So yesterday was a total eclipse that made its way across the U.S. and around 1pm the southern half of our city was right in the path of totality, so a major event for us (First one here since 1878).
I was hanging out with a group of non-entrepreneur friends tonight, and we were sharing stories about the eclipse and where we went to watch it.
Friend 1: “So I set up a Teams meeting, get this, with only myself!!!, and set it for 3 hours and called it “Important Meeting”, then I snuck out the back door and got my kids and we went to watch the eclipse. I was back before the end of the day and nobody even knew I was gone!!!”.
Friend 2: “So I’m on-boarding into a new role, and my trainer, he told his boss that him and I were going to do some offsite “training” and then we snuck out for an hour and a half to watch the eclipse”.
It’s not too often I hang out with middle aged people fully entrenched in careers, but hearing all of that made me extremely thankful of just how long I’ve been able to live life without the burden of having to feel the need to make shit up to do the things I want to do.
Years ago, I was a teacher, and my FTE was when I asked my principal if I could take off the Friday before Thanksgiving break (this was against school policy because there are never enough available substitutes on this day).
Why did I need to take off? Because my brother was getting married and I was the best man.
She tells me “You can’t take off that day, it’s against policy. If I let you take off, how would that be fair to the other teachers?”
“I understand that I’m not allowed to take that day off. However, I’m just letting you know, that it’s my brother’s wedding and I’m going to be taking that day off anyways, and I’ve arranged for a sub to cover my class”.
“Well I’m going to have to write you up then and it’s going in your file”.
And that’s why I was a shitty employee. Because I couldn’t help but tell the truth when I thought policy was stupid. I wasn’t going to bear the burden of having to try and lie and sneak and get away with things. What a dehumanizing and demoralizing way to live life. F*ck that.
So anyways, what did I do for the eclipse?
I let my kids skip school, we went to the grocery store and loaded up on burgers, hot dogs, etc. put our swim suits on and biked 8 miles down to the lake (our house was about 5 miles outside the line of totality). Swam and played on the rocks for a couple of hours, peeking through our glasses periodically as the moon made progress and the burgers grilled. Got to witness an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime natural phenomenon for one minute of totality (indescribable… if you have the opportunity, go see one) then we biked back.
On the way back, we stopped on a whim into the firefighter museum that was right off the bike trail. The kids have been asking a lot lately about 9/11 so we talked about the pictures and there was even a little memorial with a piece of one of the real girders from the wreckage.
No permission needed to be asked from my boss.
I didn’t have to invent a relative so that they could have an unexpected funeral.
I never checked an email or opened a laptop or answered an employee question.
I felt like not working, so I didn’t work, and my kids got to experience this amazing 100% eclipse, while their friends at school were stuck looking at the 99% eclipse because their parents were stuck at work.
Oh, and because I’m not a shitty boss, when my employees asked me “Hey can we take the afternoon off and bike down to the lake to watch the eclipse?” I said “You bet, and I’m coming too!” It’s a once in a 300-year event in our city, what’s so important about an afternoon of work?
It’s been 8 years since I’ve had a day job and even though entrepreneurship has had its ups and downs, I wouldn’t want to be doing life any other way.
I was hanging out with a group of non-entrepreneur friends tonight, and we were sharing stories about the eclipse and where we went to watch it.
Friend 1: “So I set up a Teams meeting, get this, with only myself!!!, and set it for 3 hours and called it “Important Meeting”, then I snuck out the back door and got my kids and we went to watch the eclipse. I was back before the end of the day and nobody even knew I was gone!!!”.
Friend 2: “So I’m on-boarding into a new role, and my trainer, he told his boss that him and I were going to do some offsite “training” and then we snuck out for an hour and a half to watch the eclipse”.
It’s not too often I hang out with middle aged people fully entrenched in careers, but hearing all of that made me extremely thankful of just how long I’ve been able to live life without the burden of having to feel the need to make shit up to do the things I want to do.
Years ago, I was a teacher, and my FTE was when I asked my principal if I could take off the Friday before Thanksgiving break (this was against school policy because there are never enough available substitutes on this day).
Why did I need to take off? Because my brother was getting married and I was the best man.
She tells me “You can’t take off that day, it’s against policy. If I let you take off, how would that be fair to the other teachers?”
“I understand that I’m not allowed to take that day off. However, I’m just letting you know, that it’s my brother’s wedding and I’m going to be taking that day off anyways, and I’ve arranged for a sub to cover my class”.
“Well I’m going to have to write you up then and it’s going in your file”.
And that’s why I was a shitty employee. Because I couldn’t help but tell the truth when I thought policy was stupid. I wasn’t going to bear the burden of having to try and lie and sneak and get away with things. What a dehumanizing and demoralizing way to live life. F*ck that.
So anyways, what did I do for the eclipse?
I let my kids skip school, we went to the grocery store and loaded up on burgers, hot dogs, etc. put our swim suits on and biked 8 miles down to the lake (our house was about 5 miles outside the line of totality). Swam and played on the rocks for a couple of hours, peeking through our glasses periodically as the moon made progress and the burgers grilled. Got to witness an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime natural phenomenon for one minute of totality (indescribable… if you have the opportunity, go see one) then we biked back.
On the way back, we stopped on a whim into the firefighter museum that was right off the bike trail. The kids have been asking a lot lately about 9/11 so we talked about the pictures and there was even a little memorial with a piece of one of the real girders from the wreckage.
No permission needed to be asked from my boss.
I didn’t have to invent a relative so that they could have an unexpected funeral.
I never checked an email or opened a laptop or answered an employee question.
I felt like not working, so I didn’t work, and my kids got to experience this amazing 100% eclipse, while their friends at school were stuck looking at the 99% eclipse because their parents were stuck at work.
Oh, and because I’m not a shitty boss, when my employees asked me “Hey can we take the afternoon off and bike down to the lake to watch the eclipse?” I said “You bet, and I’m coming too!” It’s a once in a 300-year event in our city, what’s so important about an afternoon of work?
It’s been 8 years since I’ve had a day job and even though entrepreneurship has had its ups and downs, I wouldn’t want to be doing life any other way.
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