The over-survival complex

wiltedI have come to the realisation that some people are too willing to over-extend themselves in order to get through a really tough, difficult situation. They genuinely believe that ‘God will not give you a cross that is too heavy for you to bear’, as the saying goes, so bear it they must – as if it was somehow preordained that their eventual survival is guaranteed; that they only need to persevere with their struggles, so that through sheer will alone, they can survive the punishing weight of their particular cross and finally go on to better things.

Life has tons of heavy crosses and quite frankly, if you’re willing to put up with them it generally can be arranged by the spooky powers of the universe that this shall be your lot in life. Always. Continue reading

Ninja-itis

Some time ago I was approached by a recruitment agent (‘agent’ sounds fitting – she was a tad stealthy) about two positions. When I went to look at the postings, I was rather gobsmacked by the language used to describe the roles.

Other than the usual assertions about my (presumed) gung-ho, work-hard-play-even-harder type personality, and the blatant use of future equity / stock options as a lure, I was also expected to be a supercool – dare I say superhero – geek type with skills through the roof. At this point everything is par for the course as far as IT job ads go.

But then they went and crossed the line, requiring that the applicant be a ‘Ninja’. That was the exact word.
What does one do when approached by a potential employer of this sort? Let’s see… Continue reading