lost

in thought
the roads
are relatively
easy to navigate
if you keep your
eyes open

lost in thought
mountain pass
valley hill
hilton stay
doorman and
window washer
and security
guard and geese
and a decked out
mini-bus with wood
grain and leather and
two bars and a swivel
television. whisked
back and forth to
the glass tower
from the glass
tower the power
plays - what does
it say when you
walk across the
stage? i didn't
clap out of
respect for
my mentor
at work
not out
of dis-
respect
for mr ceo
or whatever
his title is
a number to me
as much as i am
to him - his number
is a lot higher (in $'s)
and a lot higher (in power)
signifying what? still
treated rude and like
an outsider - so i
don't marvel at
your glass tower
with blue light
and a low hanging
moon and flags
still at half
staff - does
that make me
a bad person?

avarice of
larger than
average
proportions.

proper portions -
two forks and
two knives and
grilled pickles
and hunks of
$40 cheese -
the rasberries
were the size of
the tip of my thumb
and i had a salad or
two or a bite or two
and walked in with a
publisher who smoked
the last night at
dinner - 'the
smokers arrive'
the second in
command for
online business
says and the publishers
laugh and i look over
the layout of the room
and see that four tables
are reserved for certain
'regional' publishers
and almost every other
available seat taken.

well, except for two
as me and another
'manager' who is
still yet a 'peer'
spots one of the
two open seats
first and makes
a mad dash for
it saying, 'i'm
going for it...'

i scanned the room,
wandered back toward
the door, as if all eyes
in the room were upon me -
all the suits and wanna-be
suits - maybe not so but the
indy publisher got up and they
applauded and i applauded and
wandered to the side of the room
again. there it was, next to the stage
in the banquet hall - the last available
'i'm allowed to sit there' seat in the whole
room ---
+ a russian waiter with a goatee
+ a nice south american lady later in years
+ other quotas and numbers and manual workers

heh. yeah, kpaul is here at last in corporate HQ
the death star as some call it i mean not in
that way, but, yeah, you know, don't you?

i made a dash for the seat. is anyone sitting here? i ask.
no, no, go ahead. i sit down and finish listening to number
two biz online man/guy talk some more about it being more
informal this night - luck was on my side, though, and
i had good table-mates (the gentleman to my left -
inner-city look == up by the bootstraps - the
guy in charge of the site i complimented
and got in trouble for. i told him i
got in trouble for it, but not
who 'officially frowned upon'
my critique (and praise)
of another newspaper's
website - heh. was
cool seeing him
face to face
at last as
if it
were
planned -
and to my
right a lady
(17 yr veteran)
who worked for
a magazine that
didn't get much
attention anymore.

blog! i said, then
said it again, blog!

heh. i don't think
she understood.

in the meetings
earlier in the
day they'd argued
over what to call
so called 'reverse
publishing' repurposing
content for print and
online - and on the last
day i asked about textads
and he laughed and cracked
a joke and said i was talking
about two separate things -
i don't think he realized
other players who were
appearing on the scene
away from the mainstream
and yet it seems they
may be able to affect
a change...

i was left out of the
meeting, though, and
didn't sit with other
indiana people 'cause
i had a laptop and
eventually got the proxy
numbers so i could
conenct to the internet
from one of the 'seats'
with a long surface and
connections for power and
other uses right there in
front of me. i had one of
the oldest laptops, but i
used it. guy next to me had
an ultranew super thin deal
i could never afford on my
own - smart businessman -
alas, a suit if you will.

in-jokes and seeing how the
'corporate team' worked
together.

lost in corporate...