Laziness and Consequences

I was sent to Delaware to learn a job and bring it back to Texas. The way things worked in Delaware was that two people worked on one part of the job, and one person worked on the other.

We had four people, and that meant a change for our team. We could either do two and two, or we could do one and three. So it was decided that we could each learn both aspects of the job, and it would be decided at a later date.

We were put into pairs, and we each learned half the job on the first day. On the second day, we switched. The first half of the job was busy and a bit crazy - it involved a lot of communication with the client, a steady stream of work, and a whole lot of paperwork. The second half didn't seem that bad - it seemed to involve a whole lot less and appeared to be easier.

Not to mention that one of the jobs worked until 6pm, and the other seemed to be done around 4pm.

As my partner and I went to lunch with our boss, we began to talk about the work. With only one day of training on each job, we each knew the same thing - it would be much better to work on the job that was easier and got out early. Unfortunately, my boss basically told meet that she needed me on the "harder" job. And that's when it happened.

"I wouldn't mind doing (the "easier" job)," my partner said.

She said it as if she was reluctantly volunteering for something terrible. But she knew what she was doing - she was taking the lazy way out before anyone else got the chance to. She assumed that she would have a light day and get to go home early - who wouldn't volunteer for that?

The next day, she was the only one training on the "easy" job. The other three of us began training on the other half. And, as of today, that's the way things are working.

In talking to the rest of the group, we each discussed that we wanted the same thing. We each would've preferred to be on the easier job, and people were surprised when I revealed that our colleague had volunteered for it.

But the lazy way wasn't necessarily the easy way. What the volunteer had failed to realize that the person who had done the job in Delaware had done it for five years. In fact, he was the one who had originally brought the job from New York. Of all the people at the company, he knew it the best. It was one of the reasons why it seemed so easy, and it was one of the reasons he got done so early.

And so when she started to do the work by herself, she struggled. She complained about how much work there was, and she was upset that there was no one to help her. It only took a couple of days for her to realize that she had made a mistake.

Her job might be the easiest, but our job is now divided amongst three people. While we get our work done, she struggles. She gets help from both our manager and our visiting trainer from the UK, and she's constantly asking us for assistance. And this makes her unavailable to help us.

And even now, she's looking for the easy way out. She's convinced our manager to have someone assist her on her most difficult account, and she continues to complain about her workload. I'm a little surprised that she hasn't "volunteered" to move back to our job.

And what's sad is that, since her job actually is less intensive, she should have been the first one to learn it. And instead of us helping her, she should be able to help us.

She's very nice, and I don't intend to be mean. But I do think it's funny that she asked for the easy way out, and it didn't really work out that way. Sadly enough, it works out more often than not.

Delaware - Part Nine

1. I love Community

2. I love Alison Brie

That is all. And, yet, all I need.

Delaware - Part Eight

Coming up to Delaware, I knew I'd be in Philadelphia Eagles' country. And since the Eagles might be my #1 least favorite team in the world, it wasn't really something I was excited about. Plus, Eagles' fans have an unnatural hatred for the Cowboys...so I knew it might cause some issues with the people I meet. After all, people hear I'm from Texas and almost always immediately ask if I'm a Cowboys' fan.

But on my first day on the job, I actually found out that there was a secret cadre of Cowboys fans up here. In fact, at work, there are a few of them. And while there are some Eagles' fans, there's a nice mix of football fans.

Considering the Cowboys' struggles, though, there wasn't much to argue about. I just kept my mouth shut for the most part, only joining in neutral topics (such as fantasy football).

But, today, the Cowboys' fans were all excited. Because, today, Wade Phillips was fired.

I'm torn between feelings of hatred and pity for the former coach of the Cowboys. On one hand, I think he's done a terrible job with a lot of talent - that a lot of his wins were mostly due to a simple talent advantage over most teams. And, despite that, the Cowboys only had one playoff win under the Phillips' regime.

On the other hand, I feel bad for Wade. Not because he got fired...but simply because of the way he was forced to carry himself. Wade Phillips seems like a genuinely nice man who really cares for his players. So much so that he defends players for inexcusable errors - when things went wrong, he preferred people blame him instead of the player. It's admirable, but these days, people want the players held accountable.

But it's not just that - Wade Phillips was reduced to a company man. He was Jerry Jones' puppet from day one, and it really immasculated poor Mr. Phillips...who never truly had any power. Wade was unable to criticize anyone or punish anyone anyway, which probably added to his "blame me, not the player" attitude.

And while it takes a certain man to get bossed around as much as Wade did, you have to feel sorry for him. Because this was the job of a lifetime - to coach the Dallas Cowboys - and it's probably Wade's last head coaching job. If someone offered you your dream job as a last-ditch hope, would you take it...even if it meant living completely by someone else's rules? Would you take it if it meant allowing yourself to be castrated, in a sense?

Wade decided that it was worth it. And I'm sure he did his best.

But, at the end of the day, it wasn't good enough. And, I'm afraid, Wade was never the right man for the job. I wasn't excited about his hiring a few years ago, and I wasn't excited about him...even when the Cowboys were winning the division. I knew that, for the Cowboys to get to the top, they needed someone of a different pedigree.

So, today, the Jason Garrett era begins. I was excited about Garrett a few years ago, but his offense has fallen on its face more than once in his tenure. It gets a lot of yards, but it finds a way to leave a lot of points on the field. Garrett's offense is great for fantasy players, but it's not great for wins. Especially with all the weapons he has.

But maybe Garrett is a better head coach than he is a coordinator. Maybe he has the right stuff, in terms motivating the team. Maybe he's the right guy.

And I'm sure he'll get plenty of time to test. With a work stoppage potentially looming in the future, Jerry might be forced to keep Jason Garrett for the 2011 season. And I look forward to seeing if the team performs any differently under the new interim coach. Because this season is lost...it's time to start looking forward to next year.

But I know one thing - Wade wasn't entirely to blame. The players aren't playing either. A lot of them have already quit on the season and will have to be replaced. A lot of the players have simply aged too much and will have to be replaced. The offensive gameplan is often flawed and will have to be changed.

So the Jason Garrett era begins. Time will only tell if it will improve over the Wade Phillips era.

Delaware - Part Seven

I had never been to a casino before this weekend. Gambling wasn't necessarily an addition in my family, but it did present a bit of a problem on part of my father's side of the family. My mom hates it, and she's always dissuaded me from doing it. Another reason I've never been is that I'm not great at it.

And when our group here started considering a trip to Atlantic City, I wasn't sure. Primarily, I wasn't sure about it - moreso because it was going to conflict with game three of the World Series. But when the Rangers dropped the first two games of the series, I decided to go. You only live once, right?

The trip cost $40, including $20 worth of chips to the casino. It was going to be a nice little expedition out of Delaware, and I eventually looked forward to it. The trip down the New Jersey Turnpike was cool, especially with the leaves changing all over the place.

As soon as we got there, we went straight to the buffet for lunch. It was $16, but it had a bit of everything to eat. The three of us ate enough to feel content with the price of the buffet, and then we headed to the casino.

It turned out that the $20 wasn't actually in chips but for slots. We quickly used up the money (on a "game card"), converting any winnings into cash. One of the people in our group had no interest in gambling, and she ran off to the aquarium. With my other colleague eager to play high-stakes blackjack, I was left on my own.

Now I haven't played blackjack in a long time, and I'm not exactly good at it. But with only one poker table in the whole casino, I decided to try it. I had a $10 bill in my wallet, and I decided to try one game. The dealer was a bit peeved that she had to shuffle for one game for one person (I intentionally chose an empty table), but I didn't really care.

She shuffled and dealt. 14 for me. Hit me. A 10 came down. 22. Bust.

"Well, that was fun," I said.

"Not really," the dealer said as I walked off.

With no other cash, I decided to go to the ATM. I'd hoped to bring enough cash to not have to do that, but with the bus ride and the buffet, I was already in trouble. I pulled out $50, knowing that I was going to allow myself one more trip to reach the $100 limit I'd placed on myself.

I continued to play blackjack, learning some of the hidden tricks of the game on the fly. I wasn't overly concerned about the other players at the table (a mistake, I later learned), and I wasn't great at strategy at first. And since the casino had a $10 minimum bet, I found myself losing the money quickly. For that first $50, I never actually went up. I lost, got a bit back, and eventually lost it all.

Back to the ATM.

For my second trip, I tried to do a little better. I found a table with a colorful group of people, and I actually did a little better. Until one hand.

I was dealt another 14. The dealer had a 6 showing. I decided to hit, hoping to get a bit closer to 21. The people at the table were instantly horrified...the rules, they said, demanded that a player stay with cards higher than 12 when the dealer is showing a 6 or less.

I busted. The dealer ended up hitting and beating everyone at the table.

The guy next to me was really mad. He promised to leave as soon as the next hand was played, and he eventually did that. I was later told that blackjack is, oddly enough, a team sport. The team against the dealer. And if I'd just stayed, everyone at the table would have won. I made a mistake, and because of it, the whole table lost.

I actually went up the second time (about $10), but I gave it all back. I tried to stay with money, but I figured I should either go up big or lose it all. In my head, the $100 was a sunken cost that I was willing to lose. I wasn't going to bet any more, but I saw no reason to only lose $70 instead of the $100.

But I was slightly tempted to go back to the ATM, and I could see how people could fall under such temptations. The game is so easy, it seems, and the money goes by so quickly. It's such an interesting psychological phenomenon, and I think it'd be really interesting to study it.

After that, one of us stayed at the casino, and I joined the other one on the boardwalk. It was pretty fun to be outside, by the ocean, looking through the various shops. We ended up at the other side of the boardwalk, where they were having a Phish concert. Considering it was Halloween Eve, there were definitely some characters out there.

By 7pm, we had to head back so we didn't miss the bus back to Delaware. All in all, it was a pretty fun night. I got to experience casino gambling, got to see the ocean (which I hadn't yet seen), and I got to hang out on Atlantic City's famous boardwalk for a few hours.

Delaware itself might be boring, but it's right in the middle of everything. In the time it takes for us to drive to San Antonio, they can drive all over the place. D.C., Baltimore, Atlantic City, Philadelphia, New York City, Boston. Despite being here five weeks, we're only here four weekends.

And even though I'm ready to go home, I actually wish there was more time for travelling. Too bad they actually expect me to work while I'm here.