In the meantime, I haven't heard back yet about the online editing job, but in all fairness, I did just send in my writing samples about 48 hours ago. And I am having a meeting on Friday to determine whether I can do a short-term (two-month) writing project which I am beginning to think I don't want to do. Um...and yesterday, my old job posted a position opening that looks like it was written for me, leading me to stupidly lurch down the road of weighing the pros and cons of returning to my old employer...
Pros: everybody knows me there and I think they would be pretty flexible about my hours - i.e. I could work from home at times. It is fifteen minutes from both Viva's school and our home. It's also a director-level position, so they would have to pay me a decent wage. Oh, yeah, they'd have to give me a regular paycheck, and benefits and shit. Paid vacation and paid sick time. That rocks!
Cons: I visited recently and the atmosphere felt kind of stagnant. I don't know who I'd be reporting to. I don't know if I can go home again. I'd be doing work that is similar to what I've been doing for at least five years, so no new challenges, really.
What's the worst that can happen? Are all office jobs inherently shitty?
And in a related note, I met yesterday with the EVP of the consulting firm I used to work for. She hinted around that they were swamped, having just lost one-third of their three-person staff to an office job, but I did not rise to the bait. The last time I worked for them, they had me put together some marketing materials for presentation to a prospective client, and then balked when I billed them for the hours I'd put in. The president had the nerve to tell me he assumed I would swallow the costs of marketing myself. But I wasn't marketing myself to the client, I was marketing the firm to the client. They used my work! And then they didn't want to give me my cheese! Just thinking about it makes my blood boil.
Having said that, the one really great thing about working for them was that most of the time I could work from home, scratching myself and picking my nose whenever I felt like it, and only occasionally would I have to pull myself together and throw on my geek suit for a client meeting.
Work. What's that all about?
Sharing. Not All It's Cracked up to Be.
Recently, Viva was telling me about her day at school.
Viva: Dior [not her real name] was sad.
Mama Blah: Dior was sad? At school today? Why, honey?
Viva: She didn't want to share her snack.
Mama Blah: Well, sometimes sharing is hard --
Viva: But I told her, "DIOR! YOU HAVE TO SHARE!"
Mama Blah: Oh, um --
Viva (smiling wickedly): And I said, "Here, Pelham [also not her real name], you eat some, too."
My friends, I am sorry to say that I laughed and laughed at this story and did not even bother to try and lecture about the ethical implications of compulsory sharing. Sometimes you just have to let one get by you.
In Closing
No Simpsons today. I went to yoga this morning and believe it or not, I'm feeling more contemplative than this post might indicate. So I leave you with this:
Contemplate the workings of this world, listen to the words of the wise, and take all that is good as your own. With this as your base, open your own door to truth. Do not overlook the truth that is right before you.
- Morihei Ueshiba, The Art of Peace
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