It’s that simple. I love my new job. Each job I have seems to get better and better. Thank you universe. I’ve been trying to put my finger on why it’s so amazing.
Is it because of my client? Not really – she’s nice, but demands a lot and is difficult to read.
Is it because of the work I’m doing? Kind of – it’s not creating ads or adding to the gross manipulation of the marketing industry. Instead I’m thinking of ways to get people to work better together and helping advance my client’s career. I’m basically a ghost employee for a tech giant.
So what is it about? Continue reading “I Love My New Job”
I was laid off from my job after a little less than a year. I was strangely ecstatic about this fact. I literally called that it was going to happen and was looking for another job so I could comfortably quit when it happened. I was surprised to learn that I would also receive 1 week of severance pay…with a catch. I would have to sign a gag order and never say anything negative about Company 5, their holding company or anyone that has ever worked there or Company 5 could sue me. I asked if the agreement could be edited and the head of HR ignored me until I was able to confront her in person. I was told she could not edit the agreement. So I told her I would not be signing anything. She looked surprised. 
I look around and see no one with the life I want. I refuse to live 45 years of my life like this. Following the instructions of a faceless company and an alarm clock. Having my company tell me when and how often I can see my family. Having a certain number of days when I do not have to be in a cubicle. Feeling stress over creating ads no one wants to see. Attending award shows created by the people who want to win the awards – a circlejerk. Pretending I care if a spam email deployed a day later than we said it would. Feeling stress that this ‘mistake’ will reflect poorly on me – even for a second. Pretending any of this matters: title, social status, perceived wealth.
I want retire because my life is working (workdays) and recovering from working (weeknights and weekends). There is no room in that cycle for the life I want. And perhaps it is my fault for choosing a career where I interact with people all day that completely drains my introverted core – and at rare times invigorates me with creativity. But it’s also what I’m good at. It’s well paid work that doesn’t involve extra schooling or skills.
I was recently on vacation for Thanksgiving. I took a whopping two days off and tacked it onto the long weekend we were given for the holiday. Usually it takes me about a week to decompress from work – even not particularly stressful work (or as not particularly stressful as Ad Agencies can be anyway). In that time I have to remember how to relax and what I enjoy and by the time I do the vacation is over. 
It’s official: I’ve quit my job and given my apartment notice. As of right now I have no job and will no longer be welcome in my apartment at the end of this month. We are moving across the country to a city my partner has never visited. The only place on the West Coast he has been was San Diego, CA which is the southern tip of the West Coast while Seattle is the northern tip. 
Since I joined the workforce I’ve kept lists of what I enjoy and don’t enjoy in each job I’ve had. From these lists I’ve created the profile of what I thought would be my ideal job in advertising: flexible, constantly challenging with a boss I love and limited human interaction. I now have that job. I have had it for almost a year. And I am still not satisfied. I don’t know what it is about work that makes me analyze my satisfaction with it at every turn. Maybe because the general public seem to think ‘work’ is what you do for 40-50 years of your life. Other parts of life do not last that long: high school, college – all previous steps were 4 years long. Now that 4 has turned into 40.