The Smiley Face of Hell

Between cell phone calls yesterday, I re-cut the DVD for 'Henry Goodbar.' I have become quite good at 'multi-tasking,' one of the great advantages of working from home. I was also able to punch up the soundtrack by adding Jimi Hendrix's '1983 Merman,' and the Beatles 'Strawberry Fields Forever,' to the mix. Early to bed, early to rise, has meant that I get most of my 'paperwork' done before 9:00 a.m. The days are now: dark to dark, with a little light in between.

The business front is just an on-going duel with the forces of negativity. I almost succumbed to the darkness a day ago, but it is amazing how resiliant you can be if you have the right mix of milk and coffee.

Yes, I know it's a lot of money for a coffee ($3.33), but Starbuck's provides a luxury product at luxury prices, and everyone is happy. Starbuck's pays a decent wage for an honest days work, plus they have tuition credit and health benefits for their employees, so those extra dollars are actually making a worker's life a little better. On the other hand, Wal-Mart is EVIL. Their motto: 'always the lowest price,' means that consumers are at war with 'the workers.' Wal-Mart squeezes their own workers to get that 'lowest price.' My vision of hell: working as a greeter at Wal-Mart. 'Good morning, welcome to Wal-Mart.' If Dante were writing today, this would be one of the 'circles of hell.'