It's Friday afternoon, and my office is dead. No one being here has both an upside and a downside. Upside: I don't really HAVE to do anything. Downside: I don't end up doing anything...and the day limps along. Ah well, the weekend will be in full swing in a matter of hours, and I shall slowly return, if only for a couple of days, to being the fun loving guy I used to be before I started working.

Work is an interesting thing. I'd be lying through my teeth (see drnate.blogspot.com if you'd like more information on teeth or anything else related to dentistry) if I said I didn't like the money that comes with stable employment. At times, however, the sacrifice feels unmanageable. There is something extremely depressing about having my natural thought processes hijacked for 40 hours a week. I've gone from having a young, eager, inquisitive mind to being jealous that I used to have a young, eager, inquisitive mind. On the bright side, the change is most certainly reversible, and this change is most likely to be brought about by truly stimulating work. I used to think I was lazy, but the older I get, the more I realize that, like most people, I'm happiest when I'm operating at the limits of my ability, and not below those limits as is the current situation.

To end this week's dose of brain sewage, I would like to add that the simple act of putting the preceding words in print has already helped to ease the proverbial "bitter taste in my mouth" left by another week of helping "the man" get richer. Enjoy the weekend.