Zencat

Hi secular types.

Nice overcast morning here. Kinda makes me sleepy and calm when the coastal clouds are about. Not much else going on with me. Still managing my anxiety and now some depression. I'm not too bad off, just sluggish and fatigued...yet still managing to get to my groups during the week and help drive the girlfriend around so she can get her stuff done. Well that it for me... Live long and prosper.

gneiss

First semester of grad school.

4.0 GPA.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it!

Ananda

awsome gniese!!!!!!!

proud of you (hug)

sorry you didn't end up coming down this way for grad school..would hve been fun

i'm not so hot....in the middle of a change i think...not bad though...just shifting gears

jamdls

Depressed, crying at just about anything, exhausted but can't sleep, body aches all over, can't eat or drink anything hot or cold cause it hurts my jaw-dentist says nothing wrong w/teeth, spent an hour at dept store on Sat then was in pain rest of weekend from being on my feet THAT long, can't move my left thumb w/o pain, is drizzling outside which means my hair got frizzy coming in to work, daughter took a picture of me yesterday and I could see that my lip is still kind of deformed from when I had a skin cancer removed on my lip 2 yrs ago and they had to do reconstructive surgery---have to go to a business lunch today which means I won't get to go home and walk my dog so she'll be pissed off and probably poop on the guest bed...yeah it's just a wonderful day but I'm sober and I'm alive and I got to see my daughter and grandkids yesterday and I have a job and my own home and my little dog, Peaches. :chatter

lunarise

jamdls~

HUGE :ghug3 s

Gypsy Feet

Grats Gneiss, woooohooo!!

Freepath, I pretty much love my job and its . . .very. . .low caliber (fork lift driving is probably higher up the pay scale:P)

:ghug3 for jam, sounds like a really crappy day!

Hi Zen, wheres the pics?

Oo, me too ananda, not my favorite feeling but filled with learning opportunities hahah

Freepath

Good Job!
Well Done!
Way to Go!
You are an inspiration.

Hang in there! Those are all fabulous reasons to be grateful and happy. You also have all of your friends at SR!

Yeah, I didn’t mean to sound condescending. It’s not about status. I do a ton of worthless work that any ******** chimpanzee could do, and I’m sure that there are jobs at the low end of the pay scale that are important and/or fulfilling like farm workers and teachers.

My point is directed toward denial and perspective. Someone needs to drive a forklift. It’s a necessary part of our economy and the livelihoods of many people.

However, I love my family, I love my friends, I am happy when I have a chance to cultivate my intellect by reading or writing, I am happy when I am fit and have a steady exercise routine, I am fulfilled by the company of my friends.

That should be a priority. That, in my opinion, is what is truly important to us, and we should all be able to see it.

But we don’t.

Instead we walk around telling each other that the way to nirvana is to drive a forklift or answer the telephone for a pest control company. Why are we in such denial about what the truly important things are? Is it arrogance? Is it pride?

It reminds me of a convict sitting in jail who says that he likes to be there.

They can lie to themselves, but don’t lie to me.

Gypsy Feet

ooooooooooo, ok, well thats different! Id quit my job in a nano second if I won the lotto haha. Id way rather spend time reading, traveling with my kids, volunteering, the list goes on!!

That being said, I went from being a teacher, to caring for a dying old man, to a menial, mindless, very physical job, and it probably saved what was left of my sanity

windysan

Oh dude !! I'm LOLin. Holy Crappus !! you so nasty hahahahAHA

gneiss

Thanks! I'm still basking in the glow. And does it sound mean? A friend texted me today, and he's a 20-ish beers-a-night-and-3-or-4-lortabs kind of guy. And he managed to squeak out a C in one class. Failed the rest. And I look back at where I was, in a similar place, and am amazed that I did so well this semester.

This sounds straight-up condescending. JMO.

What makes you think they are lying to themselves? Often I fly a desk doing admin paperwork but every once in a while, such as for the last few days and most weekends during last school year, I work as a housekeeper in a college dorm. This is a job I took to get me through school, I would not be happy in it long-term. But I've befriended maintenance men, the elevator repair guy, painters, carpenters, and the guys who steam clean the carpets. And I've even had lunch with the guy who drives the forklift. Some of these people have been at their jobs for over 30 years.

These kinds of jobs offer EXACTLY what you are talking about. Most of these people genuinely like the work they do, in part because at the end of the day they don't have to worry about work. They show up at 8:00 and work with a smile then they hit the time clock at 5:00 and work goes away. They go home and enjoy family, chill with friends, work in the garden, read, hit the gym, or whatever it is that makes their day better.

No one said the way to nirvana was to drive a forklift, and certainly there are other ways to be happy with your job or with your life. But why assume that someone else's happiness is fake, or that yours is better? To me it seems pretty nervy to state that someone else must be a miserable phony because their job is one you are unwilling to do.

Eroica

hmmm interesting discussion. I think what freepath is saying is that the really important things in life aren't work-related, but are things like family, pursuing our intellectual/social interests, etc. I agree with gneiss that people who work physically exhaustive 9-5 jobs come home and have time for whatever, but people at the very high end of the pay scale have just as much if not more leisure time.

Really, its true that someone has to drive a forklift, but to have a decent quality of life, you need to get paid more than minumum wage. No one except for teenagers should be paid 6 dollars an hour. And is Miley Cyrus really worth millions? Come on. I could care less what is deemed valuable to society, if thats how we base pay scales. Anyway, having a lot of dough won't make u happy but it will help.

gneiss

My point was that the OP seemed to assume no one could be happy in such a job, that they are lying to themselves about being happy. People are in blue-collar jobs for a variety of reasons, none of them have anything to do with some other person looking in wondering if they are happy. And work is important, you spend 1/3 of your time there most days. Everyone has a different idea of happiness, and it is silly to assume that someone with a different lifestyle and values would be unhappy just because you would be unhappy.

I think it struck a nerve with me because I've worked so many crappy customer service jobs. Be a cashier for 30 minutes and I guarantee some b@stard customer will treat you like their time is more valuable because they make more money. You will get treated like an idiot because you are running a cash register instead of curing cancer. People will be rude because they are obviously superior since they drive a newer car, have a bigger house. I used to like people until I worked as a cashier but you see people at their worst in that line of work, people with a smug sense of superiority. They assume customer service people are dumb because they stick to the rules that ensure their continued employment. And they never stop to think they don't know the whole story. Sure I was a cashier. But I was also studying geophysics on my lunch break. I'm not an idiot, I just needed some spending money.

Gypsy Feet

I will take it to a whole new level gneiss! I am pretty sure one of the main reasons I was able to stay sober and start my life going in this new direction was because of my manual labor, menial job. I am so freaking tired when I get home, I cant worry about booze. I am in better shape than I have been since I was a kid. The people I work with like me, which is helping restore my faith in me. AND, I am moving towards becoming financial independent, at which point, my options and opportunities become much more grand!

So here's to the happy ditch diggers, lawn mowers and grease monkeys, may we live long and prosper HAZAA!



post script: I believe teaching was the most hellacious, stressful, emotionally crippling time in my life. The kids were fabulous, the system is nothing short of a mind f*ck

gneiss

Ex bf took a construction job around the time he wanted to get clean. We did meth the night before he started. He went to work high, came home, came down, and didn't seem to want drugs much after that. We did meth 2 more times after that, a couple months later but really, for him the construction job took care of it. Working 10 hours, 6 days a week didn't leave much time or energy for drugs. And not much time to whine about withdrawal symptoms while running a welding torch either.

I love Dirty Jobs. Best show on TV, really.

Freepath

These points are well taken, and I apologize if I offended anyone. Just for the sake of clarity, as I said earlier, I do a lot of work that anyone would not like. Once again, my intent is not to berate anyone.

The context of the comment followed a remark about self deprecation due to feeling ungrateful, even though there is so much suffering in the world, which lead to the question: shouldn’t we should all feel grateful? We have running water, grocery stores, city parks…all of the amenities of developed countries.

The problem is: just because our environments and opportunities are superior to those of other people, doesn’t mean that we should be happy. Perhaps the reason a person would feel ungrateful is because they are unhappy. Perhaps the reason why they are unhappy is that as a culture we are inept with regard to identifying what brings personal happiness.

We are seeing things the same way concerning a lot of these points. I know that people who have supportive or unskilled jobs can still be happy. Shouldn’t we, as a species, be more familiar with what the exact source of that happiness is?

If a boss has a proposal: “here’s a shovel, go shovel the crap out of that chicken coupe.” One might go home with sore muscles, and be happy to be fit. One might love the money or the people at the job. But you can’t tell me that the act of shoveling chicken crap makes people happy. So, to me, the statement “I love my job” seems thoughtless or cavalier. If we understood personal happiness more, we might have a substantial weapon against addiction.

I particularly admire people who engage in professions that we all need. When we spend most of our money on shelter, transportation, food, energy, education, or medical care, then I think that people who work hard in those professions deserve admiration. Maybe one of the biggest mistakes that our civilization makes is underestimating and underpaying people who directly provide these pragmatic services.

doorknob

Gettin' ready for my new gig. No hangover, no wake and bake. Tryin' to do this right!

Daisy09

I was a teacher before I had my kids, and I agree with you whole-heartedly. My teaching experience is what made me decide to homeschool! Have you ever read John Taylor Gatto (spelling may be wrong)? I think you'd appreciate it. ~Daisy

californiapoppy

I miss teaching, but as for you the system and certain parents really irked me.

jamdls

I sit in a cubicle and often don't do much of anything besides play computer games or post on SR or another site but I do love my job because when I do do something it involves helping others-I handle human resources for a small company so my job is all about service the employees are my customers-sure they irritate the heck out of me at times but every once in while I know I am needed. I'm very greatful for my job as I'd go nucking futs w/o it and they pay is very decent and the benefits are great.
Today is a good day nerve endings are driving me crazy so I am sitting her scratching myself half to death but it's a goood day.

Judy

Gypsy Feet

How was it knobman!??!?!?!?



Thanks Daisy. Your spelling was correct, and I started crying just reading the blurb on them, so I guess I'd love to read but may not be ready for haha. It truly was a horrible experience!