A little known fact:
If you stare at blue-grey cubicle wall fabric for three hours without moving, a small piece of your soul is extracted and processed into a commemorative company pin. Trust me; I have a collection on display in the main lobby. How did I get here? Ah, yes, it's coming back to me now...

It was last Autumn when I first found my arms, stiff and clumsy from disuse, reaching upwards towards something that was perhaps only a vision in my mind. It was barely visible from my vantage among the refuse of fallen leaves and twigs, but shimmered with an ethereal quality as my eyes followed it out of view into the clouds. The fabled corporate ladder. I stood in reverence before the ancient form and could not help but let thoughts of limitless power and wealth fill my credulous young mind. Barely able to contain my excitement, I eagerly began my ascent.

Upwards I climbed.

Unfamiliar contortions soon became polished maneuvers as fresh blood infused my limbs. Each action item garnered, each task completed brought me a better view of the world below. I wanted to spit on it. But alas, the rungs were encrusted with the shards of countless broken vanities and- and I could not hold on.

Few paused to notice the falling body, so depleted from the quest that his mangled hands made no effort to grasp the passing rungs. A faint rustle was heard as he came to a halting stop on the forest floor.

.
.
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Thoughts of a place where coffee flows like water and days abound with endless powerpoint presentations have since faded. Pay no attention to the occasional corporate speak. It is just the reflexive babbling of a withered old corporate drone, not unlike when a child raised by wolves pauses occasionally to sniff the pantlegs of passing strangers. Synergy... leverage. Extensibility! Ahem... excuse me.