"To Laugh Or To Cry?"

It's gone beyond ludicrous.  I clearly have some deep rooted unresolved issues, and it's also clear that it's all about being an old, useless, retired grampa!

If there were any doubts, last night's dreams put them to rest.

The fact that I recently watched The Hunt For Red October would explain why in my sleep I was driving a huge nuclear submarine, but it would not explain why I was driving it on behalf of my former employer.  And not at the corporate level either where I spent the last 9 years of my career, but rather at the plant where I spent the first 17. 

I clearly remember feeling very good about myself, because in no time flat I had evaded two enemy submarines, and successfully completed my mission.  I also remember that I accomplished all this single-handedly!!  There was no one else on the sub!

I was a hero!

If only I had woken up then!  Once I reported in, I thought I could go home for the rest of the day, only to find that my work day had just begun.

Despite my heroism I was politely informed that before I could go home I needed to "grease" my sub!  And while that may not seem too much to ask, when I say grease, I don't mean pump a few squirts into each of the bearings.  I mean that I needed to coat the entire sub inside and out with a layer of grease!!  Something to do with protecting it from the salt water it had been exposed to.

And while one may be able to envision this task in various ways, trust me that in my dream it was a dirty, smelly task, not to mention a gargantuan one.  Pretty humiliating for a guy who had just saved the world.

I think the final insult however came when I was told that I had a helper. And not just any helper, but another former General Manager.  And not just any former General Manager, but one that was twice removed from the role, and one that ranked up there amongst the most incompetent leaders I met in all my years with Magna. 

I was in select company!!

....to laugh or to cry?.....

I guess the good news is that the first step in fixing a problem is identifying it.  And while I know that this getting old and feeling useless isn't the sole cause of any stress in my life, with each passing stupid dream I'm starting to believe it's the major one.

I probably need a plan....ya think?

And the weather decided my workout today.  I'm not sure what it was like in your part of the world, but in St Thomas it was just plain ugly.  Minus 15 and constantly snowing.  Running would have been dangerous, swimming was out because of the monitor, and I didn't wish to ride 2 days in a row.  It's too bad, because I would have preferred to make one more serious attempt while still wearing the monitor, but such is life.  

Speaking of which, tomorrow morning I get to take the thing off. and then hopefully in a week or so I'll get some feedback.  

And that's it!  What should I dream about tonite?  Probably it will be something good, because after all, the only way it could get worse would be to fall asleep and imagine myself a Leafs fan!!!!

....and I hope that gets a laugh out of my wife.  See quote below....

"If you can make a girl laugh, you can make her do anything.'---Marilyn Monroe

...and I like this one...

"When you were born, you cried and everybody else was happy. The only question that matters is this - when you die, will you be happy when everybody else is crying?"---Tony Campolo

Love

Peter