The corporate world

As for the rest of my trip, nothing crazy. Visiting my old work was good. Seeing old colleagues, catching up, was... as plainly as this word can be, nice. I use this word because the one connotation I'm looking for is offered only by this word. It's the usage where it's... nice. Not overwhelmingly exciting, or as plain as okay. But... nice. It gave me a good sense of why I'm not there anymore. The people were great, for sure, but the environment, in retrospect, and even near the end of my tenure, sapped me. Perhaps it's just the effect of having a job in itself, or more likely, the corporate world, but it just... dulled me a bit. While I probably wasn't spending quite as much time studying for the MCAT and going to school from January to April than when I was working, I felt I had the energy to do something more. Thus the choir and the various volunteering. Even weekends, even though they were study filled, didn't seem so boring, like I was vegging/wasting my time.

I'm not insinuating that the corporate world affects everyone the same way, but the fact of the matter is that it, on average, makes life a little duller for most people. Sure, the money was great, and with those new means, a person can do things that fills their life, but not often enough, not that I have seen with my eyes as the norm, does the money fulfill lives more. A new toy or new additions to toys don't amount to as much as something that hits a person's psyche, a person's emotional, spiritual, and achievement needs. Perhaps for some, it does, but not as much as you'd think.

And if you think that you'd put the money to "good use" and "good will", yeah, you have the means to do it, but it doesn't occur enough. Not as much as you thought you would contribute. Generally not. But, hey, that's okay, too. I don't want to harp on the corporate world. It suits people's needs. It meets people's want of stability and structure. But truly fulfilling? Rarely.

One last note: I was talking and thinking about the big 2 out there, Google and Microsoft, and how they enter new markets and how they enter areas where it's already entrenched (gaming for Microsoft, and a little bit of everything for Google), and my initial thought was: why? They already have billions. The products are good. Why keep expanding? Why can't they just work together, and get along?

Oh yeah. Capitalism.

Naive? No, I don't attribute it to that. I've seen enough to not be surprised about a lot of things, and that having seen the world for twenty odd years has made me realize what's out there.

I attribute it to optimism. I think, I'd like to think, that the world out there is nicer and kinder than it is. I want to. I don't get crushed when I look more closely and see that it's not, but nor does this hope fade. It's what I have to do.