Make no mistake about this: I don't want the day job back, at least not in the form I was chasing it. And although I teach dance every day and spend much of my free time thinking about and planning for it, I don't consider that my day job. It's too much fun to even call it work, although that is indeed how I make a living.
So aside from the steady paycheck and benefits, what on earth would I miss about a 9-to-6 Monday-to-Friday cubicle gig? Funny you should ask.
1. Free toilet paper. You're at the office 8 or 10 hours each day, five days each week. You're gonna need to use the restroom a whole bunch of times. You figure it out.
2. Free coffee. Not the best, not as good as I could make it at home, but hey, it was free and a good way to eat up some break time.
3. Free parking. Everywhere you go in this city, you have to pay to park. Everywhere. But when I worked in Burbank, I parked in the garage for free and at lunch, I'd walk to most places I needed to be (doctors, stores, lunch, parks...).
4. Structured writing time. Ironically, I think I was more structured then simply because my time was not my own. I happen to be a very disciplined person which is why I have gotten many more books and drafts of books completed since leaving the day job, but I kinda miss my lunchtime writing time. It really felt like my own slice of life.
And...that's about it. Sure, the money was very good and I worked with some wonderful people (many of whom are no longer there anyway) but in the end, that's not enough to woo me back. Not that anyone is trying! LOL...
I can buy cheap toilet paper, make my own coffee at home, park ten blocks away instead of at a meter, and be more consistent with my writing schedule. And I can email the friends or watch their kids grow up on Facebook. I'll take the uncertainty of my teaching paycheck over the steadiness of the day job.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
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4 comments:
I'm glad you're living off of something you love! Isn't that everyone's dream?
And yes, a dream is far better than free toilet paper.
"...a dream is far better than free toilet paper."
Brilliantly put. We must make that into a bumper sticker, Liviania!
When I decided to stop working full-time jobs that sucked away my time and energy and dedicate myself solely to blogging and freelance writing, a lot of people asking me why I would ever want that uncertainty of money weighing me down. But I never looked at it as uncertainty of having a roof over my head or food and coffee in my stomach. I have this mindset, and mind you a lot of people have told me I was naive to think this way but it has worked for me very well thus far, but I don't look at any endeavor I take on as if it has the ability to fail. I surely have the ability to fail, but what I do for a living cannot fail and if I find myself flailing, I just have to step it up and work a little harder. Doing what I want to do with my life and for a living, instead of what people think I should be doing, is oh so very worth it.
Hi Holly - that is a terrific attitude to have about work! Maurice likes to say that things we *do* may fail but that does not mean that *we* fail.
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