Dear Karma Cleanser:
I am a student at a culinary school. I live on campus and work at the front desk as a work study. During the day, a school staff member sits at the desk and security officers come in at night.
Last week I overheard the front desk worker complaining about the night officer. She had logged into the desk computer to get a code for a student to get into his room; I know this because I was standing with the student when he came in. The officer called to get the code from the security office but their system was down, so instead of making my friend wait the officer just got the code from the computer at the desk. The front desk manager was livid because the computer had been touched.
The front desk manager and I spend our work time on the computer watching DVDs and searching Internet chat rooms, none of which is school-related. Anyway, the security officer quit, I believe because her boss wrote her up for using the computer.
Is my karma shot because I remained silent or does the better good understand that I really need my easy job?
-- Chef Life
Hypocrisy is indeed a bitter ingredient in any dish, and your manager friend has just cooked up a steaming wok full of it. This should be a lesson for you as to what kind of person you're sharing your days with. The so-called "better good" wants to know why you didn't defend the officer, especially when you were a bystander to the whole incident. Redeem your karma by baking her something sweet, and by skipping the next DVD party with your two-faced manager.
Dear Karma Cleanser:
If someone asked me how my life is going right now, I would have to say it's good. I've got a good, well-paying job, a cute apartment and a dog who loves me. On the outside it looks like things are going great. On the inside, I'm rather miserable.
I think it's because I no longer believe in the work that I'm doing. I figured out that something I once thought was true is actually false, and therefore all the work I'm doing ultimately serves an artificial purpose. (Don't ask: I know I'm being obtuse but you just have to trust me that it's not a good place for me to be in.) How can I get my job karma back on a good vibration?
-- Lost in an Office Park
The Karma Cleanser recently took the time to read the apocryphal Gospel of St. Thomas (as you put it, don't ask), which includes this advice: "Don't lie, and don't do what you hate, because all things will be disclosed before heaven." Heed that wisdom. Stop doing the thing you hate, and start looking for greater truths from unexpected, even officially unsanctioned, sources.
Been bad? karmacleanser@gmail.com.
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