work Archives • DAVIDPDX

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BORING, TRIVIAL, POINTLESS LIFE? GOOD JOB

March 17, 2026 by David Gillaspie

Doing a good job means what? Following orders and delivering a finished product according to the highest standards of the industry? Let’s not get carried away. How about finishing on time with something that works the way it’s supposed to work? You can do that and your masterpiece at the same time. If you don’t […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: American Dream, american novels, american system, Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, blog, blogger, boomer blogger, boring, civil rights, due process, enthusiasm, finish, good job, legal rookies, losing, masterpiece, moral tone, pointless, project, story, travel, trivial, vote, voters, voting, winning, work, writer, writers, writing

CUTTING WOOD WITH A CREW

February 22, 2026 by David Gillaspie

Like most kids growing up on the Oregon coast, like most people with a fireplace, I’ve spent time cutting wood. My brother and I hauled and chopped rounds my dad sawed from the logs washed up on the causeway connecting Hwy101 to the sand dunes. The old man was the boss. He said we could […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: America, baby boomer, Baby Boomer blogger, bad boss, big picture, blame, blog, blogger, boomerpdx, boss, cast aspersions, cast shame, committed, cutting, cutting wood, failures, Gerald Ford, good boss, good citizen, good president, good soldier, incompetence, interested, job, lie, president, shame, wood, work, writer, writing

GOOD TEAMMATE? BE ONE FOR THE TEAM

November 25, 2025 by David Gillaspie

Either you are a good teammate, you’ve been a good teammate, or get out of here. That’s me in the dark Oregon hat in back. We’re on the breach in Seaside after Hood to Coast. It felt more like a deathbed after a short illness. But I’m not complaining, didn’t complain then, don’t complain now, […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, blog, blogger, connections, culture, education, family, fitness, good teammate, history, millennials, North Bend, Oregon, outgoing, relationships, reserved, school, socially shy, story, team, teammate, travel, work, writer, writers, writing

LEADER PREPARATION TRAINING PROGRAM 2025

November 17, 2025 by David Gillaspie

This is my claim to leader preparation, not leader, but ready to lead. I lean on the Fort Ord Leadership Academy when I need to tighten things up. I’d like to thank the academy for the training? Thank you, but during the supposed twenty-one hours of training we were all so sleep-deprived we could barely […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: adversity, art, Baby Boomer blogger, blog, blogger, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, boomers, craftsman, culture, education, great men, history, history teacher, leader, leader preparation, leader preparation program, leadership, leadership academy, learning, Love, MARRIAGE, millennials, North Bend, Oregon, Portland Oregon, preparation, program, story, teacher, teaching, travel, work, writer, writing

WORK EVOLUTION OVER FORTY YEARS

September 17, 2025 by David Gillaspie

Work evolution happens when someone is on the job for forty years. You start out doing one thing, then do another, and that’s the evolution part. The evolution happens when you stick with it. Quitting after hard times is not the same.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: accomplishments, adversity, brighter future, build value, cash flow, comfort, compatible people, evolution, fighter, good people, happy days, hard times, higher ceiling, last day, money, next level, success, tenacity, tribute, unreliable, upgrade, work, work evolution

TRAVELING MAN ON THE LOOSE

August 17, 2025 by David Gillaspie

One traveling man says he wouldn’t cross the street if he didn’t have to. Another says crossing the street is no problem, but he’s not going far after that. That’s enough travel for them. It’s enough for me, too. I understand the reluctant traveler. Growing up in North Bend, Oregon, Hwy 101 was hyperspace compared […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: australia, blog, boomerpdx, china, click bait, conviction, Czechia, harsh realities, hwy 101, hyperspace, I-5, Iraq, israel, job, married, memories, my opinion, my work, North Bend, opinion, Oregon, party, readers, reluctant traveler, responsibilities, Russia, serious page, space, space travel, Spain, the world, travel, travel warning, traveler, traveling man, work, world blog

NO PROMOTION, AND WHY THAT’S GOOD

July 29, 2025 by David Gillaspie

You get no promotion if you compare yourself to the wrong thing. If you feel the need, aim your comps higher than a jumpy sheep. I’ve got a dog who does the same thing and I know how happy she is. Remember the last time you tried to be happy? Chances are you tried too […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: boomerpdx, break schedule, common sense, drug availability, focused, good thing, good things, hardships, help, job, know better, library museum, museum, my promotion, neighbor, Nicholas Kristof, no promotion, no promotions, non profit, organized, pain, promotion, promotions, revelations, second opinion, social conditions, training, work, your promotion

CLASSROOM TAXING FOR BOOMERS

July 19, 2025 by David Gillaspie

What’s the difference between a classroom and a business meeting? Both involve giving a report, turning in homework. Both require good listening skills. You hope you pass, or get promoted, in each of them. So, what’s the difference? Cash flow.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: breaking news, cash, cash flow, chronic problems, class, class time, classes, classroom, college, college educated, dividends, education, horse sense, interest, investment, knowledge, learning, necessities, public education, public school, reading, taxes, taxing, wisdom, work

JOURNALISM WORK FOR ONE AND ALL

May 14, 2025 by David Gillaspie

Journalism work helps everyone understand things better. Take any topic, any story worth telling, and a journalist will find it and write it. That’s what they’re famous for, digging up sources and context and turning them into coherent writing. They are also famous for making mistakes, taking short-cuts, and telling one side. That’s why everyone […]

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: blog, blog posts, clicks, education, fiction, history, journalism, journalism work, journalist, learned, likes, literature, mass communication, media landscape, modern journalist, new journalism, news, news writing, non-fiction, professionalism, smart phone, Social media, social responsibility, solo journalist, twitter, twitter account, viral, work, write, writer

WALK AWAY PEOPLE? KEEP WALKING

April 4, 2025 by David Gillaspie

The problem with walk away people is what they leave behind: their mess. Someone will do the clean-up, just not them. They’re too busy. Not too busy walking, too busy making their next mess. There’s always something funny about them:

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: boomer blogger, boomers, connections, Coos Bay, cut and run, decision maker, department head, downward spiral, education, family, health insurance, heart and soul, investments, job, keep walking, Love, low level, networking, older people, Oregon, retirement, team leader, walk away, walk away people, work