Had About Enough

I stayed late at work today.
   Big deal, you say, who doesn't? Well, not me, for one, and not on a Friday, and not for over eighteen months now. When I was 'between assignments' I didn't have a work to go to, and for the past six months (yeesh...) I've been working as a contractor. When I hit 40 hours it's time to skedaddle, because they ain't paying me for 41. But today I stayed late, to fix problems that weren't even mine to begin with. And I got two words for that.
   Bull and shit.
   I got out of IT work - ostensibly - five years ago, when I went to work in HR. Sure, I was doing IT kind of stuff, but I was on the business side, not in IT. And it was good. So good that I kind of forgot why I was eager to get out of IT in the first place. But I remember now.
   Not only did they expect me fix things I had never seen before, they seemed kind of astonished that I didn't relish the chance to do so. This is the part of IT work that I absolutely hate hate hate hate hate with a passion that rivals Ignatz Mouse's hatred for Krazy Kat. Not only am I supposed to be responsible for other people's crap, I have to stay late and work on someone else's schedule for the privilege.
   I'll say it again. Bull and shit.
   See, years ago, back before I realized what a complete fraud corporate work is (in both the literal and figurative sense) I ended up working 50 - 60 hours a week on a project that was ultimately doomed to fail. And I got no thanks and nothing extra for it. I don't mind hard work, especially if it's my own projects, but slaving for some corporate shill for no other reason than to meet an artificial deadline is just foolishness.
   So let me ask you this: if I let it happen to me again am I a victim, or am I a chump? I'm thinking chump, because I know better. It just took a little reminder of what I moved out to California to escape to bring it all back.
   Time to pull the plug on this, stick a fork in me, I'm done.