tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937170202895477126.post7648796403926070197..comments2024-03-25T16:44:35.555-04:00Comments on Sixbears in the Woods: Wear and Tear of a Blue Collar LifeSixbearshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15572224383041421400noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937170202895477126.post-66264287983007936842017-12-16T17:22:01.020-05:002017-12-16T17:22:01.020-05:00Your daughter is in a good field, if her body can ...Your daughter is in a good field, if her body can deal with the energy it takes to do the job. I get bodywork done every two weeks. Sometimes I feel guilty, like it's a guilty pleasure but then I throw my back out or some such think and am so grateful to have a standing appointment to get my joints put back into place. Yes it's costly, but I look at it as paying the piper in advance so I don't have as many issues down the road.westside momhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09224462720183128560noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937170202895477126.post-18712263540413748292017-12-16T16:40:19.511-05:002017-12-16T16:40:19.511-05:00I knew it!
That crap coffee is a pretty good rea...I knew it! <br /><br />That crap coffee is a pretty good reason to kill. Sixbearshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15572224383041421400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937170202895477126.post-58953191520319067062017-12-15T23:29:56.275-05:002017-12-15T23:29:56.275-05:00There is too much truth in "Office Space.&quo...There is too much truth in "Office Space." To us surviving office drones, it isn't a comedy, it is a tragic drama, with redemption at the end.<br /><br />God, I hate, HATE, HAAAAATE, fax machines...<br /><br />And to this day the smell of Folgers or Maxwell House coffee makes me want to kill...Andrewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937170202895477126.post-30261219995912347132017-12-15T22:24:58.632-05:002017-12-15T22:24:58.632-05:00You must have seen that movie "Office Space.&...You must have seen that movie "Office Space." Every office drone I know has seen it. <br /><br />You aren't just a veteran, you are a casualty.Sixbearshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15572224383041421400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937170202895477126.post-25258134482519033632017-12-15T22:21:37.569-05:002017-12-15T22:21:37.569-05:00Good point about the office chemicals. A friend of...Good point about the office chemicals. A friend of mine used to work in publishing and now has all kinds of weird conditions. Probably connected. <br /><br />It's a darn good thing I never worked in an office environment. Eventually the stupidity would send me over the edge. <br /><br />One of the things that drives me nuts is the whole intern system. Legal slavery. Plus, only those with rich parents can afford to take those internships that may lead to good jobs. Of course, since mom and dad are connected, they have those jobs in the bag already.Sixbearshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15572224383041421400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937170202895477126.post-34742708159968128832017-12-15T16:19:39.275-05:002017-12-15T16:19:39.275-05:00I have a malformed tail thanks to cheap assed offi...I have a malformed tail thanks to cheap assed office chairs. I did my best by scrounging good chairs from surplus, but then the other assistants would get assed up and complain and I'd have to go back to craptastic plastic.<br /><br />I can't sit for long periods of time now on regular furniture without my legs falling asleep, dangerously asleep. Either I have to sit on a pillow or I do all my sitting in bed, now, wit lots of back support. I am a veteran of the Office Wars. Andrewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937170202895477126.post-61308226767566204422017-12-15T16:13:58.656-05:002017-12-15T16:13:58.656-05:00My co-workers would look at me like I was insane f...My co-workers would look at me like I was insane for wearing a filter mask when changing the toner cartridge on the copier. Never could get them to understand that the fine particles of anything, especially burnt motor oil, is one of the best causes of lung cancer (what fingerprint powder and basically copy toner is, seriously, burnt and ground carbon. The best source for fingerprint powder for years was some guy in New England who makes it in his basement from, yep, used motor oil.)<br /><br />Closely following in the realm of hazmat material is paper dust. Again, another very fine particle respiratory irritant.<br /><br />Followed by all the hazardous chemicals found in, oh, say, inks, whiteout, liquid toners, just about any office products (formaldehyde is a big one, it is in everything,) and the fact that the prole office worker usually is stuck in poorly ventilated areas, and it is lucky that I don't have a third eye or some other weird mutation, or some cancer eating me up.<br /><br />Not to mention all the suits bringing their sick kids into work while waiting for a doctor's appointment for the ill creatures, and expecting me to take care of the walking disease vectors. Hell no! And they get all uppity when the paper mask and nitrile gloves come on when they are walking around coughing up a lung on my desk.<br /><br />There is a real 'indentured servant' feel to being an office drone. Everything is your fault, especially the things that are out of your control. You have more bosses than you have fingers and toes (and they all hate each other) and the company will hire another suit at huge expense to try to figure out why you aren't productive enough or why your work is so much more accurate and better than those around you. (Seriously. Ended up getting fired because they hired someone at 3 times my pay to try to figure out why my info was correct and the person I reported that info to could not get the same results (Hey, how about you fire her and hire me? No? Makes too much sense? Doors hitting me in the ass on the way out, thanks for nothing!)<br /><br />Yes, low level workers - the modern servants of the modern world. The movies make our jobs seem so glamorous. Kinda like "Pretty Woman" made street walkers look like princesses.Andrewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937170202895477126.post-20414688251310100202017-12-15T10:08:17.521-05:002017-12-15T10:08:17.521-05:00I've a friend who used to buy himself crazy ex...I've a friend who used to buy himself crazy expensive office chairs,but it paid off for him over the years. He had to get a Dr.'s note to bring his own chair in. Sixbearshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15572224383041421400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937170202895477126.post-79784433663790153332017-12-15T09:57:43.028-05:002017-12-15T09:57:43.028-05:00Andrew has a good point. I'm an office worker ...Andrew has a good point. I'm an office worker and sitting all day and typing believe it or not has taken its toll. My body is crap now at age 61. I try to exercise but I have limited mobility in my shoulders and arms and now my hips are acting up. I never thought sitting all day would be so detrimental.Theresa Yhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16226952474166295533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937170202895477126.post-63871582025906692172017-12-15T08:32:46.357-05:002017-12-15T08:32:46.357-05:00We can handle stress, but it still takes a toll. I...We can handle stress, but it still takes a toll. It's a shame that we have to have the attitude and fortitude of Russian peasants.Sixbearshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15572224383041421400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937170202895477126.post-90539948890332381212017-12-15T08:31:29.420-05:002017-12-15T08:31:29.420-05:00I've a buddy seriously thinking about taking a...I've a buddy seriously thinking about taking a buyout to retire early. He's out on injury leave right now and will be close to 62 when he's cleared to go back to work. Don't think he wants to go back.<br /><br />Glad you got out before it was too late.Sixbearshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15572224383041421400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937170202895477126.post-8581598862734151722017-12-15T08:29:28.322-05:002017-12-15T08:29:28.322-05:00There are good reasons to retire early, but they&#...There are good reasons to retire early, but they've made it much harder to do so. <br /><br />Firefighters can retire early but that's because the job ages the heck out of people.Sixbearshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15572224383041421400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937170202895477126.post-51649390643367242492017-12-15T08:23:33.227-05:002017-12-15T08:23:33.227-05:00Good points. I'm going to steal that term &quo...Good points. I'm going to steal that term "grey collar."<br /><br />Low level workers have all kinds of stress and very little control over their environment -bad combination.Sixbearshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15572224383041421400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937170202895477126.post-21262645809441290022017-12-15T08:21:32.781-05:002017-12-15T08:21:32.781-05:00I wish it was different.I wish it was different.Sixbearshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15572224383041421400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937170202895477126.post-10256286314598175142017-12-15T07:42:12.578-05:002017-12-15T07:42:12.578-05:00So true, its not the years, its the mileage and a ...So true, its not the years, its the mileage and a bumpy road that get us where we are at. Tough roads produce dings in our body.<br /><br />But the tough road also conditions us mentally. That when situations go bad, we don't wait for things to get better - we pull out tools and fix them or at least improve them. People who have led a tough life handle stress much better - we are used to it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937170202895477126.post-17008428552202548162017-12-15T02:08:02.245-05:002017-12-15T02:08:02.245-05:00Yup, I ask my five-foot-two female frame to functi...Yup, I ask my five-foot-two female frame to function for 39 years on a concrete floor doing a job designed for a five-foot-eight male. My joints are shot and the only reason I'm not in worse shape is I got a golden handshake and retired early.Judyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06530748998376076224noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937170202895477126.post-371858067142342482017-12-15T01:24:32.193-05:002017-12-15T01:24:32.193-05:00Yep. Been working since I was 16. My whole body hu...Yep. Been working since I was 16. My whole body hurts when I get up in the morning because of physical labor jobs up until I was 42. Then 15 years of an office job and the last 2 of swing shift. So I've had the whole gamut and am ready to retire at 62 except for the money and insurance factor. Sad state of affairs indeed. Chain Stitch Crochethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07865611172125103299noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937170202895477126.post-32821805691816842162017-12-15T01:15:26.855-05:002017-12-15T01:15:26.855-05:00The same goes for low level 'white collar'...The same goes for low level 'white collar' or what I call 'grey collar' jobs. Like serious office workers. Bad backs from sitting all day, carpel tunnel and tennis elbow, and miss-aligned spine from cheap-assed office chairs.<br /><br />Thirty years of crap furniture and being forced into twisted dwarf shapes while keyboarding my life away has messed up my ass, lower back and my lower arms, along with my shoulders.<br /><br />Upper-class white collarers have nice chairs and desks and get to run around and move and have active lives while at work. Office drone life totally sucks.<br /><br />Okay, it doesn't approach the nastiness of a coal miner or a steel worker, but it does take a toll.<br /><br />My massage therapists (husband-wife team) say the shoulders of office drones are the worse they have ever worked on, as they are never ever relaxed. I know 30 years of hunch-typing have left mine tight and in pain for, oh, 29 years or more.<br /><br />Well, enough whining about me, hope your repairs go well on the RVbulance, and that you and yours have a good December.Andrewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1937170202895477126.post-70312152756918216822017-12-15T00:46:08.778-05:002017-12-15T00:46:08.778-05:00Sad, but so true!Sad, but so true!Gorges Smythehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08777621500611603786noreply@blogger.com