Independently Speaking

Publication Date 10-12-06

It was a good week.

I had a couple of meetings, but otherwise spent most of my time hanging out with a bunch of carpenters and cement workers.

I really enjoyed it. I haven't had enough of that the past year or so. After living most of my life doing real stuff – raising crops and livestock - I now spend my time either staring at a computer screen trying to come up with something to write about or sitting in a large room discussing budget cycles and funding requests. I hardly ever get blisters or calluses from either one.

It's a pretty dramatic change and one that a lot of people aspire to.

Me, not so much. I've always kind of liked calluses and sitting through meetings is not something I've ever aspired to. Sometimes I'm overcome with a brief moment of astonishment when the chairman says “adjourned,” and someone else brightly adds “good meeting!” As far as I'm concerned, there are no good meetings. There are meetings when we get something done and meetings that are a complete waste, but I don't think I can ever remember a meeting that I thought of as good. There are a few upsides. I may come home frustrated and grumpy after a day of meetings, but my clothes are still clean and the only physical danger I face is acid indigestion from too much bad coffee and certain weight-related issues that result from close proximity and easy access to pastries.

On the other hand, doing “guy” work means I come in really dirty at night, with almost every part of my body tired and throbbing with various levels of pain. Right now I have an egg-shaped lump on the crown of my head, and that's topped with a crescent-shaped scrape that's roughly the same shape as a piece of re-bar. (It's pretty ugly - I try to wear a hat as much as possible.) But on the upside, as I sit nursing my aches and pains before dragging my body off to bed, I can replay the day's accomplishments and they are real and concrete to me in a way no finely-tuned budget or precisely handled human resource issue can be.

I'm not saying my attitude makes sense. I realize that nowadays the work of the world often involves moving paper and keeping good notes in meetings. I was raised to think that it was important to make a difference in the world, and every day I get up and try to do just that. I don't succeed - at least not every day - although occasionally when I pack up my briefcase, I can reflect on one or two solid achievements.

But, those achievements just don't feel the same as leaving the house (or at the moment, a borrowed camper) wearing worn leather gloves and autumn clothes, seeing my breath in the pre-dawn darkness, shedding coats and shirts as the day progresses, moving in an easy rhythm dictated by the efficient efforts of guys who do this every day of their lives, eating bad sandwiches and worse coffee in a sunny corner sheltered from the wind, taking pleasure in using tools and techniques I've spent a lifetime acquiring.

This week I head off to a two day meeting. I'll wear clean clothes, sit in climate controlled meeting rooms, have a coffee/bottled water break every couple of hours and spend my time talking seriously with smart, dedicated people about issues that matter.

But it's not where I want to be.

Copyright 2006 Brent Olson www.independentlyspeaking.com