Great post Munk! I am turning 50 myself in 6 months, and have been thinking many of the same thoughts, but not nearly so well articulated mentally or otherwise.
I need to seriously rethink what I'm doing, and find another way. Security is important, but if it means this much anguish and hostility and suffering fools and gut-wrenching stress, then I'd rather be back driving a cab, bombing around town all night and taking tips.
My job is to identify broken processes and fix them, and the people that have and are breaking them don't want them fixed, as it would not allow them to cut corners anymore, so they oppose me, or if necessary attack me professionally. One Project Manager has tried several times to get me fired over the past few months, as I continued to document in writing that clear requirements for a project had not been written and we were heading for an expensive train wreck. Last month the train wreck hit, we are paying enormous penalties of $30,000 per day, and now I am being castigated by the people I tried to warn for not "doing a better job of warning us!" It's like Dilbert, except in Hell.
These processes have only been broken for 40 years, and the dedicated institutional stupidity and incompetence that perpetuates them on and on and on is literally too much to take. I feel mentally and emotionally drained, and the funny thing is my boss and a few others THRIVE on this chaos! They _like_ it and actively foment and create more of it, like that movie about aliens deliberately polluting the atmosphere so that they could take over.
I need to find something else soon, even if it means a lot less dinero. But my wife will not be happy at all with that decision I'm afraid, as every 2 weeks she's there with her hand out... Can't blame her I guess, as women thrive on security.
Sorry to hijack the thread Munk, but as I said I have been thinking about my half-century's progress as well. Sounds to me like you're on the right track, writing and raising your boys and living well. I need to focus on the many blessings I have: family, health, home, dog friends, toys.
My plan now is to win the Lotto, and then marry a nymphmaniac who owns a liquor store and encourages me to spend all her money and mine on knives, and I should be all set.
Thanks for a thought provoking thread.
Regards,
Norm
