I Work Therefore I Am

It seems that whenever two or more professionals meet, the conversation inevitably turns to just how darned busy they are. Subtly, and sometimes not so subtly, everyone antes up --perhaps with carefully feigned guilt -- how dedicated they are to their job. Its like a bizarre contest to demonstrate just how much you have perverted your life in service of your employer. "I travel 265 days a year." "Really, I have been divorced thrice." "Seriously, none of my kids speak to me." "I was uhmmm hospitalized last year. They said it was exhaustion."