The OFFICIAL Unofficial Achewood Message Board
Trivial Pursuits => People & Places => Topic started by: AlohaDawg on October 13, 2005, 07:19:54 pm
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Many of you know the sordid tale of our non-move to LA and the furor that followed. So I found a spot at HMSA, a health insurer, which was always meant to be temporary. So I've been basically looking around for a few months now, and I also have a placement agency working for me. He seems convinced he can find me $80K/year. Which would be OK with me.
So right now, I'm working for $20K below my previous employ, beans and rice, etc. We've managed to find a way to consolidate our considerable credit card debt and open an IRA which we can borrow from to get my wife's home business going.
Now I think it may be an appropriate time to seek Job-vergnugen somewhere beyond this cubicle farm of despair.
I came from Public Health - trained and worked for 14 years, including grad school while working full time. However, riches, glory and fame are not to be had there. I stumbled across a job opening yesterday that is a nearly EXACT fit to what I do well and what I like to do. The only thing I can assume is the third side of the triangle, compensation may be extremely short.
Do I apply for it and decline it knowing it's a great job for me if the pay is too low?
Do I apply for it and take it because it's perfect even at low pay?
Do I let the opportunity go by and avoid the psychological drama?
The job is managing almost 6 million dollars in grant money along with programs in law enforcement, education, and treatment for Crystal Meth Addiction.
So, what's a brutha to do? Have any of you been in this type of situation? What did you do?
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You have to at least apply. It's better than always wondering what would have happened. You can decide later not to take it if it's offered. Maybe it won't be as great as it sounds and you won't feel bad about turning it down, which would be a good thing to know. You can't really know what decision you're making if you don't apply.
I think happiness at work is more important than money. God knows I've been turning my life upside down and making myself crazy looking for happiness at work. I'm not enjoying the psychodrama either. But in the long run, forty hours a week is too big a fraction of your life to spend unhappy.
Of course, it's easy for me to say. I don't have a family to support. I have a husband who makes tons more money than I could ever make.
Still I think, wouldn't your family rather eat beans and rice with a happy dad, than lobster with someone whose soul is dead? Again, it's easy for me to say - it's been so long since I really had to eat the beans and rice. But we all know that if you're cooking them they'll be really good beans and rice.
But, you can decide all that later. Apply. It doesn't make sense to burn your bridges in front of you.
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Still I think, wouldn't your family rather eat beans and rice with a happy dad, than lobster with someone whose soul is dead?
I'm young. Telling you about my job experience isn't going to help, but I can give you my perspective as the son of a salary man. My dad's worked at IBM for close to 40 years now. Within the company he's had jobs all the way down the line from dreaming up a product, to drawing specs, creating, testing, and selling it. He's been through many rounds of layoffs and deadlines.
As the third of his five kids I can tell you that when he was unhappy at his work we all knew it. I love my dad, and I think he's an awesome guy, but he's had some really bad years at work, and I remember them. He was grouchy, quicker to anger, frustrated, more often tired. I didn't know why this happened, and he didn't get violent with me. But it came between us, all of us. I've talked about it with my brothers and sister, and we had all noticed it.
Poverty hurts families, but I don't think we're actually talking about poverty here, and I can tell you that plain old unhappiness is also a kick in the kidneys as far as relationships are concerned.
So I'd suggest: good money or bad, a job has to either be short on hours or long on gratification.
I've always marked you as an awesome dad, a good husband, a dedicated employee, and a so-so lover. I'm sure you'll do great.
Good luck, Dawg.
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Formerly I would have said suck it up, be a man, take the money, your family needs it, because I came from terrible job with terrible pay. I would have taken any job to get paid. I've since moved to a pretty good job with decent pay. I loved my job and it was a pleasure to go to work. That is until December of this past year when they moved me to another location under the supervision of a complete and utter jackass who is a fuck*ng idiot to boot. I really hate my job now and i've become a totally unmotivated drone as a result. Still I want the money, I need the money, but I am almost to the point where I will chuck the money to escape a shitty work environment. I would quit my job today, but for two fears I have. I might have to take a pay cut and my new boss, whoever that may be, could quite easily be as big of a dick as my current boss. It's the whole devil you know thing. I've developed strategies to deal with my situation, which is mostly I just kill 'em with kindness, but my hair is starting to turn gray. So if I were starting fresh like you, I would definitely take the job that was more satisfying and you were happy to be doing. They say money can't buy happiness, but the pursuit of money, as I am discovering, can sure lead to misery.
Best of Luck.
~Paul
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I'm not going to lie to you: compensation is important. I mean, if they're not paying you enough to support your family on some level, it's not viable. That said, if the wage is still livable, why not? You might as well apply, and job satisfaction is worth a pay hit as long as you can still live on what you're making.
(To add the obligatory personal anecdote: when I was 13, my father decided to quit his dead-end management job, in which he had not been happy for some time, and get his history doctorate. This necessitated a 3000+-mile move and several lean years in high school, one of which we were supported by my mother working at ShopKo. That said, we got through, and now m father teaches history and loves his job. It's been an absolute sea change, and I'm gad we did the whole mishegoss.)
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My wife's dad walked away from a job as a manager in a chemical plant to sell shoes in Florida. There was an intervention that eventually led to his being one of the original developers and patent holders for powder coating processes...point is, sometimes I'm totally wrong and the destination is more important than the journey.
This is the case when the journey just flat out sucks.
Good for your dad, though- If I can borrow from that story and call this year the lean one, hopefully we'll get to that happy place in '06.
PS I am loving the posts in this thread and I wish the number of posts was closer than the number of views. Thanks guys.
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A year ago, I was rapidly becoming a failing entrepreneur. When I finally had a chance at a job, two opportunites came at once: the first, working on a short-term contract for oodles of cash, at that hourly, and with many available hours to be billed, but working for a money-hungry domestic conglomerate; the second, building infrastructure to help with AIDS research in the federal government, with no more and no less than 40 hours a week for half the money, all the red tape I'd escaped from the state government (my prior job), and a whole hell of a lot of feel-good and long-term job security.
The important question, and that most easily obviated by the dichotomies presented by V and you, Dawg, is whether you're doing professionally what you wish to be doing. Is doing what you're doing professionally able to give you what you desire, and will you enjoy yourself while you work toward what you desire?
I ended up taking the first job, because I realized that the service provided by the giant corporation also facilitates good causes, be it in a more subtle manner. The originally three-week-long contract is almost a year old, and I'm as happy as I've ever been in a job, save the pizza joint in high school. Sure, there's a couple idiots on my team, and some jackasses in upper/middle management, but there will be everywhere.
Wombat's got a hell of a good point: apply, consider carefully, learn as much as possible about the position before you decide it's not for you. You have to be happy, man, but you have to keep your dog in biscuits, as we say around here.
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It is my dream to win the lottery, then do nothing but watch movies and drink all day until I die of renal failure.
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This is the case when the journey just flat out sucks.
A wise man once said to me, "Sometimes you have to swim through shit to get where you're going."
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A wiser man once said, "Dude, that's a lake of shit. Ain't nothin' worth swimmin' through no shit, bro."
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A wiser man once said, "Dude, that's a lake of shit. Ain't nothin' worth swimmin' through no shit, bro."
Well played.
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Choop also raises a good point. The intentions of the employer is to be considered -- and for that matter, is a job you could get used to? Work doesn't have to be love at first sight as long as you can grow into the position and you feel you're doing something worthy.
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Congratulations Ash, I need to find me some pros.
~Paul
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I really don't want to hijack AD's thread and make this about ME. But this is highly pertinent to my current situation. I've put off posting in this thread all day thinking about what to say, partly because I want to say what I think clearly and partly making sure I know exactly what it is I think.
As many of you may know, I'm a lawyer. Until April of this year I worked for state government in a non-civil service (i.e. managment) position. I lasted 18 months in the first Republican administration in our state in 30 years before I was fired.
Anyway, when I left I had an idea for a business that I thought would suit me especially well. I've spent the last 6 months or so working on it -- perhaps not as diligently as I possibly could, but I've put many many hours into it.
And it's not working. It's becoming blindingly plain that I can't make a living like this. So, I've spent the past several weeks dealing with that fact in my emotionally-retarded manner. I must have income. I have a family, a mortgage, college tuition and retirement on the horizon, and dammit I'm accustomed to my lifestyle, such as it is. I need money.
On the other hand, I am almost entirely unmotivated by greed. There are lots of lucrative opportunities for lawyers like me who are willing to give up their personal and family life plus their morality and their immortal soul. But that's just not me.
For 10 years government work was a pretty happy compromise for me. Sure it had its soul deadening Kafkaesque bureaucratic moments. But it had equally gratifying good points. Unfortunately, that option isn't open to me at the moment and likely won't be for another 2.5 years or so.
What else. I've learned (yet again) that I do not have the self-discipline or internal drive to work entirely by myself. Much as I hate to admit it, a structured work environment and a regular paycheck is benficial to me. On the other hand, after 6 months or so in that enviroment I'll start feeling stifled and bored again.
So here I am, at the end of my rope. I've about exhausted my financial resources and I'm still looking for that perfect situation which provides me enough financial stability while allowing me sufficient freedom to avoid crippling ennui.
I don't know what to do. I have well-developed and valuable skills, but no way of capitalizing on them. I have extensive responsibilities which I take very seriously. I'm too lazy to work 80 hours a week and I value my soul too much to do some stuff that would make me easy money. I have resumes out but the phone ain't ringing.
I keep waiting for something to break. I've been in similar situations in the past and when things got crucial, I'd get lucky. Things are getting crucial.
So, I've bared my soul to my friends. I'm not looking for advice, really, or even sympathy. I view both of those as essentially worthless, if pleasant to indulge in.
What I'm looking for is destiny. Fate. Kismet. Dare I say it... Networking. 42. Fnord. Make something weird and wonderful happen to me.
Sorry about the self-absorbed monolouge, but this is about the only place I feel comfortable spouting this crap.
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Augie, I know your not looking for sympathy, but that's really all I have to offer. Good Luck to you. Good luck to all of you stuck in a shitty situation.
~Paul
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August, simply the fact that you said Fnord makes me love you even more. I'm willing to bet dollars to donuts that you'll pull through and find something, simply because you are AugustWest.
Aloha, the exact same thing goes for you. I don't know if I'm a great judge of character, and board postings are inexact, but both of you seem like such intelligent, resilient and resourceful people, I'm sure that things will work out.
Useless platitudes, I know, but it's just what I think. Y'all are alright.
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Aug - that's not a thread hijack. It's a perfect contribution - I'm not alone in this question. I'm lucky in that I, at least in the short term, have a job that will keep us all fed, shod, and housed. What I don't have is a specifically credentialed career path like, say, Law. (With all that comes with it, good and bad)
I have <most> of an MPH and 14 years in public health management. And I real desire to help people.
My friend Mark Norseth (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0785268839/102-8798151-2978503?v=glance&n=283155&v=glance) (the painter from the other thread) had me write down all the things I want from a job. I made a list of about 7 things. He looked at the list for about 5 seconds and wrote something at the bottom and gave it back.
It said "Pastor".
It certainly did fit what I wrote - but working with, in and among people doing outreach for public health is probably a lot closer to my heart (I don't feel called to ministry in a way that makes me believe Pastor is the way to go) although I can't deny a real change in my spiritual life over the past 6 months or so.
I guess what I'm getting to in a long and odd way is that, like Bozack, I am pretty confident in August and me landing on our feet with smiles on our faces. I just don't know when and the waiting is a lot worse when you aren't working and you feel responsible for your family and Christmas is coming (not to mention old age, dotage, and so on). I think maybe this is your opportunity to work on other aspects of your life - relationships, education, your physical, mental, emotional, spiritual health. You're being prepared for something, the task is to find what that is maybe...That's how I've looked at the wildnerness walks of my life.
Anyhow, like I said, Zack's right and in a few years time, your family and mine will be toasting with Mai Tais at Tiki's (http://www.tikisgrill.com/) on Waikiki Beach, a Hawaiian sunset over the ocean right behind. Consider that as much an order as an invitation.
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I wish I had networking to help you, August. Unfortunately, I think even at my fancy-schmancy Ivy League college, the only person I met who ever really had more money than God I managed to alienate pretty fast.
(Or maybe he auto-alienated. Dude thought that financial-aid students were stealing from him just by being at college.)
Best of luck, and my hopes to you and yours.
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What I'm looking for is destiny. Fate. Kismet. Dare I say it... Networking. 42. Fnord. Make something weird and wonderful happen to me.
This is the position I'm in. I've done everything I can on my own to set things in motion, lay the groundwork, have a finger in pies, milk the old girls network... and now all I can do is wait. Hope that all the stuff that didn't work out was so I'd be free for the great thing that Fate has in store.
It's so frustrating - I am the kind of person who likes to be doing something, to take action, to be in control. But right now everything depends on other people's decisions.
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What I'm looking for is destiny. Fate. Kismet. Dare I say it... Networking. 42. Fnord. Make something weird and wonderful happen to me.
This is the position I'm in. I've done everything I can on my own to set things in motion, lay the groundwork, have a finger in pies, milk the old girls network... and now all I can do is wait. Hope that all the stuff that didn't work out was so I'd be free for the great thing that Fate has in store.
I've just been polishing my guns.
~Paul
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So I hand-delivered my resume and cover letter yesterday (didn't get past the receptionist, but still) for the 'Ice' job and we'll see where that goes.
I'm digging this thread.
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No time for a lengthy post today, but I don't think it's any secret here that I've been technically unemployed for over three years now.
At first job hunting was difficult, demoralizing, and unsuccessful. So many people with way more experience in the field were being let go while I was trying to look for more work. I started doing odd jobs and worked on my own web sites, which at the time were not only not earning me money, but costing me increasing amounts of money to keep up every month. I'm not sure why I kept going with it, but I think throwing myself into building web sites was really more due to hell of depression than any desire to earn income.
However, after my sites got ridiculously popular and I couldn't afford to keep them running, I took down the one that cost the most and put up a notice that said I couldn't afford to run the site, and asked for donations to keep it up. I got enough donations that week to keep the site running for another six months.
Then I was approached by an advertising firm and the rest is history. But I'm still living far beneath my desired standard of living. My ends and means are still diverged.
But lately I've been making almost enough to live on, and so I'm sticking with it to try to make it work. Sure, I work more hours than I would with a regular job, but I also make money while I sleep, or if I take a day or two off. But I have illusions about my businesses ever sustaining themselves. It's a constant update and work thing.
Anyway, I'm not sure how marketable my experience is. I could probably get an editing job, or work for a web design firm, but at this point the market is so flooded with people who do my kind of work that I may be unemployable. I'm trying to learn new things, to find a niche, but employers just want to look at a resume and see that you have 5 years experience using whatever, doing whatever, and practical experience that comes from self-employment is seen as not "real" experience.
But I didn't go to law school. I studied English, Philosophy, and Creative Writing. These things don't necessarily make me employable (although neither does Math or Biology these days, it seems).
I can be a bohemian and not die because I don't have a wife or child to support. I don't know what the hell I'd do if I did. I'm in the Catch 22 of needing experience to get experience "on the job."
No employer seems to be impressed that I write and publish things that get seen by over a million eyeballs every month.
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P.S. A big hearty FUCK YOU to those who chose the "Chuck it all, live under a bridge and snarl at people. Get your manifesto published." option.
Fuck you, and everybody that looks like you, you fuck*ng fuck.
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P.S. A big hearty FUCK YOU to those who chose the "Chuck it all, live under a bridge and snarl at people. Get your manifesto published." option.
Fuck you, and everybody that looks like you, you fuck*ng fuck.
As 1/3 (at time of posting) of the people who selected this option, I'd just like to say that:
a) Someone always has to choose the snarky last option (unless there is a surreal last option).
b) None of the other answers really worked for me. Everyone has to figure out what is best for them. I'm guessing that in AD's case, having the family not starve tops the list, while for me I'd give up most anything to keep on in my line of work.
But we've talked about this (http://achewood.plagiarist.com/viewtopic.php?p=36310#36310) many (http://achewood.plagiarist.com/viewtopic.php?p=2060#2060) times (http://achewood.plagiarist.com/viewtopic.php?p=30769#30769), and there's more to life (for some) than work, and other routes to happiness.
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Well, I personally have no life beyond my work, but I'd like to be a hermit.
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But we've talked about this (http://achewood.plagiarist.com/viewtopic.php?p=36310#36310) many (http://achewood.plagiarist.com/viewtopic.php?p=2060#2060) times (http://achewood.plagiarist.com/viewtopic.php?p=30769#30769),
That was fun.
~Paul
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As 1/3 (at time of posting) of the people who selected this option, I'd just like to say that:
I'm one of the other 1/3s. I guess I've just been looking around for a way to capitalize on my snarling skills.
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b) None of the other answers really worked for me. Everyone has to figure out what is best for them. I'm guessing that in AD's case, having the family not starve tops the list, while for me I'd give up most anything to keep on in my line of work.
That's putting a high value on your work. So I guess I'm wondering, what answers can you think of that might work?
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b) None of the other answers really worked for me. Everyone has to figure out what is best for them. I'm guessing that in AD's case, having the family not starve tops the list, while for me I'd give up most anything to keep on in my line of work.
That's putting a high value on your work. So I guess I'm wondering, what answers can you think of that might work?
I'm wondering, what's your line of work?
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b) None of the other answers really worked for me. Everyone has to figure out what is best for them. I'm guessing that in AD's case, having the family not starve tops the list, while for me I'd give up most anything to keep on in my line of work.
That's putting a high value on your work. So I guess I'm wondering, what answers can you think of that might work?
I'm wondering, what's your line of work?
Ok, so I exaggerate a bit.
I'm a postdoctoral researcher. I do about the same work as the grad students in my lab, but I get paid (ever so slightly) more, because I already have the PhD. Basically, I'm like a research chemist, but without the fancy title (or paycheck). With my degree, I could easily be making $85k+ a year in the semiconductor industry. I'd also be on call 24/7, put in 80 hr weeks, and not actually be doing any research. To me, that sounds miserable (even though I work 6-7 days/wk in the lab anyway).
As a grad student, I lived in Seattle, which I loved. It wasn't the perfect city for me, but it was close. But I gave that up to move to a tiny hick town in the center of nowhere, so that I could work for a well-regarded boss and do interesting research. I make barely more money than I did as a TA, and I HATE HATE HATE this town. But most days I'm pretty happy, because I love what I do.
But see, I don't have a wife and kids to support. My gf makes enough money at what she does to support herself, and she's not the type to let me "support" her anyway. So for me, doing what I love (at work) pays enough to let me do what I love (eat, drink, be with my gf) when I'm not at work. But that's just me.
Of course, this job is only temporary (~ 9 mo left), so eventually I'll have to either take an industry job, or look for a research position. Guess which I plan on doing?
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But I didn't go to law school. I studied English, Philosophy, and Creative Writing. These things don't necessarily make me employable (although neither does Math or Biology these days, it seems)..
The thing about most of the sciences is that they are employable, but they require specialized graduate education to actually be employable at a meaningful level. The situation around here is pretty simple: all of us science dorks are getting our degrees in very general fields (Biology, Physics, and so on) and will be going to graduate school to get our training in our real field (behavioral neuroscience, orbital engineering, &etc.). We'll be employable eventually, but oh, it's a long road to Wellville.
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I read two books this year that I am using to form the roadmap for the future of my family: They are The Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn and How to Survive Without A Salary: Learning to Live the Conserver Lifestyle by Charles Long. It is possible to get off the golden treadmill.
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I've gushed about this in probably 8 threads by now, but I finally got a job. I'm a fiction clerk at a Barnes & Nobles, working mornings, three days a week. And...it's actually really great. How sad is that, huh? I sold out to the man, for $7.50 an hour, I have to be at work at 8 am, which, for me, is the asscrack of dawn, and I promised my boss I'd work through the holidays, but ho-lee shit do I like work. Everyone I work with is really cool, I get to touch books all day, I get a discount on books, I can even take home hardcovers, and I'm done, every day, by 4:30, so I can come home and do my college applications or play Vice City or whatever. I don't know; I doubt I'd like it if I was rocking the 40 hours a week, and the honeymoon will probably be over by Christmas-time, but for right now, it's really good for me. Weird, huh?
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I get to touch books all day
This makes me weep with heartbreaking hope for the future of civilization. Thank you, Bozack.
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Hi Auggie and Dawgy
Well as some of you may remember, I made the terrifying leap from high paying Mastercard employee to full time artist about a year and a half ago. After about four months as a full time writer, working in my own little private office, I found the stress of depending on me, myself and I alone to pay the bills much too much. Instead of taking another soul crushing job that would pay well, but... crush my soul, I opted for something a little better. I found a part-time job "beside" my field of preference, as a contract employee with a 20 hr work week in a managerial position at a theatre where I design theatrical workshops for children, hire and manage the people who teach them, and track a budget. Yes it's not the exact match to being a full time artist, but I have one half time job that just barely pays the bills. The fact that I need to make a little more money if I want the creature comforts and do more than just scrape by pushes me to find the work that I love - yes I make about a quarter as much $$ in the afternoon as I do in the morning for the exact same, if not more hours, but I get to do what I really want to do. And I fill the other half of my day persuing the work that feeds my soul, which I've come to recognise is far more valuable than any monitary reward. I have just the right mix of stablity and freedom, order and chaos. I voted for happiness, because even though it's about balance, I know exactly where my priorities lie, and if it came down to chosing between being in rehearsal for a day, or in writting up contracts, I know exactly where I'm using my sick day. I would suggest, at least to Auggie, and possibly to Dawgy that it is about finding a way to balance your life, but that the most important goal should be your own happiness. I have absolutely no regrets from leaving the bank, but I soon came to see that floating out in space (like in your case Aug.) was far too scary a proposition for me.
I don't understand the world of Lawyering, but is it possible to work for a firm (or whatever) part time, and persue your own interests part-time? Same goes for you AD. Could you do the half/half thing?
Both of you, don't crush your soul, do what matters. My dad is a man's man, my mom a stay at home mom. My dad wasn't an inward looking guy. His dad (my grandpa) killed himself when I was in my late teens without giving any indication of emotion turmoil . Since dad was the product of his dad's mind set of quiet suffering for the cause... well you can figure it out. Having come from a home where daddy paid all the bills, didn't talk about feelings, and eventually had a break down, I know I would have rather had my dad emotionally available to me than a car when I was sixteen. I would have given it all up - I would have walked to school, worn thrift shop clothes and gotten a weekend job cleaning out stalls at the race track - I'd have done anything to prevent the hole in the middle of my house where the happiness should've been. I knew my dad hated his job even back when I was eight - so don't think you're fooling your kids if you're going to follow that route. He didn't have to say a word for me to know he was miserable - kids are very sensitive, they pick up on these things quicker than most adults.
As you meditate on all the material things that a high paying job can give your kids, remember that the central things that your kids want are for you to love them, and for you to be happy. Notice how neither of these things have anything to do with money. Yes, it's about to be Christmas, and they want an X-box, but seriously. Seriously.
Being a father, and being a man, is about having courage - have the courage to face up to the lie of the stereotypical role of bringer of the bacon, even if your peers still hold it as the bastion of truth. Being strong for your kids doesn't mean suffering for you kids. Fuck those other people who look at you with a critical eye. If your children go to bed at night knowing they are loved, that home is a happy place, then their souls are nourished. It took me years and years to learn that I needed to be happy to survive, because the model I saw at home was the exact opposite of that. I accepted suffering as a way of life, because that was the model I was presented with. I had horrible, painful relationships with boys who broke my heart. I stayed at a job for six months where I was being sexually harassed and bullied. I sank into a depression so deep that is nearly killed myself. Only because I loved books, and have always been introspective, did I realize after five years of self inflicted pain that I finally needed to step back and see that I was driving myself into the ground. I chose the path of suffering, just like my dad taught me how. I could have just as easily followed that same path to it's natural end. Do you want your kids to choose suffering in their own lives, like you're considering doing now? Parents need to make choices that nourish their own self esteem and well-being - not as selgiraffe acts toward personal happiness - but because their children are watching. Your children are always watching, and will pattern their behavior after what they see. Plain and simple. If you want your children to be kind to themselves, then be kind to yourself.
An old-y, but a good-y: teach by example.
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As an example for living my life, I fired my dad years ago. It's harder to get away from than you might think and I still find myself shaking my head. But I still talk to my folks and, in standard fashion, we find that they are much better grandparents than they were parents for the most part - but we are hardly objective.
As far as doing what I love as a part time job: not feasible at this point in my life. In fact, part time anything is not feasible because I need to provide health insurance for my family. Also, I live on an island where 75% of the jobs are in the hospitality industry.
Public Health-type work (non-profit world work) is what I'm looking at right now as the change, that will put me back in a comfort zone and I think also on a track to advance myself. That would make me happy but I'm pretty sure I'm not making my family miserable along the way - I'm very good at divorcing myself from the 8 hours I spend in the belly of the beast and there a million distractions when you live somewhere like Hawaii.
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My parents basically told me that they weren't fit for parenting me anymore after I turned 16. My dad also has a lot of deep-seated suffering problems- his father was a doctor, and his father before him, and his father before him. So, of course, he had to be a doctor. Once he became an internist, his father hired him for his practice...at minimum wage. He hired his own son as a physician for MINIMUM WAGE. So, to finally pull away from his dad, he became a gastroenterologist.
I always wondered, when I was a kid, why my dad did his job every day, which basically amounted to staring up peoples asses- exactly what he got from it. And I found out later- almost nothing. He's a very good doctor, and he likes doing a good job and it puts bread on the table (another funny anecdote- when I was nine, my dad started telling me that our family was almost broke. He continued to tell me this until I was 15, when I saw a spare copy of his income tax returns), but everything else about the job he hates.
For you guys...I have no advice, being as I am probably the worst person on the board to ask about finances or familial obligations or what I love to do. I want to say....follow your heart? God, that sounds awful. But when you make your decision, have confidence in that decision, because y'all are awfully smart.
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My father was a policeman, and his father was a gas station owner, and his father before him was a mechanic, and his father was an Indian fighter.
So obviously I have to become a columnist.
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My father is a mailman, my mother is a baker (From a long line of bakers); very sesame street prole for life type of jobs.
I work with techy things.. I don't know why exactly.. and I hate my job in ways.. but dammit it pays...
I dream of running off to an eastern block country and teaching English as a second language and living on the cheap.. but dammit I love high speed and liquor.. I really do.
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Dude, if I know anything about the eastern bloc, liquor and driving recklessly are like national icons.
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My father was an educational psychologist, my mother an administrator/publisher/philosopher.
So I became a web developer. Eventually full time.
I hate work though. I plan to not have to work for too long. I do many creative things and would enjoy my life far more if I could focus on those.
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Dude, if I know anything about the eastern bloc, liquor and driving recklessly are like national icons.
He speaks the truth, excellency.
And that's a great idea. I'd love to live somewhere like Belarus, because you can't live in Belarus without wither becoming an alchoholic or the leader of a revolution. That's just how it is.