i feel sick

i feel like i'm in the novel "1984." there was a language that the governing body used to communicate the truths they wanted to convey that sounded similar to english, yet had slightly but specifically skewed meanings. over time everyone was supposed to use this language and by so doing thought became hijacked and subject to the designs of the designers.

i am convinced now more than ever that the company i once loved and had pledged my professional career to is no longer the company it once was. dollars. it's all about dollars. c.d. music houses? film releases and d.v.d. compilations?

i was listening to today's conference call given by the company's ceo, president and other senior executives. now, i understand that basically the only people who listen to these things are wall street types who give a damn about operating revenues and whatnot. but in the introductions and up until the cfo began to talk about the actual performance of the company all i heard were the same catch phrases and blather that i used to hear day in and day out there. catch phrases that are basically devoid of any nutritional value but sure do sound nice:

hand crafted beverages
a brand they come to trust
the strong execution of all our partners
human connection
passion to innovate
increase shareholder value
third place
partners connecting to their communities
one customer, one drink at a time
blah, blah blah blah, blah blah, blah blah blah blah

and so on and so forth. none of that stuff means anything to me anymore. i mean, i always recognized it as rallying language spoken by my managers to excite us into exciting the hourly folks. but heck, i saw it for what it was and understood the game. now that i am nearly half a year and 1700 miles removed from that world it tastes in my mouth like a drink that is way too sugary. the language sounds familiar, but too packaged and too over the top.

starbuckspeak. don't consume too much.