Welcome 2016

So, the ball has dropped, Gwen Stefani just sang and now it's officially 2016 Arizona time. We didn't go out for New Year's Eve, but I did get a chance to watch Alabama win a place in the championship game on  Jan 11th. It almost looked like Michigan State would make a game of it in the first half, but that didn't pan out for them.

I look forward to seeing how the Crimson Tide does against Clemson. I will be rooting for them as always. Once an Alabama boy always an Alabama boy.

I had a chance to talk with an old friend this evening as well. I haven't seen or heard from him in some time and it was great to hear he is still kicking. We commiserated on the state of businesses post the financial collapse of the previous years. We both agree that company owners and corporations have made themselves profitable again, but at the expense of their employees.

It seems that benefits and salaries have diminished while profits have increased. Both of us are making less money today than we did in the 90s and early 2000s. We both have a lot experience in our industry and have made our employers a bunch of money. Unfortunately little to none of that has come back to us.

We agreed that if we were younger we'd start our own company and show these dillweeds that run things now how it's done. Alas we are both old and in my case less than a couple of years from retirement. We're resigned to hanging in and watching the comedy of errors that our 30 and 40 something managers make of a business that we once knew as highly profitable and fun. Somehow this new generation of bottom liners, bean counters, e-mail senders, i pad and smart phone users have managed to take what was once a good thing and screw it up. 

They have managed to take the personal contact and relationships out of our business and replace it with e-mails and website downloads. What a bunch of crap.

If I sound like a dinosaur then so be it. I know how much fun we had and money we once made doing our jobs just a few years ago. Now the big brains have attempted to commoditize our talents and experience in the name of  efficiency and process.

It all seems quite soulless and pathetic to me.

On a happier note, I am extremely hopeful that 2016 will bring good health and prosperity to my family. We've paid our dues in that last few years. It's time to start enjoying the fruits of our labor, even if they pale in comparison to what could have been. That's history and I am a believer in living in the moment and making the best of whatever comes my way.

So.... The ball has dropped and the not so fat lady has sung. Let's have great 2016.

RT