Monday, May 23, 2005

I hate my job

I hate my job. I always hate my job. I just can't figure out if I hate my job(s) because I don't like working, or because I never have a job I like.
When I worked for a law firm, my days were bearable. I had lots of friends to work or take a break with. The best part was the fact that almost all my time was organized and overseen by me. I could just stop and think if I needed to.
Currently, I have what could be the worst possible job in the universe for me. It is saved from that title for the feeble reason that my job doesn't involve working with a lot of numbers. If it did, it would be curtains for me. My boss is technologically inoperable, yet he insists on using this technology all the time. I should say, he insists on me using the technology and printing him 14 copies before he gives it his stamp of approval, but oh wait... he still wants to make corrections regardless of the fact that a job now has to be redone 300 times, by someone who isn't him. That could easily lead me to my well-practiced (and, I'm told, insensitive) rant about older workers who are total unwilling to adapt to change/new fangled computers, but I'll save that for another post.
About a year ago, I took a really detailed aptitude test at this research based institution in Dallas. I spent a day and a half taking skills tests and having a discussion session with one of the proctors. After testing for everything from hand dexterity to memory for rhythm, I was given my results in another session. They had asked me to describe my current job. It was with a local hospital system and the only job I could get as a member of the first wave of post-9/11 college graduates. It involved numbers and a gossipy, passive-aggresive boss, so it was pure evil. The first thing the consultant told me was that I was not only in the wrong job, I was in the entirely wrong profession and I needed to get out ASAP. Duh. Like I chose clerical work as a profession anyway. That was reason enough to "get out ASAP."
In short, I was told that I was a part of a grouping called objective/musical personalities. My highest scoring apptituides were, Tonal Memory (the ability to quickly memorize tunes), Ideaphoria (the ability to "brainstorm" and write very quickly), Memory for Design (just like it sounds). They suggested careers in editing, writing, teaching and even sales. What I realize now is that my new job was tantamount to a major regression in my career satisfaction. I suppose I need to do something about then, huh?

Friday, May 06, 2005

A long time gone

So it’s been a really long time since I last posted. I haven’t been that busy or anything, I just forgot my EBlogger password. You thought there would be an interesting story upon my return didn’t you? Sorry to disappoint.
Well, in case you hadn’t noticed, I’m kind of a pessimist. I hate that about myself. :insert irony here: Anyway, lately I’ve become kind of a hypochondriac with fun panic attacks. It’s not as fun as it sounds, trust me. Actually, I saw the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy last week and every time I read something I write I can hear Alan Rickman’s voice reading it in a very Marvin the Paranoid Android kind of tone. God help me.
To sum up, the past two years of my life have been the most difficult years I’ve ever known. Up until then, I thought of myself as a kind of lucky freak who, with the exception of one nasty breakup, never lost anyone close to me. During these past two years, fate has had it’s ironic payback—I lost my uncle and mentor in 2003, my grandmother in 2004, my sister in 2004 (in a different sort of way) and a twin pregnancy at 11 weeks. Something about loss and sadness permanently changes you. I’ve started becoming very aware of the effects of desire or dreams and how they are dangerous as they can lead directly to almost all negative emotions—forcing you to just live in them day after day. Does anyone else hear the theme to Star Wars?
Why am I telling you all this? If I’m going to host a blog and talk about anything in my life, it is utterly pointless if I don’t paint the background first. I’m a funny person who loves to wear wigs to the doughnut shop at 3 a.m., but that part of me is involved in a daily battle to win my sanity from the sadness that threatens to overtake me. Okay, well that’s a lot of information you probably didn’t need.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that, I change. More importantly, I’m counting on changing again, back into the person I enjoy being—the one who doesn’t take life too seriously. Don’t be surprised if suddenly you can’t hear Marvin the Android’s voice anymore when you read my posts. I’m anticipating hearing my own again soon.