So I don't really care for the cartoon strip Dilbert, and not just because it is not particularly funny. I have long feared that I may read a Dilbert cartoon and somehow relate to the goings-on in this Office Space type job... in so many words, I have tried to avoid a life where that cartoon strip would in any way be reflective of my chosen profession.
It's amazing that out of all the things that can depress you in the course of a workday, it was Dilbert that got to me last week when I picked up the newspaper at lunch (The fact that the only part of the paper that I read is the comic strips has not escaped my notice while writing this, and I am sure it provides some commentary on my life that I am not creative enough to decipher). It finally happened where Dilbert actually made me audibly laugh, and it was because the cartoon summed up a scenario I have been struggling with at my new job- for those who don't know I am currently a naturalist in Grand Teton National Park, working for a lodge which is run by people who don't see the value in having a naturalist, nor do they know what the hell a naturalist should be doing at any given time during the day, but are required to have one because it's written in their contract with the National Park Service. Ironically enough I really like the job, but I might as well be working for a non-profit organization.
Long story short, I am not sure what is more depressing, the fact that a Dilbert cartoon ruined my day, or the fact that A DILBERT CARTOON was what sobered me up to the fact that the type of working-world comedy they so ineptly try to portray is unavoidable in most every type of job. However, I may be giving the comic too much credit on this latter idea... God damn you Dilbert.