Everybody's working for the weekend
Everybody wants a little romance
Everybody's goin' off the deep end
Everybody needs a second chance

-Loverboy's Working For the Weekend

Friday. The close of another week of work. The oasis of another weekend swiftly approaches. Typically, I would go into how fruitless this cycle is for our lives, but I find there is no rain (for those non-poetry people out there, rain for me may be an analogy referring to thoughtful introspection, hardships, or some sort of darker mood).

It is good that this time of ease is coming for I do need time to study for my upcoming GMAT test for graduate school. I have barely studied for this $200 assessment of Bill, quite contrary to how I poured myself into studying for the Navy Pilot aptitude test (which I passed like a champ). I had a deep hunger to follow that lifestyle. Graduate school is no more than a means to an end and a dull end at that, sense it is just to chase after more money.

Where's the adventure?

For now, the weekend. It is what we strive to reach week after week. Fruitless indeed.

(Perhaps it did sprinkle).

Specialization is integral in our lives, but specialization with a focus on balance is the key.

I brought to a close a poem that I have been influenced to write entitled "My Rose". It is a piece that is rich in symbolism. As soon as I finished the final pen strokes, I knew I had hit a homerun with it. There is even a reference to a Simon and Garfunkel song in it, though I doubt that even Paul Simon would find it.

I came into work today at 8:30 and the front secretary told me the one thing an IT person does not want to hear when they first come to work: "a lot of people want to see you." Not a good sign considering that most of the users were there since 8am and since my boss is still out to recoup after the surgery, there was no one else for support. Early on, I only heard symptoms of the issue, but essentially they all dealt with losing or not having network access, though it did not affect all users. After a little troubleshooting, fifteen minutes later, I had rerouted all the users on a flaky hub to the backup hub. It was a GREAT feeling to resolve this issue. This has been my first corporate-setting, network crash, much less I was the only one here that could do anything about it. During the crisis at one point, I cut off a user prematurely because she was giving me redundant/irrelevant data and I needed speed. I do feel a little regret from doing so though it was justified.

"A Hero Can Save Us, But I'm Not Going to Stand Here and Wait" -"Hero" Chad Kroeger

Heroes. We all yearn for those who emerge and take up battle and find victory against a formidable foe, whether that opponent is an entity or an intangible.

Yet, who are our heroes? Our culture will tailor professional athletes for such a role, but the suit does not fit in reality's realm. No, the battle within the sports arena makes great analogies with the struggles in our lives, but a sports hero is a hero of fantasy.

So who are the heroes? They are the ones who see the problem, realize that there are no others who are able save the day, and take the initiative of expedient action to resolve the issue. They are independent individuals who have the ability to boldly stand against a crowd. They do not have the desire to play the role, but as the problem develops, a deep burning desire within beckons them to take up arms. For within the depth of their souls, they know that they have been developing for "such a time as this."