WTF Job.

Usually I write these really ridiculous philosophical or political blogs, but tonight... oh yes tonight... I write just about me. I'm sorry if this is a little cryptic, but if I go full on narrative style I'm quite sure this will wind up being unreadable. Instead, it's best if I write a bit more short-hand. So here goes...

1. Fifth ship = 25% more work. 0% pay raise?? Starting the 19th, I fly to London. On ship til the 2nd, fly to Amsterdam. On ship til the 11th in Lisbon. Fly from Lisbon to Seattle, enjoy Alaska for the millionth time. Hotel in Seattle 2 nights. On ship from Seattle to LA... get cab home, crash hard... die to world - 34 DAYS AWAY FROM HOME. Again... 0% pay raise??? Seriously.

2. Cellist failure led me into relationship Zen. Separate blog is required to explain the Zen. Later.

3. Sat in with Ocean Bar band tonight... I wish I played drums more. I'm so out of practice! Some compliments though, always nice.

4. How much does a Mallet-kat cost? If I keep traveling like this, maybe I can get one and play vibraphone wherever I am? That's stupid...

5. Damn I rock my job. 0% pay raise??????

Excerpt from an email I needed to write:

Furthermore, to have a 5th ship added to my schedule is actually a lot more work on my plate, and more responsibility (another $200k worth of gear and another dozen musicians I oversee) and more to keep track of, so while technically salary isn’t about how many ships I have to deal with, it’s pretty ridiculous to suggest that that’s not a factor - when John got the Eurodam, he got a commensurate pay increase, and a new title...I’m up to the challenge, but I don’t feel like my time and talents are being respected appropriately. In all honesty, I’m pretty upset right now that you’re not even considering a pay increase for this. I accepted your decision to wait until January for a formal review… but even that was pretty shocking to me. I’ve never worked for a company – even in high school – that didn’t do a 6 month review and offered a merit increase around that time (and I’m talking about grocery stores and swimming pools – not professional, multi-million dollar entertainment companies).

Yeah.... I think I can sum up this blog with a big ol' wtf? You dig?