Having the words work and life in the same sentence and next to each other is a paradox. You can have one or the other. I imagine life to be on a balancing beam. The balance beam is an artistic gymnastics apparatus. In the work-life balance beam, if you sway one way you are punched back to life & reality; you sway the other way you are again punched back to the pay-check. It’s like the one toy that people associate with the Bozo the Clown show, it’s the Bozo Bop Bag. Yes, it is also called the Bozo Punching Bag.
Either way we are all the 3D Bozo Bop Bag on the balancing beam, which bounces back into action every morning.
But wait, I have known people who bring life into work, to balance life.
Recently we had a Global e2 meeting. We had good representation from all over the world. The weekend was spent preparing presentations, approving logistics, and wrapping up the opening video. Morning arrives and 27 of the 28 participants walk in to the meeting. It was good to see some old comrades. One of the participants, Tricia Lully was absent. TL was a loud, boisterous, straight-to-your-face-talker, yet an endearing personality. Her absence was noticed and Srinivasan who was the co-presenter, whispered to me that the meeting will now go uneventfully. I shook my head. There was no way she wouldn’t turn up!
The meeting began. Just as I flipped to Slide 2, I felt something soft brushing against my ankle. Terrified, I moved my foot and I could hear Tricia in the hallway:
“Kitty baby, where are you? Mama’s looking for you!”
I asked Srinivasan to see what creature was near the stage and he could see nothing!
Tricia, with no apologies rendered to the audience, said loudly,” Did anyone see a cute kitty come in here?” Then we heard a kitty meow … That’s when Tricia took over the meeting.
She described to the audience how she rescued a kitten from the road on her way from the airport, tried to find an animal shelter, couldn’t find one, hence the kitten in the room.
I asked the meeting planners to help find the kitten while the meeting could go on.
To Srinivasan’s dismay, Tricia perched herself in the front row constantly turning to look for her kitten.
Srinivasan asked Tricia if she would like to leave the kitten in her room. To which she said, ”Can I leave him in your car?” The look on Srinivasan’s face suggested that he really wished he hadn’t prompted the suggestion. With no choice, especially with Tricia, he began to walk her to the car, with a look of resentment stuck on his face.
The cat now safely in Srinivasan’s car, we could now proceed with the workshop. The rest of the morning went off uneventfully. At lunch, I saw Tricia and Srinivasan hurriedly walk out. I knew it was the cat! A little later Tricia walked in with Kitty, grabbing any and all attention she could get.
Srinivasan returned with a look of despair on his face. I asked,” Everything OK?”, even though “the look” suggested that he fanatically wished he had taken the car pool or bus or train to work today, even if he had to wait in the rain or cold for long hours. His hair all disheveled, hands covering his face, “Not my car”, he moaned. “Where is my work-life balance?
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