Craig's Corner

I hit the mid-century mark this week. I’m at the tail end of the “Baby Boom” generation – which started in 1946 and ended in 1964. I made it by a month and am considered a “Late Boomer” or “Trailing Edge Boomer” according to Wikipedia .  The celebrations were bi-coastal with my enjoying good friends and family on both coasts on the same weekend, topped off by the Facebook frenzy of greetings from near and far. Hitting the big five-oh has not (so far) been one of those deep emotional psychological moments – that happened for me at 35 and again at 40. According to Social Security’s Life Expectancy Calculator I’ve got 32.3 years left. Based on family history I thought I had about 25 years left – so I figured I was two-thirds through the journey. It’s fantastic that the U.S. Government provides life expectancy estimates through the Social Security website  … because it’s not like they’ve ever been wrong or miscalculated anything before. I’ve got the same human afflicti...

I’m not much of a shopper – I’m more of a buyer. The hunting and pecking for items bores me to no end. When I find something I like and it’s in the price range that works, I buy it. This is true for big and small purchases. My Realtor was annoyed because I could walk through houses and in moments know if it would work for me or not. So he stopped coming along. 10 minutes after my first walk-thru of the one I knew would work I put an offer in. The sale closed 3 weeks later which felt like an eternity. As we move into the lucrative holiday shopping season, people are making their lists and checking them twice. It’s all part of the ritual of the season. So much so that local government have shopping lists too - of your stuff. The Week summarized an in-depth The New York Times  article: “Civil asset forfeiture is a little-known practice that allows police or other government agencies to confiscate citizens' money or property without charging them with any crime . Bec...

In my personal life I’m pretty lame at reading signals…especially in the romance department. I remember once I was sitting in a car with a potential mate and we spent over an hour talking...the kiss that happened totally surprised me...though it was the natural evolution in the mating ritual. There’s some sort of obtuseness around me in that arena that keeps my therapist on her toes. As much as there’s an opportunity for improvement personally, in work situations it’s nearly the opposite – I’m pretty astute in reading the signals and maneuvering the nuances of various situations. I wish that our political leaders could say the same. The 2014 mid-term elections have provided plenty of fodder for the simple conclusions that most pundits provide these days. “Crushing defeat,” and “Devastating loss” are how some of the headlines have read. Even the generally impartial Wikipedia describes the “sweeping gains” of the GOP. While some races are still being counted and runoffs are hap...

I work hard. Probably too hard. I average between 55 and 60 hours a week, with the busy season hitting it’s closer to 75 to 80. Earlier in my career I went seven years without a vacation. After flaming out I found a nice balance and actually took the time off I earned each year and ultimately was a happier and more productive person. All along it’s been my choice – while I can always come up with reasonable and strong justifications for my addictive habit, I have been fortunate in that the pressure to work and deliver results has been largely driven by me, making modifications somewhat easier. As somebody who is intimately familiar with the push and pull of “work” “life” balances, I’m particularly sensitized to others who claim to be burdened. I was amused by the recent study that members of Congress are considered workaholics as well, putting in 70 hours a week. Roll Call reports that the average member of congress works 70 hours a week. The Congressional Management Foundation...