While I await the return of Scandal, I’ve been busy bingeing on House of Lies. It’s super addictive, with its snappy dialogue and over the top characters. And the corporate awfulness! There are so many terrible bosses and coworkers portrayed on this show – are these people for real? The neurotics, the power hungry players, the earnest religious types, the mercurial, possibly bipolar boss … and the vomit-inducing, mealy-mouthed corporatespeak about company values and other such tosh.
Of the offices I’ve worked in (a typical professional services SME full of family men, then moving into media: a super femme office full of glamorous women, and two more in-between workplaces with a good mix of generally good sorts) most of my colleagues have been relatively normal, the only annoyances over the years being two mildly incompetent coworkers and one irritating slacker. Certainly none who made my life a total misery or made me dread work. Have I just been lucky? Is it one of the fringe benefits of non-corporate life?
Management consulting as a whole has always been a intriguing beast for me, and House of Lies suggests it may be just as BS as it sounds. (I know it’s a TV show, but it IS based on a book.)
Speaking of BS… check out this first person tale of greed and excess from a former Wall Streeter
Slate explains why ‘following your passion’ is a privilege afforded only to a certain class and actually devalues real work (thumbs up to that – see my previous posts Can we all realistically expect to love our jobs? and The job-you-wake-up-excited-for propaganda)
As I suspected, this is why so many Germans travel (just visit Auckland during summertime…)
Here’s a charming account of committing to rebuilding a broken hometown - Why I bought a house in Detroit for $500 – possibly the best thing Buzzfeed’s ever published
I also enjoyed Allergic to America, though it is a bit of an indictment on American food and work culture
A totally raw and touching post on Jezebel about dealing with depression through pregnancy and beyond
On the Billfold, a revealing interview with someone whose parents barely worked (they didn’t have to), which obviously affected her own outlook on careers and the meaning of a job
A new to me blog: The Constant Wanderings on the meaning of travel (“I had to travel to realise that I didn’t have to travel to travel”)
Ask a Manager shared a great example of how to demonstrate passion for your work in a job interview for non-bubbly types (*raises hand*)
A nifty guide to troubleshooting your WordPress blog, for when things go awry
Some basic rules and example layouts for DIY graphic design (it’s about wedding invitations but the same guidelines apply to all design in general IMO!)
Finally, I adored this post from Untemplater about the impermanence of everything in life.
Happy weekends!
