WGMG: My share-house has thin walls and the incel across the hall predictably is not aware of this. He's talking via game-chat to some poor soul in a very creepy, baby-esque voice. Of all the people to move in, I keep getting the dregs of the genetic barrel

WRGMG:

"Bug men". Summed up wonderfully in the following article, which itself reads (at times) like something out of one of marconi's observational posts on humanity. 

Our civilisation wouldn't be so far down the shitter if more men bothered to pay attention to what's actually going on, instead of falling asleep at the wheel and becoming this:

https://hackernoon.com/on-the-infestation-of-small-souled-bugmen-6561ae922e07

Brilliant article. Lol'd at "posts open-mouthed, eyebrow raised selfies on Facebook" bit, a dead-giveaway to a dead soul.

The article reminded me (to an extent, with obvious different language and context) the type of person Nietzsche described as the worst-of-the-worst, the dregs that indicate the formal end of humanity - the type of people that look up to the moon and cosmos and, instead of being in awe and marvel at the sheer wonder and fragility of it all, simply blink and continue on with their daze. 

WGMG: I'm stuck doing several essays on criminally-boring subjects that have no personal bearing on my thesis (to which work is required), leaving me about as enthused as a husband at a baby shower. 

Corporate Man's Search For Meaning

Here's another great article. Even as far back as Primary school, I knew this was the reality I wanted to avoid at all costs.

You know far too much of that article resonates and is unfortunately disturbingly accurate.  I’d like to say I enjoyed the article but in actuality it was a fairly depressing insight into corporate culture.

Having worked for myself for the past 14 years or so I have mainly avoided most of what the article describes but I was involved in the day-to-day rat race and drudgery in the early years of my career.  (And for the past 18 months.)

Early last year though I took a short 6-week contract (stepping sideways across disciplines) to help close a project out that has now morphed into a 19 month stay (still ongoing) in a mind numbing, soul draining shit of a job.   (To elucidate that point I have outlasted every other employee in our company (i.e. there’s been over 100% turnover of staff) on this project, and I’m the contractor!?)

The inanity and banality of the work here has to be seen to be believed.  In fact, at this very moment, the bloke next to me is compiling a monthly report, with contributions from a dozen or so co-workers in our company each contributing a small portion to the overall document that explains our, real and imagined,  progress.  This report has to be submitted by each contractor on site to the principal contractor to fulfil some vague corporate accounting KPI.  It is a report that is, for all intents and purposes, a waste of time and effort and in all honesty will never be read by anybody except possibly the 2 or 3 people who requested it in order to justify their position and salary.  Across the entire project this would add up to 100's of hours of wasted effort every month.

I am currently entering test results into a QA program which involves reading numbers from one electronic document and entering them into the QA program that we are using.  There are dozens upon dozens of these results that need to be entered.  Each one takes 5 minutes per entry.  This will keep me occupied to near the end of the day whereby I will then make a phone call to a supervisor on site who will tell me what tests I need to request for tomorrow.  The ‘test requests’ will then take an hour or 2 to compile and email to the testers.  (Rinse and repeat ad nauseum.)

In between this stupidity I will talk to co-workers, make lunch, surreptitiously surf the internet,  check the weather report to try and plan my weekend based on the tides and the winds, wander outside to call up some mates, take a big shit and read twitter and look at some emails.

The absolute farce of this experience is that apparently you need to be ‘degree qualified’ to even be considered for the position.  (I am.)  In reality my 15 year old son could do this job while listening to his ipod.  Such a screaming, criminal waste of talent that stupefies your mind.  My project manager, on about $280 k a year said to me in a moment of honesty he probably regrets, that this job makes you stupid. 

He is right.

He was formerly a design engineer but of course ‘design’ is a shit-show when it come to a decent salary so moved into ‘construction management’ because he’s now getting 2 and half times what he would in a design consultancy.  (For me, and him, design is infinitely more intellectually stimulating but ‘stimulus’ doesn’t pay the mortgage.  Unfortunately at the end of the day we’re all just mercenaries (or prostitutes).)

Why am I still here?  As a ‘short-term’ contractor who is renumerated accordingly (i.e. a lot) the monetary compensation outweighs the soul-destroying work on offer.  I do deals with my inner voice daily to make sure I stay schtum, park the brain in neutral, save 10’s of thousands of dollars I’d never have the opportunity to do in my normal job, make mindless small talk to my co-workers, nod politely in meetings and pretend I’m interested until the contract runs out or the project finishes.



tldr;  corporate drudgery is a waste of time and talent.


There’s a somewhat related podcast here dealing with ‘universal basic income’ that, even if you’re philosophically opposed to it, has some interesting discussions regards the waste of effort going into work with no meaning or value.  Well worth a listen.   http://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/conversations/conversations-rutger-bregman-rpt/10053806

Great response. If I wasn't a business owner and working from home on my own projects, to my own schedule? I'd want a job that took me outside and allowed me to travel a lot. Think an engine driver (pays well, too).

Reading both the articles I linked and watching 'Office Space' at a mates' last weekend made me go in search of my copy of 'Fight Club'- and this brings me to another WRGMG:

This 'Fight Club' DVD I got for my 18th birthday from a mate, who gave me a toilet roll as a card (in his usual fashion) with a message on it along the lines of 'Happy 18th Birthday Haddock- here's your first R18+'

This guy was one of the most entertaining blokes I knew- think Robin Williams- he was unusual but everybody liked or respected him, he loved film and music and shot plenty of music videos for bands, would go to America or Europe for months on end going to gigs- he was an unstoppable ball of energy, especially on the drink. One of those guys you figured, even if you completely lost contact with him you'd hear about him one day...

Then just before Christmas four years ago, he suicided. He was never diagnosed, but I suspect he was bi-polar.

So coupled with the concept of bugmen and corporate zombies on my mind of late, I really wanted to watch this copy of 'Fight Club' my (now deceased) mate got me for my 18th birthday all those years back-

But I can't find it anywhere. Looked all through my DVD's, all through my crates in the garage. It's vanished. 

FFS.

Know a bloke like that now. Was in two massive metal bands, always had money, always doing things, would go to America to help mates with gigs, always had weed, always did MDMA every weekend, always had hot chicks around. 

18 months ago decided to stop doing music because he got into a relationship with a dumb, ugly, normie chick from a rich family who has successfully ended his friendships with mates. Haven't heard from him since Jan' 17, isn't working, deals pot for a living and plays Fortnite. I fully suspect either suicide, obesity or marriage ending with divorce. (Seriously can't stress enough how much of a c*nt his GF is) 

WGMG: When you fuck up your enrolment slightly and don't realise til past census date and now have to pay $2,500 up front or drop a years worth of work. Can't catch a break apparently 

Have you mentioned this guys' dilemma here before or am I thinking of somebody else?

I've mentioned a drama involving her bullshit, yes (Oddly enough that was the Jan' 17 incident)

WGMG: Fortnite.

It's a garbage game that's annoying, boring and repetitive yet I play it all the time. Pisses me off that twelve year olds are better than me at this piece of shit.

Another thing that grinds my gears. I gotta get all my wisdom teeth out in an operation that'll cost a grand, will hurt like a motherfucker and might end up damaging a nerve in my jaw.

You might be alright re. the wisdom teeth. I had to get 4 out back when I was 19. I heard all sorts of terrible stories about the aftermath, but the day of the operation came and afterwards I felt pretty much ok- I went to the movies that night with a mate, and by the following evening I was eating steak again.

WRGMG:

Our brilliant, ever so in-touch State Premiers' comments after the Defqon 1 festival over the weekend. For those of you who missed it, she came out and said that "Anyone who advocates pill testing is giving the green light to drugs, that is absolutely unacceptable, there is no such thing as a safe drug".

Let me put that another way for you, Gladys:

Anyone who doesn't advocate for pill testing is giving the green-light to preventable deaths, that is absolutely unacceptable, there is no such thing as a safe Panadol. 

Guess we need to shut down all the liquor stores and the chemists as well- damn drug pushers! 

Agree sadly she is trying to appease the old timers . Funny how the casino is allowed to trade whilst a lock out has basically destroyed Sydney's night life . It didn't work in Melbourne 

Appalling comments by the premier that fly in the face of general opinion of many medical experts.

Let's not forget NSW Police and their despicable actions a few months ago denying entry to festival goers of drug dogs stopped near an individual irrespective of whether they were carrying drugs or not. This was dispite numerous studies indicating sniffer dogs get it wrong more often than not.

This fucking state, honestly.

I've read and heard some right wingers claiming that not taking drugs works. And so does prohibition and the war on drugs. Seriously some people are so caught up in party politics to see that  pill testing  can save lives

The irony being the wealthy conservative elite in Sydney's Eastern suburbs do more coke than the rest of us put together. 

Funnily enough the one drug that doesn't get tested for roadside is cocaine. Hmm wonder why .

Not to mention their children having pingas at 15 

And then they'll be all over the media stating their child/ren  aren't drug users but are young and have their privacy protected  

The irony is that the one time I got MDT'd was about 4 years ago when I was a regular weed smoker, just hours after my last toke- and I passed fine.

Those tests are messed up. I have to do them constantly as a truckie.  I've seen grown men be so anxious because they've been tested positive and then do another test and find out they're clean . If you wanna clean up drugs make all drugs legal . Tax them and if caught if a little get them help and not look down on them. Seriously the war on drugs has always been a furphy 

Let idiots make their own choices in other words. Then what will the government do?

Play stupid games win shit prizes. 

I laugh how every media commentary I've seen on these drug overdoses tries so hard to blame every entity but the idiot person who took the drug. People are responsible for themselves and make a decision to take drugs. 

There could be legal repercussions for anyone testing pills if the machine malfunctions or if a high person taking 'safe drugs' dies another way.

The only concession on drugs I think is smart is decriminalisation i.e. fines instead of jail time for small time possession. Let people get munted, life is shit. Just make them responsible for themselves instead of trying to nanny them into better decisions theyre incapable of making. 

Sound like you've never had to contend with peer pressure before for starters. 

While I'm all for more legalisation, I'd be completely against getting rid of drug testing of truck drivers. Anyone operating heavy machinery needs to be safe. The attitudes towards  a positive result needs to change because of the issues with them but they're better than not having them at all.

Let idiots make their own choices? In their own home for sure but not when they're sharing the road with the rest of us.

WGMG: over the past have developed pain on top of my right foot... to the point I've had had to have 2 days off work and my wife's had to take time off to look after our child cause i can't carry her or barely get out of bed.

 Had an ultrasound today but they wouldn't give anything away even though she said she could see the problem. But now i have to wait til monday afternoon to get results. WHY!?

You'll be surprised how many truckies that get tested and most  pass. A small minority destroys it for the rest us. Most of us want to go home in one piece. Blame must come on the unrealistic deadlines some of us have to deal with . 
Wgmg:people ie bmw  and Mercedes drivers who don't indicate.  I can't read your mind and I'm driving a fully loaded truck 

WGMG: When I'm trying to write and focus at uni and there's some c*nt planted behind me coughing every ten seconds while not covering his mouth