The Leisure Guy

According to this blog, it has been almost a year since my last post on the Leisure Guy. What does this say?

1) I had a full-time job at a newspaper since February of 2007. I spent lots of hours a week in a newsroom and when i came home, the last thing i wanted to do was sit at a computer.
2) Another sub-plot: I met a wonderful woman over a year ago, we dated, we fell in love, we got married--that takes the wind out of any sails for writing about leisure. We enjoyed leisure together and I wrote about it less often.
3) After blogging for over two years on leisure, I guess i needed a break. Without any planning, I took one.

Here is the amazing thing--people still read the Leisure Guy on a regular basis. Not a month went by that I didn't hear from someone who was inspired by a blog, or found something interesting in these writings, and took the time to drop me an email.

Based on the statistics, the site averaged over 400 unique visitors per month. Not bad for a blog that had no new information (except for an edit here and there) for nearly a year.

Lately, I have started blogging on a favorite topic of mine (frugality in the office place, new and effective technologies) from a fresh perspective--got to Cheap Office Guy and read my newest blog.

Those of you who know me, know that I spent many years as a member of the clergy, and many years writing and leading workshops about clergy stress and burnout. It is always interesting to see an article about the subject surface. I ran across this one from The South Bend Tribune- Rising above the stress.

The changes that have happened in the past ten years in the church have only increased the opportunities for stress and burnout among the clergy. Clergy cannot count on the local church or the denominational structures to protect them from the stresses of ministry, so it is important that self-care is a priority.

The article is a very truthful look at the lives of four pastors in Indiana; how they deal with the high expectations, the never ending work load, the lower pay (did you know that pastors rank in the top 10% in education in the country, and yet are 325th out of 432 occupations in terms of pay?).

Some stats from the sidebar:
90 percent work more than 46 hours per week
80 percent believe that pastoral ministry affects their families negatively
70 percent do not have someone they consider a close friend

It is a beautiful day in the Blue Ridge. Temperatures are spring-like. The sun is bright. And to think the calendar says: "February." It is one of those days when you are tempted to call in sick and put on your hiking shoes and hit the trail for a few hours. We get way more than our fair share of those days in my mountain home, what would you do with a day like this?

Here are some suggestions just so you can prepare:

* Get out and take a long walk.
* Find a seat in the sun, and read a good book
* Got to the garden center and buy something green
* Take a drive in the country--be sure to stop and look at the scenery
* Breathe some fresh air, get some sun on your face--five minutes will make a difference

I discovered this article the other day: How extreme is your job?: There is the danger of the 70 hour work-week becoming the new standard

Ouch. If that is the new standard, I want no part of it. Even though income goes up, studies have shown that quality of life drops considerably the more hours put in a job. Maybe the LeisureGuy is a voice crying in the wilderness. Maybe my readers get great pleasure from hearing the rantings of a fool?

It appears that I am out of touch with reality--63% of the MSNBC work over 40 hours per week.

Here are some stats from the article:

Sixty-four percent of those surveyed said their work pressures are self-inflicted but say it is taking a real toll on them individually. Nationally, 70 percent, and globally, 81 percent, say their jobs undermine their health in terms of exercise, diet and the impact of stress. Nationally, 46 percent, and globally, 59 percent, say it gets in the way of their relationships and nationally, 50 percent, say it affects their sex life.

All LeisureGuy can think is that there must be a market for LeisureGuy...(but if I truly discovered how to work that market, i would be working more hours than I want to)

Just to let you know that my car was inspected, and it passed, so it is good for another year. The problem it seems was that I was sold a car that had been stripped of its catalytic converter. The mechanics at the small shop where I had my brakes replaced put it on a handheld computer and immediately discovered the problem. Begging these questions:

1) Did the dealership who sold me the car actually put it on their sophisticated computers like they said they did?
2) If they did, why is it that they could not see what a small mechanic with a cheap computer immediately assessed?
3) I know, that they know, I am not a car guy, and am a really easy mark. But did they think they could hide their incompetence from other mechanics?
4) Could it be that they did not want to confess to what amounts to being a crime? (Since the car had the same "Check Engine Soon" light from the time I bought the car--and since the catalytic converter had been tampered with before i bought it).

I will let you know how they respond to my letter that is being sent today.