It would appear our flooding problem now stands to get worse.  Heavy rains are forecast to begin tonight and stretch through Saturday, bringing with it the menace of three to six inches (eight to fifteen centimeters) of heavy precipitation in the next 48 hours.  That carries with it the promise of exacerbating an already unending flood problem.  The ground cannot handle more rain, let alone more heavy rain—especially two full days of it.  Thunderstorms that have popped up daily offered their own brief deluges which have caused major problems, so imagine what will happen when this intimidating complex settles over us.

Even now the sky has grown dark and forbidding, thunder rumbles through the air and ground with ominous concentration, and lightning has started a graceful dance in the southern sky.  The storms are near enough to smell rain yet not too near.  But they’re moving in this direction, a large swathe of them joined together in a watery waltz meant for North Texas.

This region—hell, the whole state finally got a break from the drought that plagued us for years.  We also swung the pendulum far in the opposite direction to get that relief.  I suppose it’s six of one and half-a-dozen of another. . .

Meanwhile, no one seems to be complaining about the cooler than usual temperatures.  We’ve barely scratched 90°F (32°C) and appear to have no chance of visiting the century mark (38°C).

While I’m on the subject, take a look at this interesting summary by NOAA of DFW’s usual 100°F weather.  It’s quite telling.  An average of sixteen days at or above, a maximum of 69 days in any one year, a maximum of 42 days in a row, and on and on it goes.  Albeit brief and to the point, I think you’ll find it informative as to what our weather normally looks like during summer.

Only not this year.

By the way, pay special attention to the various records and statistics from 1980.  I was here that year.  It was hell in every sense of the word.  The all-time hottest temperature, the all-time most days above 100, the all-time most consecutive days, and on and on.  I assure you it was not the best summer for visitors, let alone the native population.

I’ve only had this job since April 9.  What have I learned since then?

One must be jaded to survive.  There can be no interest in doing what is right or best; there can only be interest in surviving the moment, day to day, until the next paycheck.

One must be partially blind, deaf, and dumb.  Seeing that which needs to be corrected leads only to political firestorms.  Hearing that which needs to be said leads only to battles with management, other teams, and even HR.  Saying that which needs to be said leads only to escalation, and only those things which should not be escalated ever get escalated; what’s important languishes in the bowl of truths like so much fruit left to wither and rot.

One must be calloused to the point of being insensitive and uncaring.  A simple observation of a mistake too often leads to backstabbing and outright dishonesty.  Too many seconds defined by observation and interest are left marred by the backlash of ingrained, entrenched cluelessness.

One must be prepared to sacrifice what must be done for what makes little if any sense.  Period.

One must have no desire, or at least suppress the desire to give a damn.  At all.  About anything.  Including one’s own integrity.  If one finds it prudent to defend one’s own honor and work ethic, one is to be thrown to the wolves.  Post haste.

One must possess no interest in justice.  It is most detrimental to note that one takes on more responsibility so that someone else might work less while taking the credit, even when that someone else already hasn’t worked a forty-hour week in more than a year and spends less than six hours per day working.  Every single day.

One must close one’s eyes to the machinations of ambition allowed to run rampant throughout the environment.

One must believe that one is unimportant and insignificant when compared to the whole—or those who apparently blow the boss to cover wrongdoing and ineptitude.

One must accept that one is responsible for an infrastructure over which one has absolutely no control.  Noting that problems one must resolve have been caused by those allowed to manipulate and damage the environment receives nothing more than a cursory nod.  Action will not be taken.  The cause of the problems will not be resolved.  Instead, one will be expected to continue taking the abuse without question, and all so empire builders and control freaks can stir the pot without concern for consequences.

One must bleed upon the altar of ignorance all that one knows.

And the list goes on.

Is any of this new in the corporate world?  Of course not, yet my decades of experience have never included this level of malicious and selfish activity, especially when it is tolerated to the detriment of the company as a whole.

I hate where I work, I hate what I do, and I can’t wait to get the hell out of Dodge!