Work Voice

I used to catch a lot of shit from my buddies who would call me during work hours and notice that I was not my boisterous self. I would have what became coined as the "work voice". This of course was when I worked in offices that had other people working in them, so I don't exhibit so much of a work voice nowadays. Nevertheless, it was always a funny adventure and often became a talking point either before the start of the actual conversation or at other random times.

I recently noticed that I am not the only person who uses this technique to retain privacy and respect in the workplace. I heard a woman on the radio the other day who was winning something, but she couldn't be loud and obnoxious about her victory because she was at work and either didn't want to be reprimanded for taking a person call during business hours, or she didn't want to disturb her coworkers - methinks the former. I've also noticed that my own mother uses a "work voice" when making personal calls to me while she's at work. Hers is a little more disturbing though because it is reminiscent of a phone sex operator (not that I know what that sounds like), and I don't care for my own mother using that tone with me. I've actually had to tell her to stop and call me back when she can speak at a normal volume because it can be so off-putting. I also noticed that my buddy Justin developed a work voice when he started working in an office. He would call from his office phone, but the conversation was usually about some online game we were playing against each other or fantasy football, so he didn't want his conversation to be overheard, risking punishment from his employer.

So to describe it (if you haven't heard it and haven't caught on by now), the work voice is basically your normal voice, but in a quieter, more subdued volume and tone. Also, the words are sharper, meaning that the syllables don't drag on, and the responses are shorter as in you will only get one or two word answers and won't be much for back-and-forth conversation. I would always take personal cell phone calls during work, without thinking twice about it. I more or less spoke in the work voice just because I took calls so often (I probably took a personal call every other day), and I didn't want to be disruptive to the work environment. Everyone else took personal calls and either did what I did, or excused themselves out the front door so they could converse in their normal voices.... I eventually started doing this as well - it was just easier.

As soon as I became self-employed my work voice pretty much died. Unless I'm in close proximity to a group who I don't need hearing my conversation, I am using my normal voice on the phone. I still take a personal call or two per week, so I am able to speak regularly and I don't have the funny exchange with the person on the other end about how I'm toning down my usual self. I miss the jokes, but the freedom to be me is worth it.

Snow away

With an early morning shower and mid-60s temperatures yesterday, and the same pattern expected for today it may be safe to say that winter is over, although I hope I'm not speaking too soon. It's not March 21 yet, and the Vernal Equinox has not yet arrived, so its still technically Winter for about ten more days... but Spring is definitely in the air.

The weather we've had over the past week, actually, has caused the very few remnants of snow that were left to slowly disappear. It hasn't snowed here in weeks, but the ground temperatures mixed with lower nighttime temperatures have allowed some very minute patches of snow to stick around up until yesterday - when I noticed my last one on a morning walk with Jake during that downpour I mentioned. It is nice to have it gone though and finally see again what the grass and earth below look like... I had almost forgotten. But this is Chicago and Mother Nature has been known to be a tricky soul, so I would not be surprised if we saw at least one more snowfall in this early part of 2010 (read: twenty-ten), even if it does not stick, per se.

So with that I guess I have survived through my first official Chicago winter (as a resident, obviously, since I've visited in previous years during winter). In all honesty, it was a tiny bit different than what I'm used to, but not really much of a paradigm departure from the StL winters. There was a little more snow more often and the temperatures were from 5 to 10 degrees lower on any given day (actually higher on a rare few days!), but it was somewhat comparable and I handled it - and am confident I can handle it moving forward. I was even able to work a lot throughout the winter, which is quite rare, so I was happy that the moderate amount of snowfall and coldness does not shut people down around here like it does in other parts of the country....

Here's to Spring... which means baseball season! Oh yeah, did I mention?? GO CARDS!!!

Skip's Dog Jake

One of my favorite post topics - Jake - is experiencing his 4th big birthday today.... well, 5th if you count the actual day he was born, but he has only been alive for 4 full years. Anyway, he is such a big dog now and his mom and I are pretty excited... after all, we treat him like he is a human child anyway. Oh well, our prerogative. He will probably get some treat or new toy or something special, because he is spoiled and his mom (who is wired for just this type of motherly instinct) makes sure to gush and fawn over him on his birthday... okay, so do I (and his birthday is just one of 365 other days he is gushed and fawned over!).

So a lot of people like to say that a dog's life is measured against human lives by a factor of seven dog years for every one human (or realtime) year. This logic would make Jake 28, the same age has his dear old dad. There are two reasons I hate this stupid tradition of marking a dog's life in this manner. First, he is a dog - an earthling - not an alien from another planet or universe where their years don't consist of a 360 degree gyration around the sun. He lives his life 24-hours-a-day in and 24-hours-a-day out just like a human or any other living organism on this planet, therefore he should be allowed to live out one year at a time, as opposed to seven.

The other reason I don't like it is quite obvious. This formula is simply a measure of a dog's relatively short life compared to a human's (approximately 7 years shorter, give or take, for all you math whizzes out there). What the hell kind of a system is that?!?! So by comparing a dog's life to ours we have to remember every year that he is equivalent to 7 times older than he was just one year ago, and just that much closer to the end of his life. It's a horrible system and people need to stop using it. When Jake is 10 (which will be a celebratory milestone in our household, rest assured) I don't want someone to tell me, "Oh boy, he is 70! What an old man! Teehee, yuck yuck..." Thanks for reminding me, asshole. NO! I don't want his life to be taken for granted at a rate 7 times faster than my own - that's bullshit. We cherish every single year around here.

So to summarize, Jake is 4 today, not 28, not 50, not 2. Happy 4th birthday, big man... we love you!