| 9:49p |
Who wants to work full-time, anyway?
Well. I am nearing the end of my first week of being unemployed. It hasn't been the total blast that I expected it to be. I was looking forward to sleep-ins, long breakfasts and doing whatever I wanted to do. But things aren't always as idyllic as I imagine. For example: today, I was woken up by my the sound of my dad rearranging all of our pots and pans at FIVE-THIRTY in the morning. And every day, at a little past eight, my little brother performs a jaunty version of Inspector Gadget on the piano, followed by a variety of junior jazz pieces. Oh, the things one misses out on by leaving the house before seven in the morning! Even catching the bus has been weird. While I was working full-time, I used to feel delightfully naughty if I was on the bus or train at midday. I'd look out the window at the bright sunlight and think, "I hate missing beautiful days like this!" But now, when I catch the bus during office hours, I stare around at everyone in panic and think, "Why aren't these people at work? Are they unemployed like me? Have they been looking for jobs their whole lives, and then did they never find work, so they just sit on the bus? In the middle of the day? EVERY SINGLE DAY?!"
To be completely honest, I feel really lost. Although, I don't think I should complain. I chose to leave my job. But, I do feel weird not really having anything offically to do. I decided that I would give myself a two week break, and then I would get started on job hunting, sprucing up my portfolio and learning programs. It's hard to take time off, though. I keep freaking out that every single moment, a hot new job is being advertised somewhere, and I am missing out on it. I really want to train myself to trust in God...to trust Him that it is okay to take a break, and that He will provide for me when the time is right.
One nice thing, though, is that I have had time to do things I am normally too busy to do. Like, yesterday, I went to Medicare and cashed a lot of my old receipts. That felt good. Actually, anything to do with getting a little bit of extra cash into the ol' bank account seems good these days! Also, I got to bake my mum a cake for her birthday today. Usually, someone else bakes birthday cakes (like my sister or my mum), because I am working or studying or doing something similarly boring. So today, I took advantage of my free time and got a-baking. However, I soon began to panic at the extravagant amount of time I needed to bake the cake I had chosen: TWO HOURS of simmering mandarins over a stove? I almost called my foodie pal Meiying, because I didn't know whether you were supposed to simmer things with the saucepan lid ON or OFF. Heck, I didn't really know what simmering was, anyway. But I figured that it meant you had to boil the stuff slowly, because in literary terms, to "simmer" means to get cranky rather slowly. And we all know that I spend more time reading fiction than I do learning boring real-life kinda stuff. Anyway, the cake turned out to be delicious, thank goodness! I also made some yummy maple cream- I just added in some maple syrup to cream that I was whipping. Ooooh, I am TOTALLY Jamie Oliver!
Another very nice thing about having endless amounts of time is that I can spend more time with my friends. Last night, I actually got to hang around late after Bible study. Usually, I am packing up all of my things and rushing out the door while someone is mid-sentence. But last night, I hung around with the girls and swapped stalker stories and showed off the two words I know in Indonesian ("good morning" and "thank you", both said in an amusing gutteral tone).
When I did the whole farewell thing at work, it was a mixed day. At the beginning of the day, I was really hyper...my friends gave me presents and lots of hugs, and it was hard to concentrate because I felt so happy. But at the end of the day, I was pretty grumpy. This lady called Maria was also leaving that day, and the company made a big effort to show her how much they appreciated her. She'd been at the company longer than I have been alive. I know that I shouldn't have been so selfish, but I did feel a bit ripped off when she got a really really posho present and I just got a box of chocolates. Also, while I thought the best thing to do was to kiss the boss on the cheek, say "thank you!" and then sit down, Maria gave a ten-minute long speech. She said lots of things like, "I remember when we all used to pick the kids up after school! And remember old Alex, who used to touch-park in the carpark? And oh, there was our old office in the city..." I felt like a bit of a diva for getting upset over that, but hey, what can you do? I think it is pretty cool that Maria was so loyal to the company for so long. A good thing is that I don't feel as tense and angry as I used to when I was working...although I still have dreams when I am told that I have to finish some designs in a ridiculously small amount of time.
I've been thinking about how the word "unemployed' can also mean that you are just hanging around, doing nothing. I mean, you are not "employed" in any tasks or hobbies or anything. So I feel better thinking that I still have things that interest me, and things I want to do. Like blogging! And my secret (yet cool!) craft! And reading...mmmm. I have just finished Memoirs of a Geisha and I loooooooooved it. I am finding Japanese culture so fascinating right now. When my parents went to Japan many years ago, they brought me back this beautiful, deep bowl. The bowl is white with blue patterns on it. I have been eating out of it every lunch time, because it makes me feel like I am a geisha! The main character, Sayuri, is such a graceful, hard-working girl. And ooooh, that Hatsumomo girl was sooooooo mean! And I want a mentor, just like the wise and successful Mameha! My one criticism of Memoirs of a Geisha was that Arthur Golden uses WAY too many similes. I mean, how can EVERYTHING be like a tree, or a bird, or a cloud of steam, etc etc etc? Aside from that, I thought that Arthur Golden vividly captured a young female voice, and invited his reader into a strange and fascinating world.
Well, dear readers, more thoughts and occasional book reviews are coming up, as always! Employ yourselves!
Yours,
Carla Gypsygirl xxx |