Levity in the workplace -Reply

[Bill Sullivan <bsullivan -at- SMTPLINK -dot- DELTECPOWER -dot- COM>]

>I think it might be interesting to find out what others do to
alieviate their daily pressures.

>How do you make your job fun?

The first step was to get a job that I think is fun. My job, the
writing part, is great fun. I get tremendous enjoyment, pleasure,
satisfaction and a not-insignificant amount of money for putting good
words on paper. I love it when my sentences sing -- at least when I
think they sing. I will gladly work all day, all night and all
weekend just to get them to make the right kind of music.

OK, but I am also a person and that by definition means I have to be
some sort of social animal. I think my smiling, laughing, and
giggling is more personal, maybe even intimate (depending on what
that is) than the examples cited by others. I don't indulge in boffo
stunts. I don't play ping pong or Nintendo games. I play Solitaire on
my computer at home -- it seems to be good for clearing the head,
getting the mind ready to produce its next big thought.

I work with a lot of people who are younger than me and who don't
have as much experience in various working environments. I know I
derive a lot of satifaction from giving stuff to them --  mental
stuff, I mean. I like to think that the value of those of us who are
older is vastly underrated in the culture of the U.S. I find it very
satisfying to be able to push or pull or help someone along at work.

I know the people at work who are always good for a chuckle or a
laugh. We have our exchanges when we meet. I have never thought about
it, but I suppose there have been times when I have visited them just
to relax my face muscles with a little laughter.

I don't read Dilbert or the rest of the funny papers. I do, however,
look at the daily cartoon in the Wall Street Journal. Sometimes I
clip it and post it outside my cubicle. I recently gave a couple
about receptionists to our receptionist who is one of my smilers.
It's always an easy pleasure to make her laugh. [Incidentally, there
is a lot of relaxing and funny stuff in the Wall Street Journal.]

You also ask about alleviating pressures. The symptoms of pressure in
my experience are often a combination of physical and mental tightness
or perhaps physical discomfort. I don't consider drugs (including
tobacco) or alcohol to be good medicine. The physical pain usually
calls for some kind of stretching exercise or perhaps giving the back
of my neck a massage (hey, I could call my wife, couldn't I?). I
happen to be fortunate enough to live in a place where it is easy to
walk around outside without getting rained on, so I like to structure
a good walk into my day.

In short, I think the most relaxing thing for me is the thought that
I have accomplished a few good things in life, that I seem to be
doing at least a few things right, and above all that I have had at
least my fair share of blessings. It all leads to a quiet kind of
fun, but it is nevertheless enjoyable.

Bill Sullivan
bsullivan -at- deltecpower -dot- com
San Diego, California

 TECHWR-L (Technical Communication) List Information: To send a message
to 2500+ readers, e-mail to TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU -dot-  Send commands
   to LISTSERV -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU (e.g. HELP or SIGNOFF TECHWR-L).
  Search the archives at http://www.documentation.com/  or search and
browse the archives at http://listserv.okstate.edu/archives/techwr-l.html