the sound of silence

The heights by great men reached and kept
Were not attained by sudden flight
But they, while their companions slept
Were toiling upward in the night.
--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I find myself playing in my head the song referenced in this post's title for several reasons. First, it is the source of the only funny thing my former colleague yanodrunk ever said -- and thinking of it to this day still makes me laugh. Second, it accurately describes the state of my blogging for the last year. (I wonder if anyone will even read this post!) It also accurately describes the state of the weather in the district right now, as the air becomes preternaturally still in anticipation of the coming downpour. And last, it accurately describes the state of my job.

I am leaving tomorrow to spend a week in Hawaii with scoutfinch, and I feel calm. I left work at a reasonable hour, and I managed to get everything done that I was meant to. I have my work e-mail open, and there is not the usual barrage of last-minute e-mails from the chief of staff. I'm usually up most of the night before leaving holiday doing accomplishing all kinds of ridiculous tasks because nothing can wait. I love my job, but the organization does not let its employees go on vacation easily.

I blame my boss. He just returned from a week in Europe, where I'm pretty sure he spent most of his time in Ibiza, at the private home of one of our major donors. I'm also pretty sure he spent most of his time there working. And not just fielding urgent requests. The man cleaned out his inbox -- responding to year-old e-mails, clearing months-old items off of his to-do list, and creating much inane work for all of his employees.

An example: In October, the chief of staff apparently wrote a haiku (don't ask) to emphasize the importance of proactively alerting her (don't ask) to a missed deadline. My boss sends the following e-mail from the Mediterranean to the graphic designer and his assistant (DON'T ASK).

From: [redacted]
Date: June 20, 2007 3:07:33 PM EDT
To: [redacted], [redacted]
Cc: [redacted]
Subject: haiku

[Redacted], can you please lay this out? [Redacted], can you please put this in a frame and hang it either in my office or in a hallway?
Thanks ...

>> A Haiku written for the benefit of all [redacted] employees
>>
>> If falling behind,
>> An advance warning will help.
>> Indeed, it is required.
>>
>> by [redacted]
>> October 18, 2006

Please also note that the vaunted verse is not actually haiku.

And, yes, I wish I were kidding.