likes it and so they’re probably getting an early Christmas wish.

But I’m still going to wear my snowflake necklace anyway.

Happy Friday!

With Age Comes a Touch of Wisdom

Some days, it’s hard to be a grown up, especially during the summer.

When I drove home at lunch today, there were several houses with children playing outside. Summer vacation is here and as far as they’re concerned, time is a wide open expanse filled with play time, swimming, late nights and sleeping in the next day.

I miss that sometimes. I don’t think it matters how much you like your job, I’m sure there isn’t a working adult out there who hasn’t, at some point, longed for the carefree days of summer vacation. Certainly, most of us can use some of our precious ‘vacation time’ at work and take some time off but…it’s not the same. Having those seemingly endless weeks without anything firm to do just seems like a luxury we didn’t really appreciate when we had them.

It’s ironic, really. The old adage goes “with age comes wisdom.” The trouble is that it would be nice if we’d had the wisdom earlier so we could appreciate things a little more. The older I get, the more I appreciate the small things. Being a working adult for the better part of 15 years has made me remember the days of summer vacation and wished I’d appreciated it a little more when I had it.

The same goes for school though. In high school, I was shy. I was one of those unfortunate individuals who cared too much about what other people thought. As I’ve grown older, I’m far less shy and I’m far less worried about other people’s opinions of me. I still care, naturally but I don’t care enough to let it stop being me.

I suppose that’s a form of wisdom that I’m slowly gaining as I age. It’s just that I wish I’d known that when I needed it back then. Yet without that experience, I probably wouldn’t have gained the wisdom in the first place. It’s a strange circular pattern.

I didn’t waste my summers when I was a child by any means. There were always friends to be played with, books to be read, games going on in the street in the evening. There were trips to the park, to my grandparents’. There were long walks with my dad in the evenings when the sun didn’t start to set in England until way after 9 p.m.

When we moved to the States, our summer vacation was longer. In the UK, it was always 6 weeks. Here, in the U.S., it was closer to 12 weeks. Those summer vacations were filled with trips to the swimming pool to escape the heat. Trips to the mall because we didn’t have air conditioning at home yet and the mall did. There were get-togethers with friends. I had one friend who had MTV and we didn’t have cable so I’d go over hers and watch MTV while her parents’ were at work. They didn’t really approve of her taste in music- she was into Hair Metal. I learned to appreciate it during those MTV times.

As I got older, responsibility stepped in and I started to babysit a little to earn some money. Then, when I was old enough, I got a job and from then on, summer vacations stopped being a stretch of disorganized time and it became time that was blocked off based on my work schedule and my friends’ work schedules.
I don’t think I can say I truly wasted my summer holidays as a child. It’s just that I don’t think I really appreciated it quite enough. I had that sense of entitlement that children often do in that it was something I was just handed because you couldn’t go to school ALL the time.

I think if I had 12 weeks off now, I’d try to savor them more. I’d use the time to write a lot, to work outside, to spend with my family and my dogs. I’d do all those little things I keep meaning to do but never quite have the time, all those little projects that we’d all like to do but whenever we have any free time, something more necessary comes up.

Yet, the truth is, I don’t have those 12 weeks. I have two weeks’ vacation time per year which is not a bad amount of time but it’s time that must be spent wisely and not squandered. It’s not like those 12 gaping weeks that used to happen every summer from the time I started going to school until the time I stopped and became a working adult.

For the most part, being a grown up is definitely better than being a child. I mean, nowadays, if I want ice-cream, I can go get ice-cream. Granted, I tend to try and go for the Skinny Cow type of treat because, well, with age comes a slower metabolism. However, I can have it whenever I want it. If I want to see a movie, I can go see a movie. If I want to go to the library, I go to the library. You get the picture.

It’s just that sometimes, on beautiful days today when the sun is high in the sky, the temperature is 78 degrees and the breeze is perfect, I do have a bit of envy to those children I see playing carefree in my neighbourhood because they can stay outside and enjoy the day and not have to go back to work after lunch.

They really don’t know how lucky they are. But they will, someday when wisdom catches up to them.

Happy Tuesday!

Homemade Gnocchi on a Home Made Weekend....

As I always say, weekends fly by far too quickly.

Tomorrow is, technically, a holiday. Unfortunately, it's not one that my company gives so I will be at work as usual. I'd complain but the alternative would be my old job- one that made me miserable and sad and bitter.

So, I'll take a two day weekend from a job I love vs. a three day weekend from a job I despised.

Besides, it's not like I haven't had a good weekend.

Like most unplanned weekends, this one was nice. Saturday was a gorgeous day. I got up early hoping to run my errands- a trip to Jungle Jim's and Costco- early. This is my usual trick- not only do I get things done early but also, I normally beat the crowds.

Not so much this weekend. It turned out that I wasn't the only one who thought an early trip to Jungle Jim's was in order. It seemed that half of Cincinnati had the same idea. Still, I did get my shopping done early even if I did have to navigate around people who were gawking in the aisles at the vast supply of hot sauces and the plethora of international ingredients available.

I shouldn't complain. I always have to remind myself that I used to be one of those gawkers before I became a 'local'. Of course, I don't usually expect so many gawkers at 9 a.m. but, well, I got my shopping done and that's what counts.

After the required shopping was done, I decided that the pups and I should take advantage of the beautiful day by taking a jaunt over to the park. We had a long, leisurely walk though the woods that lasted a couple of hours. I think by the time the day was done, the pups and I must have walked at least four miles together and that doesn't count my separate trip to Jungle Jim's which feels like a mile unto itself.

Needless to say, we were all a little tired by the evening. We took it easy and just enjoyed the quiet time.

Sunday turned out to be the opposite of Saturday. We woke to the sound of pouring rain. When I finally got out of bed due the fact that Sookie had become a living scarf on my neck and Rory a hat that was licking my ear in a desperate attempt to get me to let her outside to do her business, the temperature had dropped a little and there were big fat fluffy snowflakes mixed with the rain.

That didn't last for long and the rain ended up staying as rain but for most of the day, the pups and I were confined inside except for their odd trip outside and our twice-daily walks around the neighbourhood which were cold, damp and chilly but good exercise nonetheless.

I filled my day by watching some TV, doing my taxes, making some gnocchi and doing some laundry. That's a good Sunday, if you ask me. I was going to go to H&R Block for my taxes like I did last year but it turned out that their online site is less expensive and much easier. Thus, I'm now done with my taxes. It's a nice feeling. I'm not sure about the gnocchi yet. It looks like gnocchi but I've yet to cook it.

Gnocchi is one of those things that I see almost every week on Top Chef. I've had premade gnocchi and restaurant gnocchi but never made my own. I decided to give it a go. It was slightly easier than pasta but working with potatoes tends to leave a bit of a starchy, gluey coating on everything. My next experiment I'm hoping will be a souffle. I've decided to make it my mission in life to cook everything that appeals at least once. Hence, the gnocchi. If I attempt a souffle, I'll let you know.

Now, Sunday is wrapping up. I have two drowsy puppies on the sofa next to me. My beef short ribs to go with my gnocchi are simmering in the crockpot and I'm ready to finish up this nice and relaxing weekend by curling up with the pups, watching some TV and enjoying the fact that on this damp, cold February night, we don't have to go anywhere. Even if I do have to work tomorrow, it doesn't get much better than that.

As I always say, it's the simple things in life that make you happy. It's nice to be happy.

Happy President's Day to those that have it off and Happy Monday to those that don't!

January Needs a Holiday Too!

Some days just don’t go the way you plan. Mine started out well. I was sorting through emails, finding candidates for jobs and all the usual sort of thing that make my day go well. The morning past quickly and I felt productive. Then, the afternoon came along and everything just…stopped. My first recruit who I placed in a job proved to be a problem child for his employer. He ended up getting fired today because he simply couldn’t just learn the job and do it but, instead, followed people around and tried to get them to tell him exactly what to do. That’s not good when you’re supposed to be a manager.

Aside from that, the afternoon just turned out to be…a blah one. I can’t explain the blahs but if you’ve had them, you’ll know what I mean. Nothing seems to be working out, everything just seems to fizzle to a full stop and you find yourself looking at the clock too many times in an hour.

By the time I got home from work, I was tired and cranky. It didn’t help that I had to take down my Christmas decorations either. I’m going back to my parents’ this weekend to celebrate my birthday so I won’t be around to take them down then. As much as I love Christmas and the trimmings, there comes a point after the holidays where the tree suddenly feels out-of-place and the room begins to feel cluttered. Christmas music is no longer as fun. The smell of cinnamon and pine cones seems a little stale.
All in all, sad as it is, it’s time to take the decorations down.

The room looks empty without them. The bright coloured lights made the room feel warmer and without them, there’s just the usual décor to fill the space.

This time of year is hard. It’s the start of a new year but the end of the revels that salute the holiday season. Winter is still gaining its hold but is dithering about whether it wants to bring snow, rain, sleet or ice. The landscape is yellowed and sad and there’s still a lot of weeks before the green of spring is allowed to show through.

I don’t mind the winter. I’ve said that in several blogs. I love the fact that winter is the dormant period allowing nature to rest before it starts all over again. I enjoy the snow it brings. It makes the world a different place.

I just don’t like the “in-between” feeling you get during the first weeks of the year. There’s no real holiday or occasion to mark any particular occurrence in January. Prior to that month, you have Labour Day in September which gives way to Halloween which leaks into Thanksgiving which is often overshadowed by Christmas.

Then January rolls around and the escalating holidays come to a crashing halt. I think everyone feels it. People get the blues because not much is happening. Around these parts, it’s too cold to spend time outside and so even those of us who are happy homebodies start to feel the itch to get out and do something.
It’s a strange month, January. Theoretically, being the start of the year, it should be a time for new beginnings but sometimes, it’s hard to find the motivation. The winter clothes are now starting to feel bulky instead of cosy and you feel a little weighed down.

I don’t know what the solution is, honestly. Experts, whoever they might be, say that we need to get daylight or we get depressed. They recommend exercise and hobbies as a way to counteract the blahs. There are countless articles on how to cook healthy, how to incorporate workouts into your daily routine and how to fight the stress of every day life.

All of these are nice. Some of them work. It’s just that no coloured lights, candy canes or pumpkins to take the gloom out of the air, January has a challenge in trying to get people excited to do….things.
It’s not January’s fault. It’s just where it falls on the calendar. It’s the start of something. It doesn’t have time to develop its own personality before February so rudely snatches the reins and floods the worlds with the slightly irksome pinks and reds of Valentines Day.
Perhaps we should give January its own holiday. One that celebrates the Januaryness that fall upon us. One that lets us replace our Christmas wreath with something specific. Maybe something with bright colours and light that celebrates celery or carrots or something that counteracts the effects of the holiday treats.

No matter what it is, I think January needs…something. Even though it’s my month of birth, it’s still not that exciting to me. It probably comes from the fact that as a child, my birthday was too close to Christmas and people were fed up of celebrating by then. It’s nice to have a birthday but I’m not much of a party animal and never had the personality where I felt like it was ok to throw a party for myself.

Still, maybe it’s not really about the month. Maybe it’s about our attitude. Maybe if I don’t let myself fall into this pattern of blahs, it won’t happen.

Of course, it would help if my people didn’t get themselves fired from jobs that I’ve worked hard in which to place them. Ah well, I'm sure there's a lesson in that somewhere.

Happy Friday!

An Average Monkeypants....

I probably shouldn't waste the space today whining that I hate Mondays and I can't believe the weekend rushed by so quickly. After all, I pretty much say that every week. Not much changes about that fact.

Of course, today has the added non-bonus of being a Federal Holiday. It's Columbus Day. Unfortunately, only some people get today off. Some lucky people. I am not one of these lucky people, alas. Thus, I am here, excited to begin work.

Did that sound sarcastic? It probably did. I've been told that every word that comes out of my mouth is sarcastic. This is by someone at work; actually, my boss even said that to me. While I tend to think I'm more sardonic than sarcastic anyway, I actually get a little frustrated that he thinks of me that way. Sure, I have a dry sense of humour but sometimes, I actually do try not to sound remotely sarcastic and yet, he walks away, shaking his head without responding to my comment. I think sometimes that's the problem with having a British accent; people think we're being snarky when we're not.

So, I'm going to try not to be snarky today. I really don't have any reason to be. My weekend was pretty nice, if a little brief. I had a productive day on Saturday. I even started Christmas shopping. My theory this year is that Christmas is expensive and if I spend a little money with each paycheck, starting now, I might actually be able to get through the holidays without feeling completely financially drained.

The problem that I did have on Saturday was that I woke up in a bad mood. It was one of those days where nothing seemed to go right in the beginning. I tried to log on to my computer to find a Whole Foods market and it turns out that not only is my fairly new Dell Mini acting up but my desktop either gives me the Blue Screen of Death or it's as slow as molasses. I have a sneaking suspicion it's because I subscribe to the most basic internet service of my Cable provider and they want you to upgrade so they make it slow. This is frustrating, especially when you're impatient...and I am very impatient.

Aside from that, I woke up just feeling...blah. I don't know if you ever have those days but I do, every so often. I mentioned last week how sometimes I wish I had more of a career and less of a 'job'. I think Saturday that, along with everything else in my life just sort of hit me and I just felt...average.

The problem with feeling average is that it's a slippery slope that leads to a lot of self-doubt. Actually, it arises because of self-doubt, I think. It's just a feeling that nothing I do actually has an impact on everything. I come to work, do my job and it feels like no one notices. My writing is stuck on hold because I can't get anyone to take me seriously. I'm still single and feeling more so every single day, particularly in the Midwest where it's considered absolutely against the norm to be a single woman in her thirties. There's no one to whom, in this world, I matter that much.

I know this sounds horribly self-pitying. It is but at least I know that. I'm not actually trying to sound that way but, instead, trying to describe what it feels like to feel average.

The problem with this feeling is that it inspires you to look back over your life. So I start at the beginning. When I was a little Monkeypants, I thought I'd have a career and a family. The idea of being thirty wasn't even in my realm of acceptance. It was just a distant hazy future in which I would eventually arise but I'd be happy because I had a job and a family.

Well, I have a job but it's not a career. I don't really do anything special in this job that someone else couldn't do if they walked in off the street. I don't feel like I have any particular skills that make me 'special'.

I suppose there are far worse things than feeling 'average'. I am pretty lucky in my life, I know. I have my own house which is a pretty cool thing. I have eight novels written. I have good parents and interesting siblings. When I look at that stuff, I feel lucky. I am lucky which is why I feel like a whiner when I complain about it.

I think it just doesn't feel like enough. I used to have so much passion for everything and lately, it feels dulled, tarnished by the reality of life. I hate that feeling. I know the passion will come back and I'll feel fine in a few days but for now, this dark place is not where I like to exist.

So, I tried to pull myself out of it yesterday. I did have a much better day. I finally sorted out my clothes, switching my summer wardrobe to my winter one. I cleaned up my yard a little. I planted a ton of bulbs for spring. I got to feel rather guilty because The Dog Whisperer next door actually mowed my front yard for me, given the fact that my lawnmower is still out of commission. That was so nice of him that I feel guilty for calling him the Dog Whisperer. I also got to chat to his wife a little while we were both planting bulbs in our respective yards. It was nice to talk to her and get to know more about the people next door.

I think all of this was an attempt to get a grip on things, to embrace the change of the seasons and take command of it. By the time I was done, I felt better. I feel like I can start to write again, to sit at my computer and let the energy flow through me and make something up, something that entertains me and makes me happy to escape from my dull day job into an evening of fulfilling fiction writing.

In the meantime, I need to stop feeling sorry for myself and start looking around at the things I'm fortunate enough to have in my life. In the grand scheme of things, I have little to complain about. I just need to accept the fact that it's ok to be just average in life sometimes.

In the meantime, a workweek lies ahead and I refuse to allow that thought to bring me down. We have an office barbecue on Thursday so that should be...fun. Or, perhaps, slightly awkward and not terribly comfortable especially as it's supposed to rain but...maybe it'll be fun?

There I go, being sardonic again. Personally, I prefer to think of it as more bluntly honest.

Thanks, as always, for reading.

Happy Monday.

We Are All Worker Bees...

I've come to the inevitable conclusion that when it comes to days off, I'm just plain greedy. I just had a three-day weekend and despite the fact I got a whole extra day off, part of my mind is thinking, "wish I had another day off."

I acknowledge the fact that I should just shut up and be grateful for the fact that I a) just had an extra day and b) have a job to go back to after my three-day weekend.

I can't ignore the fact that I don't want to be at work, however. I can't ignore the fact that outside, it's a grey, oppressive day in which fog hangs thickly over the land, the sky is gloomy and dank and I would much rather be lying in bed being lazy.

However, here I sit at the very start of my workday, waiting for motivation and excitement to kick in.

I think I might be waiting a while for that. I am, after all, at work.

Nevertheless, there isn't a day off for us day labourers until Thanksgiving. That's a long time away from now. I think there's a Columbus Day in October but, alas, my company does not recognize it.

It seems to me that the National Observations/Days Off From Work are a little unevenly spread on corporate calenders. I mean, in November, there's Thanksgiving and usually the Day After Thanksgiving.

In December, there's Christmas, even if you don't really celebrate. This is followed by New Years'. Often, New Years' is followed by Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Then there's nothing. Nothing really until Memorial Day. Some companies, mine, for example, let us have Good Friday off. To avoid religious implications and controversies, my company calls it "Spring Break Friday". But, really, it's Good Friday.

Nevertheless, there's a really long dry spell during January, February and March in which the long winter months drag on and on because there's nothing to really break them up.

After Memorial Day, the official 'start' of summer, there's Independence Day in the middle of summer. Then there's Labour Day at the official 'end' of summer. I rather like the 'bookmarking' of the seasons. I think perhaps we should have another day for the beginning of Autumn, use Thanksgiving at the middle one and allow Christmas to be an overlap for End of Autumn/Start of Winter.

We need more days in February and March and, perhaps, even April because some companies don't acknowledge Easter at all. Even ONE day in there would be a bonus.

I know, I know, I'm dreaming. If you read my blog on Friday, you've already read my griping about the stinginess of companies and their PTO policies. Thus, it's unlikely that my suggestions for more days off will ever go anywhere.

I can dream, however. There's nothing wrong with that. While I'm at it, I will dream of working for a company in which workers are respected. I think too many companies credit themselves with their benevolence in allowing their employees to have a job. That is the employees reward for working. I agree, in the grand scheme of things, there is a template for the workplace:

1) Employee gets a job.
2) Employee shows up to work and works.
3) Employee benefits company.
4) In exchange, Employee gets a paycheck.

Now, in a simple world and, in the world of business logic, this is the normal model for a company. The receiving of a paycheck should be reward enough for work.

The problem is, this is a different world, a different generation than when that model was developed.

There are days when I think of the Days of Yore in which children left school at fourteen and went to the factories or homes where they'd become servants. Those days, working wasn't something you got to contemplate, ponder, consider...it was something you just did. Kids worked, parents worked until they couldn't. It was the only way to support a family. Every penny mattered.

I read a lot of books, a lot of Thomas Hardy, a lot of Charles Dickens, even more recent novels in which the caste system of society was dependent on if working was an option or not. If you were rich, it wasn't necessary to seek employment. You got to ride on your horse all day, take care of matters of the Manor, talk to your stewards, arrange fancy dinners. If you were less rich, you usually worked but had a position of honour, a doctor, a lawyer, something that required education.

If you had little or no money, there was no education. There was only work. There was only employment to bring in a paycheck. There was no leisurely job seeking, there was the interviewing for a position and hoping you got it because it meant money coming in.

So, yes, I confess, when I think of the Days of Yore and I whine about my job, I feel bad. I have a job. I have a job which I essentially chose. I've changed jobs many times to find one that fit. I have a steady paycheck, steady weekends and a regular schedule.

And still....I complain.

However, I stand by what I said before about living in a different world and a different generation to the Days of Yore. This is a different era. It's an era in which the Western World has been allowed to become free. Yes, there is always going to be a class system in which the rich folk hold the power but it's also a world where anyone can become one of those rich people. It's a world in which we are permitted to choose a job that suits us. If we don't like it, we can leave.

There's the rub. That's become a refrain for employers, "If you don't like it, leave." It's a way of threatening employees, of making them remember their place in the world. They're only a worker bee. They need their job and if they don't act like a worker bee, that job might be taken away.

I argue with this threat. Granted, it's harder in an economy where we are grateful to have a job. It's also different depending on what field you're in, what position you hold. I can only speak for myself.

I work for a small company that develops products and then tries to sell it. Our products are ones that takes creativity, intelligence and skill to develop, test, enhance and release. We employees are all skilled in our respective area and we want to do a good job.

Yet on a day-by-day basis, sometimes it feels like I'm trapped in a cage. In a strange way, it's akin to being on a production line. Each day is the same, I am a prisoner of my responsibilities.

The problem is my responsibilities are dull. I've tried to change it...to no avail. There's never any time for new projects, new ways of spicing up a dull routine.

The sad thing is I'm not the only one who feels this way. There's a general hang-dog pall that often hangs over the office; no amount of Awkward Bagel Days and Forced Social Interaction can help. Our Management tends to feel that we are lucky to have jobs and that we're whining if we grumble or complain about things in the workplace.

I can't help but see it from a worker bee point of view. They need us. We are the ones that keep the work flowing. Sure, Management is necessary but without us, they'd have nothing to manage.

There are companies that have 'rolled with the changes' of a society that can choose where they work. Most of them or software companies or technology companies that recognize that the old Business Model of "Workers get a Paycheck and Shouldn't Need Job Satisfaction" is defunct. They give their employees incentives for staying at their jobs. I'm not talking about money because, as I've proved by my job-hopping over the years, money isn't as important to me as enjoying my job.

And this is recognized by companies like Google, Atlassian, Pixar...companies that need their employees to stay sharp, stay loyal and give back. It's not about money anymore. Yes, that's the driving force that inspires most of us to work in the first place. However, there's another element to it: Enjoying how you earn that paycheck.

So these companies have found ways to get their employees to give back by helping them enjoy their jobs. These companies have fun working environments with places for employees to go to brainstorm, bounce ideas off one another, have fun. This is as simple as a ping pong table where employees can go to take out frustrations. They have hours in which employees can work on individual projects because it inspires creativity. They make the company a fun place to work because they recognize that humans aren't as productive if they have to put their nose to the grindstone for 8-hours a day with no break from routine.

These companies don't make the employees feel bad if they do play ping-pong at work or take a break to do something else. It's part of the perks of working for the company.

That's the key word: Perks. It can be as simple as free soda or as complicated as having a game room where employees can go when the work isn't flowing.

It doesn't matter. It's not about what the perks are, it's about companies recognizing that perks are necessary to keep the worker bees happy and make them give back as much as they can. It's a way of letting your employees know that they are appreciated for more than the fact that they're a body with motor functions. It's a way of letting the employees thrive in an environment that isn't a necessary cage, only a way of earning a paycheck.

I'm a dreamer. I'm an idealist. These things I know. I'm also an employee and a human and I know what makes me work best. I need variety, creativity and freedom in my job. When I don't get this, I feel like I need to look elsewhere. When the economy sucks, I'm trapped. When I'm trapped, I know it and my workflow slows. It's a vicious cycle.

Once again, I've managed to blog about something of which I had no intention of blogging. It just slipped out. I know my dreams are lofty but all I'm really asking for is for mutual respect between employees and employers.

I also know I'm being horribly tactless to those who have lost or might be losing their jobs; a fact for which I apologize. I have no right to whine about being bored when, again, at least I have a job. Yet, what I'm really writing about is a world that is NOT suffering from a crappy economy and which jobs are plentiful and easy to come by. I know it's the not the world in which I currently live but it's ok to dream...right?

Happy Monday.