v29.2: PWSD

Good morning folks,

-slurp-

I'm suffering from PWSD this morning.  What is PWSD you ask?  Well before you go and Google it, let me tell you it isn't anything serious and I believe one in every one person suffers from this condition.

-slurp-

Now that I have your attention, PWSD is simply Post Weekend Stress Disorder.  Basically, the weekend is over, another week of work is starting and I haven't officially started working yet and I'm already stressed.  Combine that with the heat we've had these past few days (and today) and it is the perfect recipie for a heart attack.  To make matters a little bit worse, it is business casual dress at work today and tomorrow (we get to play dressup!) and someone forgot to turn on the air conditioner in the office.  I'm sure that will be changed quickly after managers start to show up.

-slurp-

Today I want to talk a bit about procedures.  We follow procedures everyday; there is virtually a procedure (whether documented or not) for almost everything.  There is a procedure to follow when you drive up to a traffic light and when you merge onto a highway.  Our lives are run by a series of procedures that tell us how to live.

-slurp-

Being told how to live isn't necessarilly a bad thing.  As children we rely on our parents to tell us what to do as we don't know any better.  For example, your parents probably told you the stove was hot.  You believed them of course.  Your parents told you that a stove would burn you badly.  You believed them.  Despite the number of times you were told, you always trusted your parents were right.  Although it wasn't until you actually touched the stove yourself did you finally realize the truth.  You see, the threat of being burned isn't what deters us from touching the stove; it is the memory of the pain from the burn.  We are a society of people who seem to always need to learn the hard way.  There is a saying up here in the cold white North in the winter time, "Snow means Slow".  Very simple really.  But there are thousands of people every day who get in accidents due to speed mixed with snow.  Of course most people tend to learn the lesson the first time they wipe out and from that day forward snow means slow for them.

-slurp-

Back to procedures for a minute.  As I already mentioned procedures are here mostly for our safety and protection.  Everyone knows a red light means stop at an intesection.  When you come to an intersection with a red light, you STOP.  Plain and simple right?  When that light turns green, you GO.  Again, quite simple.  There are a bunch of other procedures to follow at an intersection that I won't get into here, but they are fairly simple procedures.  Driving doesn't require a PhD, thousands of people get their driving licenses every day.  But we also need to ensure the rules of the road (procedures) are taught to everyone regardless of their driving status.  There is just as much of a risk for someone crossing the street, especially if they don't understand the procedures.  People on bicycles are also not exempt from this.  I've seen it happen many times where people on bicycles feel they have the same rights on a road as a car and they get smoked or worse.  While the rules of the road state that bicycles have the same "right-of-way" as a car, they also need to use their heads (not literally) and drive smart.  Like a motorcycle, you are not invincible and when it comes down to a battle between a bike and a car, the car will win almost every single time.  Isn't straying off topic fun?

-slurp-

Anyway folks, I'm sad that the weekend is over.  We had two beautiful days and I spent most of them in the pool with family.  Today promises to be a hot and humid day again (with the threat of a thunder storm) and I'm here at work.  Refer to my musing last week on Shifting Perspective for help on how to get through the day; I know I will.

-slurp-

Cheers,

Al