A good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers.

The demonstration of the carousel system was a rousing success...the skeptics who visited before we started the project admitted, without hesitation, that they were seriously impressed.  The system speaks for itself-it's easy to use, easy to understand and makes the job of pick/put away literally 500% more efficient.

I had more than one skeptic approach me at the end of the presentation to say how impressed they were with the outcome of the entire plan.  I was also asked "What are you going to do now?" more than once.  My 'real' job here-once described as a 35 hour work week position-will occupy me for about 4 hours a week.  I have but one hole to fill with accomplishment and then, well, not much.

The recognition by outsiders alone was worth it...you see, because I no longer give a shit about what the people in my office think about it.  Most are too small minded or 'old school' to understand the evolution of business and how embracing the future also means being a part of it.

I'm not here to make friends, talk about whatever they've wasted their collective evenings watching on television and now have to regurgitate in monosyllabic squawking to anyone within earshot.  I've outgrown this place...it happened a lot faster than I thought but, while it seems that I'm making great strides in accomplishing things never before attempted, the rest of the place is sitting on its collective ass-watching television-and nothing more.

In spite of the way it reads:  I'm not at all bitter about the complexity and obvious ridiculousness of the way in which this business operates.  I'm frustrated by the lack of foresight and grasping of 'what could be' by the people who get to make decisions that keep this place where it is:  stuck in 1985.  I have the skills, abilities and desire to change that...but they're scared of change and my passion for eliminating waste has rendered them stiff with inability to see anything beyond what's on television tonight (in preparation for tomorrow's coffee room conversation).

This project and its impending conclusion next week have shown me more effective means of negotiation, navigation through red tape minefields, telling people what they want to hear and, most effectively, how to let go of something-no matter how much better it'll make things-if keeping it means losing myself in the process.

It has also taught me that you can't make people care about things in which they're totally uninterested.  It's also a complete waste of time to try to convince people to look at things from a new perspective when they've been watching "All in the Family" for the last 25 years.

The worst part?  I understand the sense of apathy that's blanketing the majority of the people who work here.  I want to....*scratch that*  I NEED to get out before it smothers me as well.

My next move is clear...finishing the project has helped me make that decision.

Background Tune: "Be My Slave" by Colony 5