a99kitten's Musings

I blog about a WHOLE LOT of stuff :)

Just watched “Morning Glory”. Of course I loved it. It has Harrison Ford in it! He played the grumpy, curmudgeon-ey guy that most interviews portray him as. Now, I’ve always loved that about him. He isn’t the pandering, Hollywood kick-ass that most actors are. He hates to do interviews (wouldn’t you?) He doesn’t do stupid crap to end up in tabloids and be followed by paparazzi. He wants to show up, do his job exactly as he is supposed to, be paid for it and leave. Exactly like me :)

He’s pretty adorable in the movie. As is Rachel McAdams. And no…she is not the love interest. Which was great. They could have a relationship without it being sexual or romantic. And she is adorable too! Her character is the workaholic. Was funny…another character mentioned how she was 28 and all she focused on was work. When I was in my late teens and 20s – all I did was work. Pretty sure that’s normal? My job was everything. My boss would call me late at night, on the weekends, etc. I was always available. I got there at 7am (I did refuse to get there earlier) and work till 6 or 7pm or later. And then be available to call in the evenings or weekends. And this was before email. I had a cell phone, an answering machine and a pager. (#old)

When I first started working for my boss everyone told me (the office HR manager, the girl I was replacing, the trading room and even his partners) that he burned through assistants in 6 months or less. Ok…Great. Thanks. I do not know why. I mean, he could be grumpy. But oh well. I got to see a side of him he didn’t show many people. I broke through the crusty exterior and we clicked. Most people were scared of him. This still cracks me up. Really? Him? But I guess I feel the same way when people act scared of the huskies. Really? Them? He became like a father figure to me and still is. And even now when we talk, he teases me about me about stuff and I’m like dude – you are such a grump! (yes…I would and still do call him dude…this is CA, I was very young when I started working for him and I am probably one of the very few people alive able to get away with that!)

I remember one Saturday being at work doing something and my boss’ brother came in (he was also one of the partners) and he made some snarky comment about his brother having slave labor. I smiled as he walked out while thinking “Well, if you weren’t such a mean, self-centered jackass you might inspire someone to work harder and do extra stuff for you too.” That guy was a jerk. Now sure how he was related to my boss. At. All.

All of my hours and extra work and stress also included me learning about the stock market, how to trade commodities and options, make a bunch of money in my stock account, pay for a LOT of life stuff with no debt, apply a work ethic where you work hard and are rewarded. Those are all things you do not learn in high school, college or grad school. Those are life lessons and practical learning. Reading about something and taking a test or writing a paper is not the same as applying it in life. I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything.

But now that I’m not in my 20s, I guess I don’t think work should BE my life. It’s part of my life. But not all of it. That was then. This is now. Plus I didn’t have huskies then! They are more important :)

Anyway, Rachel McAdams does NOT learn that work isn’t everything and she shouldn’t care so much about work. I appreciated that. She still has years to go before she gets to learn that! But she does break through the crusty exterior of Harrison Ford’s character. Was very cute and made me smile and remember when I was younger :)