Stingy Claus is Coming to Town

So, here we are, down in the financial district, where young turks are pulling down half-mil bonuses (and that's the low-on-the-totem-pole guys -- the big shots are apparently getting zillions).

In the midst of all of this corporate largesse, we got the news last Friday that here in our little duchy, there will be no Christmas bonus. Apparently it's the first time in NINETEEN YEARS they haven't given out bonuses.

Not such a big deal for your Janey, who's only been working in this shithole for 6 months -- I wasn't really expecting one, or if anything, a token, no more. But the people who have been here for years, wow, are they PISSED.

Now, I would be the first person to tell you not to plan your life around a bonus. I mean, it's a bonus. It's not a paycheck. Coming to rely on it is foolish at best, and financially devastating at worst. I mean, I know one guy who actually said these words to me, "How the hell am I gonna have Christmas for my kid? I've barely got enough to pay the bills as it is."

I think in Buddhism this is what is called "being attached to outcomes." And boy, has that caused some suffering here. You can almost hear the phones ringing off the hook at every headhunter in town.

Expect nothing, get nothing, and you'll never be disappointed, as Matt would say. A Buddha from way back.