a life without gripe is not realistic. and no fun.

i was reading The Last Lecture, which is so affecting and impressive if only for the way Pausch serves up his wisdom in bite-sized portions- wisdom can be hard to digest at all, nevermind wisdom from a dying lecturing professor of computer science. He talks about the time wasted complaining... how he was able to remain positive through his battle with cancer, and even when he gave in to his imminent death his optimism allowed him to enjoy the time he had left.
i cant argue with that. i cant do anything but admire that.
on the other hand, and this i cant help, people who are relentlessly, aggresively optimistic cause me to have dark thoughts and violent urges.
maybe one day ill encounter some form of enlightenment that allows me to spin everything in a positive light, see the best in all people, disentangle myself from the aggrivations that snare me throughout my day, NOT kick the side of the T in frustration for the fact that im late and its the third one to pass with no room for a single passenger...
but at this point in my life im not that mature. and complaining is perfectly acceptable when its done with the right spirit. and its worth the pain of a most-likely broken big toe.

here is a list of complaints filed by my office to the national coordinator who had no idea the kind of bag she was opening when she asked us if we had any issues with our current space. I didnt write this list so i take no credit for its dramatic flair but i am particularly fond of the approximation of the number of chairs in excess in our conference room (true) and order in which the problems are presented with dying plants (see picture) as the priority item:

Hi;
Per your request, below please find some of the greatest problems the Boston team has been having:
• Plants are dying and falling into the entryway
o At least 4 plants are completely dead and scattering leaves throughout the hallway and entryway
o One tree has fallen onto an employee’s desk and upon moving has fallen onto the ground and is coming out of the pot
• The ladies bathroom is absolutely disgusting
o On a daily basis toilets are not flushed and several have been close to overflowing
• The conference room is a complete mess and unacceptable for client meetings
o Approximately 20 additional chairs that do not fit around the conference table
o Random electronics and wires scattered throughout the room
o When room is occupied, employees have no other meeting place that is closed and confidential
• Often have internet issues which affect the VPN – all employees are repeatedly kicked off of the network in the office due to internet and firewall issues in the adjacent office
o Internet has completely gone out or is very slow at least once a month – this also affects the phone lines
• the adjacent office's employees often conduct team meetings in the hallways or meetings on speakerphone which is distracting when our team is on calls
• The office is often extremely cold-we often wear gloves while typing- and there isn’t any way to change the thermostat

Please let us know if you have any questions about the above issues.