Into the Future...
I think a lot of problems we've been experiencing have come from the fact that no one embraces the miracle and amazement of the present. So many people--steampunks, fundamentalists, hippies, neocons, anti-immigration advocates--feel like there was a better time to live in. They think the present is degraded, faded and drab. That our world has lost some sort of "spark" or "basic value system" that, if you so much as skim history, you'll find was never there.
- Patton Oswalt as taken from the February 2009 issue of GQ
I've had some interesting comments outside of the blog forum regarding my post entitled "Being a Man Is Back in Style." A few people have made the comment that the 1950s and 1960s weren't without their flaws. I agree with this statement. My whole point for the post is this: an educated and conscious person will look back into previous generations, look at the mistakes that were made by those who came before along with the things that they deem to be beneficial and make appropriate decisions in the present and future based on their evaluation.
As part of my ongoing quest to bring the suit back into the workplace I paid a visit to my tailor yesterday to have a jacket altered. After taking the measurements for the alterations he asked me very directly, "How much did you pay for this?" He was not born in this country so their isn't any taboo over asking such questions about the cost of an item one purchased. After I told him he rolled his eyes, tilted his head, and said, "Before you purchase another suit, come see me first," and then pointed out a few flaws in the suit that he would do his best to adjust.
Over the past year I have finally gotten into a financial position where I can go and purchase a well made suit, pay the price, and not get stressed out over the cash outflow. As I began to do research as part of the purchasing process I found out that the suits made today are basically built to last three or four years. In the 1960s, men purchased suits with the intent to pass them down to their sons. These garments were made to last over a decade.
Much of the manufacturing and assembly of such items is done overseas right now as the cost is significantly lower. Yes, the price of things are lower now, but the care and the craft have probably decreased proportionally to the cost.
My thought for the future in my professional life is pretty simple: work with care and craft, get the details right, and build strong personal relationships. If anything, I would ultimately like to become the equivalent of a Master tailor in the accounting world and apply the same level of craft, attention to detail, and "feel" to my work each day. It's a high standard, but I do think I can achieve this level of competence with daily training and the support of my co-workers--who are pretty solid in their own right.
My thought for my personal life is slightly different and would be summarized in the following words: You are going to die, so enjoy this--whatever it is--while it lasts. I could lose my job tomorrow, and it would totally suck. Truth be told, I would probably freak out. With that said, the trick would be for me to find the goodness in each day in the midst of all the mental noise and economic uncertainty. After all the worst thing that can happen to any person is death, and that is going to happen anyway.
Namaste
- Patton Oswalt as taken from the February 2009 issue of GQ
I've had some interesting comments outside of the blog forum regarding my post entitled "Being a Man Is Back in Style." A few people have made the comment that the 1950s and 1960s weren't without their flaws. I agree with this statement. My whole point for the post is this: an educated and conscious person will look back into previous generations, look at the mistakes that were made by those who came before along with the things that they deem to be beneficial and make appropriate decisions in the present and future based on their evaluation.
As part of my ongoing quest to bring the suit back into the workplace I paid a visit to my tailor yesterday to have a jacket altered. After taking the measurements for the alterations he asked me very directly, "How much did you pay for this?" He was not born in this country so their isn't any taboo over asking such questions about the cost of an item one purchased. After I told him he rolled his eyes, tilted his head, and said, "Before you purchase another suit, come see me first," and then pointed out a few flaws in the suit that he would do his best to adjust.
Over the past year I have finally gotten into a financial position where I can go and purchase a well made suit, pay the price, and not get stressed out over the cash outflow. As I began to do research as part of the purchasing process I found out that the suits made today are basically built to last three or four years. In the 1960s, men purchased suits with the intent to pass them down to their sons. These garments were made to last over a decade.
Much of the manufacturing and assembly of such items is done overseas right now as the cost is significantly lower. Yes, the price of things are lower now, but the care and the craft have probably decreased proportionally to the cost.
My thought for the future in my professional life is pretty simple: work with care and craft, get the details right, and build strong personal relationships. If anything, I would ultimately like to become the equivalent of a Master tailor in the accounting world and apply the same level of craft, attention to detail, and "feel" to my work each day. It's a high standard, but I do think I can achieve this level of competence with daily training and the support of my co-workers--who are pretty solid in their own right.
My thought for my personal life is slightly different and would be summarized in the following words: You are going to die, so enjoy this--whatever it is--while it lasts. I could lose my job tomorrow, and it would totally suck. Truth be told, I would probably freak out. With that said, the trick would be for me to find the goodness in each day in the midst of all the mental noise and economic uncertainty. After all the worst thing that can happen to any person is death, and that is going to happen anyway.
Namaste
posted by Zen_Accountant at 8:48 PM
1 Comments:
As always you have terrific goals. Ironcially the better you get, the higher up in an organization you go. The higher you go, the less you are in the details. To lead you need to have the big picture. There are just too many details to keep focused on them all.
Also, much of the stuff being made today is garbage in comparison to what used to be made. I still use tools my grandfather used (and used a lot!) through his life. The stuff I buy today breaks after a few years. To circle back to the quote, I think a lot of the problems we've been experiencing come from the fact that a huge swath of the populice don't care about anyone besides themselves and maybe their family/friends. Any opportunity to get ahead even at someone else's expense is taken without a second thought. It is sad.
Maybe that is how it has always been, I don't know. If so, then it has always been sad.
MAD
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