Not Counting the Unmarked Paths of Misdirection

On every important metric I married up. Anyone who knows my wife would heartily agree. Anyone who knows both of us would consider this among the largest understatements in print.

The nature of our relationship and its changes through the past decade have been on my mind lately. Ten years ago this month we were just friends (really - spending all our free time together didn't mean anything) about to buy a house, start dating, become engaged, and get married by February. I had to move fast. She had been proposed to three times previously and another suitor was doing his best to ger her attention. Today we're considering buying another house, try to date at least a couple times per month, are engaged in too many activities, and have four children.

I can't think of any way in which our relationship isn't better than it was in 1996. We used to love each other but couldn't work together. This was a source of considerable stress at big productions like the Iowa State Fair, where my company was a major sponsor and our family had to spend two weeks promoting Rhodes' products in unbearable heat. The goal was generally to get back to the hotel each night without having killed each other. Now we work closely together at her language school, are both ward missionaries, and parent jointly (OK, we're still working on the last one). Somehow through the years we've not only improved our combined ability to get things done but have found ways to enjoy the process.

Last night we went shopping....For clothes....For her. We hadn't attempted this in some time since historically shopping would not be high on my list of activities condusive to maritial bliss. After two and a half hours of selecting, trying on, and rejecting clothes in three different stores it was done. I provided honest opinions and even choose a winning piece or two. She listened to my input, discounted it for my complete lack of style, and mostly ignored the fact that I filled the time while she was in the dressing room by playing Tetris on my phone.

Marrying well makes all the difference.

I'm Not Sure What This Means....

The nature of my work requires a moderate level of information security. We don't deal with national secrets or anything really interesting, so it's hardly cloak and dagger document management. In fact only occasionally do research reports self destruct after I finish reading them. My investment ideas blow up with regularity, but that's a topic for another time.

To facilitate protecting proprietary and confidential information there are all sorts of policies about who can do what, when information is released, and what happens to hard copied documents. We have garbage and recycling cans within arm's reach, large bins around the floor for material to be shredded, and a couple of overly complicated contraptions to collect highly sensitive paperwork for thorough destruction. Each container is appropriately labeled: Refuse, Recycling - White Paper Only, Confidential Material To Be Destroyed. All this makes sense, though I have to admit seriously doubting that anything my co-workers and I produce justifies the level of destruction implied by locked boxes wheeled out of the building by armed burly men.

One receptacle on our floor has long puzzled me. Inside a cabinet under the stainless steel, super-deluxe, double filtered water dispenser in the employee pantry is what appears to be a trash can. I've seen people discard items they do not want into this can -- I've even done it myself. Its location suggests that this can's purpose is to receive food and food-related waste. On the front of the cabinet containing the can is a sign that reads "Trash Only". I'll freely admit to lacking understanding about what many people are thinking most of the time. However, I just can't figure out why supposedly intelligent, well-educated, grossly overpaid people need a sign to tell them that trash cans should only be used to dispose of unwanted items. Is it common practice for people to store important documents in trash cans and then return later to be shocked that their essential information is no longer available?