Just another day at the office... Just kidding. Those are actually Mr. W's feet. My mom knitted me
a pair of slippers and I made him try them on because he needs a new pair more than I do.
We could barely get them on and off his big old meaty ham hocks. Thankfully, they fit me just fine.
a pair of slippers and I made him try them on because he needs a new pair more than I do.
We could barely get them on and off his big old meaty ham hocks. Thankfully, they fit me just fine.
This week, I had dinner with my old coworkers and as we went around the table trading tales of our new positions, I found myself weighing the pros and cons of my current situation and my previous one.
In my new job, I get to write from my living room. I don't have a commute. I don't have other people annoying me with their quirky habits and strange bodily noises. I have ample time to exercise every morning and I can take a little longer getting ready if I want—all I need to do is set my laptop on the bathroom sink and it's like I'm right there in the office. If Mr. W sends me an IM asking me to put his laundry in the dryer or go find a bank statement for him, I can do it in a flash. I can sit next to my open sliding glass door and listen to the neighbor practicing piano. I can make myself smoothies after lunch. I can sing a song to my cat (although I probably would have done that at Yahoo! too). I can run to get my hair cut in the middle of the day. I can burp loudly whilst drinking my morning Dr. Pepper.
Oh and I should mention that all of the people at my new company are super nice. Everyone seems motivated to do a good job and keep the little agency running at top speed.
Yet, still I find myself missing the old gig.
At my old job, the people in my department were like family. I would share anything and everything with them, on a weekly or daily basis. I knew I could talk to them about the exciting stuff, the hard stuff, the silly stuff. And I thoroughly enjoyed their company (except when I was tired or grumpy and didn't want to talk to other humans). If I didn't have any work to do for the day, I STILL GOT PAID. It didn't matter that I was really only writing for 4 hours a day—I was getting paid for the entire day. And I had amazing benefits and a good retirement plan. I knew the client inside and out and felt comfortable voicing my opinion and asking questions when I didn't understand the reasoning behind something. I felt very safe every day at work (well, except for maybe that one day my wallet got stolen off my desk, but every other day was cool).
And maybe that's part of why it was time for me to go. Maybe this fish had outgrown her pond.
Mr. Wonderful has been working until midnight an 1 a.m. every night this week. One night as he was crawling into bed, he told me he missed me. I agreed tenfold and reminded myself that I should be thankful I don't have to work hours like that or catch up on every little To Do on the weekends. I may only be billing 15 hours a week right now, but what I'm lacking in compensation, I'm making up for in free time.
But I still miss my old coworkers.
Maybe Mr. W can pretend to be one after he wraps his movie and is home with me during the day. Or maybe he'll let me get a few more cats to keep me company...
oooh I understand what you mean. I mean, I think I would miss showing my shoes off to people (they're purple!), but being able to work in my own schedule would be awesome!
ReplyDeleteVery nice socks. :)
The socks look great - maybe not the right color for Mr. W!
ReplyDeleteI really don't think I could ever work from an actual office again. The last 8 years have spoiled me so. I do have the benefit of working from home while also enjoying all those perks of full time, permanent employment. Oh...wait. Hm, well, my Fortune 500 has cut my pay. Axed our retirement plan. Mandated 45-50 hour work weeks (while still only paying for 40). And all of this during a year we posted record profits...go figure! So, yeah...I guess maybe it's time for this fish to find a new pond, too. But, trust me...it will be a pond in my house.
ReplyDeleteI can identify with this so much. First, on the billable hours. Oh, man. You mean I don't still get paid for staring at the screen for an hour? I have to actually produce ALL day? Yeah, that's an adjustment.
ReplyDeleteAn second, the work family. I missed that a lot, and I still do. I really liked my coworkers and always did. I missed having that built-in social aspect so much. I have learned to find that elsewhere, though, which has helped. My yoga studio is a huge part of my life now as its the only place I go to nearly as regularly as an office. It makes a big difference in not feeling isolated.
I'm pretty sure Mr. W would prefer to be a co-worker with benefits - a special kind of benefits, that is. Mwahahahaha. I feel your pros and cons to working at home versus working in an office. The grass is always a little greener...
ReplyDeleteGenerally, I can relate. But on this one, meh, nope. Glad I smell until I shower at noon. Happy to lurk around my favorite blogs whenever I want. Delighted to have the silence. You'll get to where I am. That niggly missing coworkers just needs to work it's way through your system. And when that happens, you'll be free to slip into bed for guilt-free afternoon naps. Bliss.
ReplyDeleteMiss McCracken - Yeah there are pros and cons all over the place. I'm sure I'll stop missing the old gig as time goes on.
ReplyDeleteMom - Color wasn't the issue. His foot size was.
HunnerWoof - I sometimes feel like you're my coworker now, and that's a good thing.
Lesley - Yahoo! IM saves me every day because it at least allows me to talk to people. Yoga sounds like a good idea too, though...
Nilsa - Dirty girl. ;) You're right - the grass is always greener.
Janice - You're way ahead of me but hopefully I'll get there eventually!