The Joys of Working

I did a post back in March about the advantages of not working, which are many and obvious, and I easily listed ten.  The joys of working are fewer and more subtle, but after a few months off, I admit there are a few.

Routine

It is easier to eat right when I'm working, because I get into a pattern of fixing a decent breakfast and taking a sensible lunch with me, and there isn't much variation until the evenings.  Even at Farmers, I used to lose a little weight during the week and gain over the weekends.  When I'm home, I usually still eat a good breakfast, but then there's second breakfast, early lunch, snacks right there to be eaten.  Also, Jackie and I have gotten into a routine of exercising before work (although we are skipping today), and though I also listed exercise as one of the the benefits of not working, we are done with our exercise by 6:45 now, when we used to leave the house after 7:00, so the day gets started earlier.

Paychecks

Yes, it's good to have money.  Beyond that, I am much more appreciative of the money I am paid in the consulting world.  A salary is so predictable.  My paycheck now is dependent on hours actually worked, so every day is a money-making achievement of sorts.  When my client extended my assignment a couple of weeks, my expected earnings from the job actually rose.  For the first time in forever, I feel like I used to feel when I was a teenager, the anticipation of getting another payday, the direct connection between hours worked and reward.

Audio Books

I used to really enjoy my commutes with Joel, my fellow INTP who would engage me with anything interesting we could come up with.  But it was kind of a happy accident getting together with Joel, and consulting/contracting does not lend itself to carpooling.  I knew that books on CD were a good diversion, but they are expensive.  It was Jackie (as is often the case) who actually did something, getting me a Jason Bourne book at the library.  It wasn't written by Robert Ludlum, and I did not like it and did not finish it, but when I took it back to the library, I got another book.  I have now listened to two books that I just grabbed based on their descripitons on the back:  World Made by Hand by James Howard Kunstler, and Ordinary Thunderstorms by William Boyd.  I had never heard of either book or either author before I chose them at the library, and they are not books I would ever have read except for my need for entertainment during my commute, but I thoroughly enjoyed both.  Now I am listening to Endgame:  Bobby Fischer's Remarkable (etc.)... by Frank Brady, a can't-miss book that I would have read eventually anyway.  I look forward to my commute.  Audio books are great.

Validation

I'm not sure how important validation is, but it's nice.  I never doubted my abilities for an instant, only the sanity of people who questioned them without any rational basis.  Still, after 11 years with one company, it's nice to walk in somewhere else and be acknowledged for the contribution that was taken for granted and then ignored and denied for so long.  They like me, they really like me.  Or more like "In your face, Farmers" is what I'm really thinking.

Twelve more working days at World Vision.  I may be starting the Unemployment Chronicles again soon.