Grind
I don't consider work a grind. Never have. I enjoy it. I'm intrigued each day at at what I might find. I've been at it awhile, and I'm not jaded. I've seen others, younger than I, fall by the wayside, angry and crestfallen. The job's not easy. No one has ever said that. Not me. Not yet. You say, I might have found the fountain of youth. I'm not that lucky. Not yet. It's a cliche, but I take each 24 hours as it comes. Perfection in all I touch? I haven't found that 'island' yet either. I'm not searching for it either. I must say finding 'little gems' in my day helps. Every day is different. Stumbling upon these 'little sparkles of light' often shows up when I least expect them. I think we all do, and not always at work either. I've driven by the Grind for many years but never stopped. I've always seen it as a difficult spot to park. The other day, while waiting for a car repair I had 30 minutes to kill. I got dropped off here. Lots of coffee choices. I settled on a coconut-flavored number (love anything coconut) and sat back on an over-stuffed couch among magazines and some local weeklies, and time flew. It was a warm spot on a chilly March afternoon.
No grind involved, other than its name.
Yeah, here's a gem.....car repair....MY car.....$1,100.
ReplyDeleteGet me an espresso!
So, when life hands you lemons, you make lemonade. Or coffee. Good idea!
ReplyDeleteMy dirty little secret is that I love my job and the industry I'm in. In June it will be 40 years since I had my first summer job as a roustabout in the oilfields of west Texas.
ReplyDeleteOur Toyota dealershop has a customer waiting room that also has coffee, donuts and sandwiches for the customers. I enjoyed it over what used to be the so-called waiting room -- a closet with a stuff bench and a blank wall to stare at.
ReplyDeleteI love my job. I promised my wife when we got married in 1955, that I would retire by the time I was 40. It ended up being 41 when I retired or drew my last paycheck with hospitalization and all those kinds of things paid for my the company who employed me. I had a parcel of kids but quit anyway. It all worked out. Quitting like that forced me to confront my wits and make a living on my own and I stopped making profits for stockholders in some other company.
ReplyDeletesounds like a nice place.
ReplyDeleteLove me some coconut . . . that looks like a cozy spot . . . and re: jobs - always have to be working at something. . . and nearly always enjoying it . . .
ReplyDeleteIt looks like a cozy spot to stop and rest. I love the name of that paper there, very British.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like a nice place to relax for awhile!
ReplyDeleteThat is an unusual name for a publication.
I love coconut too. Sounds like a wonderful place to kill some time.
ReplyDeleteI get my car fixed across the road so come home to relax while the nice guys over there do their best to save me some money!
ReplyDeleteYou're a lucky man Birdman, would be wonderful if more people realized how lucky they were..
ReplyDeleteWell, you know, the better the grind, the better the coffee. :-)
ReplyDeleteI would have thought that by now you would know every coffee shop within 25 miles of Portland.
ReplyDeleteI searched for the Grind, Portland Maine online & couldn't find it...It is a coffee shop in Portland? I like your attitude & your good fortune. I loved my work, still love working.
ReplyDeleteThe Bollard: my favorite is Elizabeth Peavey.
Being one of the privileged few who knows your job, I have to say I admire you endurance and dedication. Me, I want out. Looks like I have to make it another three years.
ReplyDeleteDid you say coconut? Big fan here.
ReplyDeleteI have to say I enjoy life more since I retired. I do better without an alarm clock and I'm much happier choosing how I spend my time. I find that absolutely full of little gems.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a lovely way to send thirty minutes. Perhaps you need to make this stop even if you don't have to wait for car repair?
ReplyDeleteI wish our garages were that nice.
ReplyDeleteMmmmmm coconut. Chocolate raspberry, toffee, hazelnut. It's hard to pick but there is nothing like a Almonds Mound bar. Your post, I believe, has helped to make my A-fib attack diminish slightly. Must be those pleasant thoughts. Should have read it 4.5 hours ago.
ReplyDelete"little gems" and "little sparkles of light" are positive thoughts and images.
ReplyDelete