Shannon’s Perspective:
“I find it kind of funny. I find it kind of sad. The dreams in which I’m dying are the best I’ve ever had.”
I know this song was originally released by Tears for Fears and a quick internet search tells me it came out in 1982. I honestly do not remember knowing the Tears for Fears version until after this version. This one was released in 2001 and was used in the Donnie Darko movie which I have seen but don’t remember this song from there either. Where do I remember hearing it for the first time? A commercial for a Gears of War video game. Go figure. But as the lone female in a house dominated by males, gamers at that, it makes sense to me that I would know if from that.
Just to be clear I loved being the only girl in the house with all my “boys”. It is after all what I’m used to. Growing up, the oldest sister to 4 younger brothers gave me all the practice I needed to be comfortable as the only girl in a house. I wish I had been more into gaming with Larry and our sons, but I just had too many things against me, the most important being massive motion sickness when trying to play first person games. It didn’t stop me from trying and Connor even tried to help me, but it just wasn’t my thing.
Listening to it now, it definitely belongs in March Madness.
I feel obligated to share this, though I don't really want to. This song was written and originally performed by Tears for Fears. And that version is terrible. I've seen interviews where they (Tears for Fears) actually state this version is really how the song was meant to be. I'm not sharing a link to the original version, and I highly suggest you avoid it. But that's my opinion.
You might recognize this version from Donnie Darko or Gears of War (if you grew up playing video games with your sons).
Anyway - how can a song with the word "Mad" in the title not be a part of March Madness? A lot of this song has me reflecting on my career in Ohio.
I hated college, so I applied myself at Express. I went from a part-time box maker to a Senior Operations Manager in Logistics. I took various individual contributor roles that had me travel all over the United States. Plus the first Bath & Body Works store opening in Dubai. But this all came at a personal cost.
"Bright and early for their daily races"
My last role was supporting Victoria's Secret Direct (basically web fulfillment). There were enough web sales on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday to give us enough work for the entire next week. And then Cyber Monday hits. So from mid-November through the end of January, it was 6 days a week, easily 14 hour days.
"When people run in circles, it's a very, very mad world"
Meetings. All the meetings. That went nowhere. Time wasted. Life becoming a little better when PC's were introduced. But then came pagers. Then Skytel 2 Way Pagers. Then Talkabouts. Then Blackberry's. Then Laptops. Then Smartphones. Some jackass invented the term "work/life balance", but that did not exist, because you were always reachable. And were expected to be.
My wife and sons suffered from this "Mad World" I lived in. But they kept me around...
And generally speaking, this is a depressing song.
Ghost of a Chance 