Alek Dog! I said early this morning. Why do you have to keep getting me up in the middle of the night to go outside? Unlike the description of human behavior that is not a euphemism; he really does go outside. But to supply required euphemysticism when Alek goes outside he "goes" before coming back in.
An hour later I was thinking maybe he was prescient as the early rains began pounding down. Now in a newly accepting mood I turned parts of my imagination to New Orleans.
Louisiana, yes. And why? I guess the imagined corporate headquarters must be there. It is no more bizarre than having corporate headquarters in Bloomfield, Connecticut, or Redmond, Washington, right? All major corporations try to position themselves at the very edge -- of the country, of respect, of legality, of disaster -- and not a few slip right over.
For the northern edge would a corporation prefer Sault Ste. Marie or Copper Harbor I wonder? I try to put myself in a corporate place but there is just no empathy left for them. If I were conducting business the Soo would have the edge but it is difficult to decide whether major corporations are conducting business or something else. Anyway the dystopian company in my dream was sending all employees south for their employment reviews.
Or to negotiate their continued employment.
How do you prove your value to the company when you are not completely certain how the company is making its money? Cigna must be mainly in the business of underwriting but then why do they own Express Scripts? Microsoft used to be primarily in the business of stealing software. That was at least straighforward. One thing I liked about working for St. Vincent Hospital was that the primary business was clear even if the good sisters tended to layer some proselytic dreams over the top. When I was hired by Shopko I thought the biggest negative would be a retail point of view but as the unit became more and more distinctly ProVantage the core reason for our existence became more and more fuzzy -- but retail was surely none of it.
While awake I can imagine someone (else) wanting to visit New Orleans briefly (but not under compulsion or to see another corporate office). The idea of travelling across the country to beg for a fair salary is inadequate motivation waking or sleeping.
I imagined instead another corporate employer which was equally without name and purpose. I do not even know near which national boundary this imaginary company places their headquarters. Their HR people did ask for salary requirements. I understand that as asking, How cheaply can we get you? I said, You obviously know what we are getting paid now so if you add the cost of airfare from GRB to MSY ("IATA code MSY was derived from Moisant Stock Yards" - Wikipedia) you will have the minimum acceptable remuneration rate. Alternatively you could structure a pay and benefits environment which respects people as intelligent participants in the corporate endeavor rather than as cattle.
It is not actual reality. It is some other game.