Mini Rant
I’ve always hated the phrase “you are not your job” when used as a way to state that what you do for a living shouldn’t define who you are.
“But why, Claudia?”
I’ll tell you why! One of the first things we ask a new acquaintance/date/dude we sit next to on the bus is “what do you do?” And people respond with all sorts of things. “I am a barista.” “I am a student.” “I am a rocket scientist.” “I am currently unemployed.”
Clearly, jobs matter (or we just really suck at asking each other interesting questions).
So my claim is this: if we’re so bent on being interested in other peoples’ jobs, clearly we must think that the job itself has something to do with the person’s personality or likes or desires or whatnot.
And if we expect someone’s job to be a reflection of them (why else would we ask what they did for a living, after all?), clearly we think that there’s something going on where our jobs should at least bring us some modicum of joy.
Right?
So what am I saying? I’m saying that your job shouldn’t define who you are—you should find a job where your attitude about said job defines who you are.
EXAMPLE: suppose there’s this dude who really, really, really liked repairing watches. So he gets a job as a watch repairer. Now, watch repairer is probably not the sort of occupation where you’d think, “man, is that guy gonna change the world or what?!” And the dude doesn’t think so, either. But that doesn’t change the fact that he really, really, really likes enjoys his job because he’s doing what he likes to do.
And every time someone asks him what he does, he enthusiastically replies, “I’m a watch repairer!” as if it was the coolest, most important thing a person could be.
Because to him, it is.*
Now obviously I know we can’t always have jobs like this—or even that many of us won’t ever get to have jobs like this. But I think we should never stop striving to have jobs that we want to have define us. Because if we’re not enthusiastic about the thing we spend most of our waking hours doing, why are we even bothering with life?
*Note: this is pretty much how I feel about my current job
A post! ApostapostapostapostaPOST!
TODAY WAS A GOOD DAY.
FIRST: my mom got a job, my mom got a job!! Here at the U of I! Now she can leave the insanity of Tucson and come back to the place she calls home. SUPER HAPPY ABOUT THAT.
SECOND: I got a job, too! In addition to teaching in the second half of summer, I’ll be working as a data analyst for the College of Ag from May through July. Now I can finally get some real experience with real data (and lots of it!).
Better brush up on my SAS.
WOOHA!
Polar Expressions
I would wash dishes for the rest of my life if doing so would be my job down at McMurdo or the South Pole.
Jobs! Jobs for weird polar-obsessed people like me!
One of my ultimate goals is still to get down there. Maybe once I get my current “issues” fixed up to the point that they’re manageable I’ll apply to be a kitchen helper or a janitor or a housing assistant. Hell, I’d sort their garbage if that would get me down there.
I wonder if they need anyone to run some stats…?
New job!
Wow…well, getting a job this summer was a LOT easier than it was last semester. Second place I went to and I got it.
Now I will work at Seubert’s the in-home care place right next to Subway. I start tonight, actually, and I’m working from 8 PM to 7 AM for a lady. I shall review for you tomorrow!
You know what I’m really tempted to do?
So…
ETS, the company I want to work for when I’m done with all this school business, has a position open right now that would be absolutely PERFECT for me. It’s like my freaking dream job, listen to this:
Arrange for and perform routine statistical analysis and data-processing tasks using GENASYS, user-oriented computer packages, and statistical software packages. Create datasets, enter computer job control information, code parameters, and submit programs for execution. Draft standard statistical reports and assist in the preparation of complex reports. Prepare and check critical information for score reporting, tables, and figures for statistical procedures, documentation, and reports. Update textual material for such documents. Update and run routine statistical analyses using SAS. Perform a wide variety of statistical calculations (e.g., mean, percentiles, standard error of measurement, and reliability estimates).
I DON’T CARE HOW BORING THIS SOUNDS, THIS IS WHAT I WANT MY LIFE TO BE.
So I applied just on a whim…If I get the job, I’m outta here. Screw grad school for a few years. If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.
Though I don’t think they’ll take me though, ‘cause I think they’ll think I’m too far away to relocate “ASAP.”
Fun with Shag Carpets
You know what’s great?
Shag carpeting in college student housing. What freaking genius thought of that? “In these houses will live members of the messiest demographic aside from children (though some of them will have children and bring them with them). Let’s put carpeting that catches EVERY LITTLE THING in EVERY SINGLE ROOM! BRILLIANT!”
Morons.
On the upside, I discovered $3.27 in change in one apartment today. I also vacuumed up what looked like five years’ worth of shedding from a large dog.
I FINALLY have a job for the summer
Good captain Christ, I’m working at the University of Idaho.
And guess what? It sucks. Why? Because it’s the U of I.
This is what I do:
-wash doors
-wash/scrub oven hoods
-wash cabinets
-sit in the van
-do absolutely nothing because they can’t find the keys to the next apartment we’re supposed to clean
Yup. Exactly as I expected.
At least I finally got a damn job.
The quest for quarters often leads one through many couches
Hooray! So I think I’ve got a job, finally. So the only place that worked with my school schedule was Wendy’s so that is where I’ll be spending quite a lot of time for the rest of the summer. Orientation is Sunday!
…
Why are my blogs getting shorter and shorter?
