[KilgoreTrout]

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Well to me his post has a certain 'I don't like my life' tone to it. If I had to read between the lines, I'd say he seems tired of the rat race but still thinks he's smarter than everybody else at work since he has this high powered career. In turn, his co workers probably think he's a condescending prick. I'd bet he also can't enjoy a vacation since he can't be far away from a laptop, cell phone, blackberry, etc due to work obligations...that's why he got some degree of enjoyment out of raking leaves & watching birds feed. Obviously, he's real close to his family!!! In the end he'll just go buy a Porsche so he'll feel better. But that's just my 2 cents.




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Yikes,

Didn't think I'd strike such a nerve here. Grunching, but Brad, you couldn't be more wrong about how I approach my job. I'm engaged while I'm here, but the second I leave I'm able to switch it off.

Re: family, I do have a chip on the shoulder about that, but my siblings have large families of their own now and that's their priority. Perhaps I didn't state it well enough, but I'm okay with this. I enjoy seeing them when I do, but I just don't expect them to give a hoot about my own endeavors. It's not a big deal, it's just how it is.

I'm very close with my wife's family, far moreso than my own. We hang out just about every other week. Her dad and I go shooting or do projects around the house or smoke some cigars. Her brother just joined the Boston police force, so he, too likes to join us at the gun club and for lunch afterward. I just think it's curious that I'm closer with them (they live 50 miles away) than I am to my own family (who live closer).

I'll read through the other replies before adding more.