"And make me burn the candle right down" -- The Rolling Stones

I saw a great show this week.  If you were in the DC area on Monday, I don't have to tell you about the big concert in town.

And, yeah, I'm all about satisfaction and gettin' me some but I didn't spend the evening looking at this:

 or this:

*gag*

I spent the evening looking at an entirely different geezer:

We saw Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers who have teamed with Edie Brickell.  Extraordinarily impressive musicians and vocalists (the Rangers) and Steve even threw in a joke here and there.  But, even though we traded the debauchery of rock and roll for the low-key dignity of bluegrass, I still felt the need to write:

7 Reasons You Know You Are Getting Too Old For Concerts

1.  The lawn looks less 'cool, party space' and more 'uncomfortable, mosquito chow'.

2.  A Morning Star veggie burger in a cardboard container costing $10 doesn't raise an eyebrow.  (It came with a pile of greasy potato chips! Score!!!!)

3.  You're THRILLED to take a shuttle from mass transit because it means you don't have to deal with the parking.  THRILLED!!!

4.  You actually spend some time reading the brochure they handed you on entry.

5.  As the night goes on, instead of thinking "This is AWESOME!" you think "I have to get up at 5:30 tomorrow to make that meeting."

6.  You go to concerts where the most suspicious smell is that of the unwashed folks seated near you.

7.  At the concerts you go to, you don't have to yell "Down in front!" because no one bothers to stand up.

Question du jour:  What are you getting too old for? Or desperately clinging to as if you are not?

"(Turn and face the strain) Ch-ch-changes" * --David Bowie

Suck it!

You're probably going to be offended by the end of this post, anyway, so I might as well get it over with. You see, based on everything I hear about blogging, you are probably the very people about whom I am going to whinge.

So, fine: Suck it! Suck it hard!

:Rant on:
I keep hearing how the workforce has to adapt to Gen Y-ers (born roughly 1980-2002). And these conversations about Gen Y-ers are always generalizations. Stereotyping? Oh, yeah. In fact the vast majority of the Gen Y-ers I've met seem like infinitely reasonable people. But dig...

I'm told Gen Y people:

• Want to have fun at work/don't want to be bored.
  
• Want to immediately be respected and promoted, even with no experience, just for being the special people they are. This belief, I'm told, is instilled by their parents.
  
• Want to be listened to and praised.

Okay, and who doesn't want these things?

No, really. If I vote for it, can I get it, too? If so, I'm all for it. But if it's just for you, mmm, not so much. And as long as we're at it, can we throw in a condo on the beach and a pitcher of lime daiquiris? You know, as long as we're going for it.

How is it that Gen Y-ers feel entitled to this stuff, right out of the gate, when the rest of us merely feel entitled to a paycheck if we suck it up and do what is in the best interest of the organization? Can somebody explain to me why--especially in a sucky economy--I should hire or promote someone that is blatantly focused on what they get rather than what they can provide?

I'll readily admit that Gen Y folks are way more savvy when it comes to technology. And, if multi-tasking really is a good thing, they've certainly had more practice at that, too. But is that enough?

I'm all for a meritocracy. If a Gen Y-er, or a Gen-anything, can show up and wow us right out of the gate, then they deserve to leap frog up the ladder--over me and everyone else--or get days off for skateboarding, or whatever it is they want. If they can't? Maybe they should suck it up like the rest of us.

But that's just crotchety old Gen X me. I guess it's a good thing I'm on the tail end of my career. This dinosaur needs to retire early because, clearly, I don't get it.
:Rant off:

(Yeah, I know: Suck it.)



* When I was checking the lyrics on the Interwebs, I found that half the sites listed the words as "Turn and face the strain" while the other half listed the words as "Turn and face the strange". Meanwhile, the CD, downstairs, had no lyrics listed.

A) How can the Interwebs be contradictory? I'm so disillusioned.

B) I went with "strain" because, all along, I was sure I was hearing "strange" and what are the odds I heard it right?