Damn your old!

My 25 year class reunion was last weekend, man it seems like just 24 years ago I was walking down that isle, getting a piece of paper that hasn't really helped me in my life. Maybe it was a factor in getting my current job, but I'm not sure. Since I don't have that piece of paper from a higher institution, I'm always afraid that I won't be hired for something, even though my work ethic and pure briliantness far exceed many that I know with that piece of paper that I am missing. I've never understood the requirement from some businesses that you HAVE to have a degree to even be considered. I mean, I want my doctor, dentist and proctologist to have a degree, but my customer service agent at Verizon doesn't need that 4 year degree to help me, they just need a brain. When my last job was winding down and I was in search of a new job, I was eliminated from even being considered to work for Wells Fargo here in Des Moines because I didn't have a degree. I was applying for an entry level customer service position, even though I had been the customer service manager at my previous job. I talked to the HR lady and was told the reason I wasn't going to get an interview. My thought? Your loss, I'm one hell of a catch. I was fortunate that when I was brought into CE Software as a production guy, that they saw my sweet muscles and brain and promoted me several times to do a crap load of jobs. Those were good days. My current company brought me on because of my experience and, I can only guess, my charm, and hasn't regretted the lack of paper. I mean, so what if I had a degree in say, criminal justice, if I'm not in the criminal justice field. How does the degree help? It only shows you that I can show up to enough classes to get that piece of paper, not that I have the brain to use that information. But I digress. Back to my high school reunion, which I did not attend, by the way. You might ask, "Why didn't you go?" Well I'll tell you captain inquisitive, because contrary to some peoples belief, high school wasn't a bucket of fun. I hated it, with all my being, and did everything to not be there. Looking back on it, I wish I would have seen the need to do better, so I could move on to the big school, go thousands of dollars into debt, just so I could get a degree in something I would never do as an actual job. Do they offer degrees in shootin hoop and hanging with friends? I was fricking awesome at that, but beyond that, struggled. My main goal as a father is to instill in my kids the importance of a degree, so my kids have that, so they will have the chances that I didn't have. Because so many places eliminate you without the degree, at least they can get a foot in the door. I was in a Facebook group for the reunion and all of the people listed were the same people that wouldn't give me the time of day 25 years ago. One of my current friends was one of those people back then and his recollection of high school is much happier than mine. He was at the reunion, I've seen the pictures, and appeared to have a good time. I'm pretty sure if I attended, I would have been known by 2 people, and that makes for a dull evening. My class was over 400 people, but of the 50 or so that attended, none were friends of mine during those 4 years. Reminiscing would have taken .2 seconds. In 2 weeks, there is another reunion, but this time for alumni of my first real job. I can't wait. At this job, I not only had the chance to show my work abilities, but I got to be a person, something I never achieved in high school. When I think back, I remember the days I spent at that job, having the time of my life. I was extremely fortunate to get hired there, at the base of the mountain we climbed. This company was one of the leaders in e-mail, before you even knew what email was. Cutting edge software design, with a leader that would make you think of Steve Jobs, only a bit quirkier. If you didn't know him, you would have thought he was "out there," but he led a team of VERY young people through some of the craziest times in my life. If you ever wanted the definition of a fun place to work, it was CE Software. We put in a shitload of hours, and loved ever minute of it. We made a butt load of money and the company treated us like kings. Now, I love the company I work for, but CE will always be a special time in my life. As I come together with these nuts on Aug. 13th, I guarantee you that my face will hurt, my sides will ache and tears will roll down my cheeks. Just like old times.