My portfolio

There's a scene in one of my favorite movies, Doc Hollywood (ok, call me a dork and get it over with), where the old doctor is sitting in his small and simple office, dispensing wisdom on the new hotshot doc, played by Michael J. Fox, a young guy fresh out of med school and destined for the big bucks of plastic surgery in California. He wants no part of the small town, small paycheck life his unlikely mentor is selling.

The old doctor then opens up a set of cabinet doors to reveal an overflowing collection of more than 700 photographs tacked inside. As the young Doc looks at the images of old doc delivering babies, saving lives, repairing broken arms, and bandaging up cat scratches, the old doc describes how his life has been made full by playing a part in the lives of nearly every person in this small southern town. He glances at the giant collage of his life and says, 'This is pretty much my portfolio, Doc. I live in an old house, and drive an old car. And I wouldn't trade any of them for gold.' Granted, serving up ice cream and gummy bears may not be saving lives, but I like to think it does make people smile from time to time. And you just can't put a price on that...

Misty cubicle colored memories

I was rummaging through some boxes the other day and came across this little artifact from my previous working life. It's the ten year service anniversary gift I got during my old corporate dayz. I remember rifling through the catalog of 10 year gifts I was eligible for from what once was one corporate goliath, AT&T. It's actually a pretty nice clock, still works. Definitely better than most of the other gifts in that catalog. A mongrammed garden hose. A timex with AT&T shining brightly on the face. A sporty AT&T insulated vest with built-in pocket protector. I guess I shouldn't complain. In these days of jobsharing and cost cutting and do more with less business mantras, I'm guessing most, when they hit a decade, don't get more than a slice of cake from their office mates. Come to think of it, does anyone work for a single employer for that long anymore?

In any event, this clock was just one of those occassional little reminders of my days 'workin' for the man'. Pushing 6 years now and still no regrets for leaving the 7:30 to 5. There may have been a few moments during the past weekend, for example, when I was beaten senseless from endless hours of scooping double duty (with the green crew, not in an energy efficient way, but a don't know where the buttons on the cash register are yet way) and ice cream making all hours into the night, but at the end of the day (I hate that saying, it just came out, couldn't be stopped), it's so much more satisfying to have created something that brings people pleasure, including me. It's a fun environment to hang out in every day. No one tells me what to do. And I get to be creative whenever I feel like it. As I always say, owning your own gig is a ton of work and time, but it's immensly satisfying and interesting and challenging and exhausting and fun and rewarding, so if you have dreams of hanging up your own shingle, I say go for it. As long as it's not homemade ice cream in Easthampton.