Decaying Orbit

Decaying Orbit
Originally uploaded by klycolllins.

After 44 years, the Orangevale Orbit will soon be gone, replaced by a sparkly new Chevron. Screw Chevron. I've got to say, this is one of my favorite buildings in Sacramento. This gas station was built back in the early days of the space program, JFK was going to put a man on the moon before the end of the decade, "The Jetson's" were in their first season and personal jet-packs would be on the showroom floors within a few years. OK, that last one didn't happen, but I still dig the design. Tell me how an old, concrete building with a wing-like roof can't be some sort of historical landmark. The sneaky bastards didn't even release the news to the "Mainstream Media". I had to read about the "project" in the weekly Orangevale News. I'm smelling cover-up here. I'm going to have to keep a really close eye on Orangevale Feed next door. I'll be out front with a picket sign if they try to get rid of Socks. As long as it's not summer then. It gets really hot in Sacramento.

Moving on to what I did read in the real newspaper today, I think I'm truly in the wrong business. I've been with the same company for 16 years, and I get 4 weeks of vacation a year and 6 sick/personal days. Not great, but pretty standard. Then I read an article on cnn.com about the benefits al Qaeda operatives get. Married dudes (no chicks in al Qaeda; apparently not an "equal opportunity employer") get 7 days of vacation a month (single guys get 5 days a month) and 15 sick days a year. First thing I thought (shortly after "al Qaeda's got benefits?!") was how mundane this actually sounds. When I think of al Qaeda, I'm picturing guys hunkered down in caves, scratching out crude plans and diagrams in the dirt. What I'm NOT thinking about is guys with vacation and sick days. Weird. Still, not exactly a job I think I'd enjoy. Too much "blowing shit up" and "getting killed". Not a lot of that happening in my office. Besides, they didn't say anything about a 401(k).