So, I dropped the bombshell earlier this week about my taking a staff job. It’s been an interesting mind shift to be sure.
I don’t shy away from work like some people and as I’ve said before it’s important for me to do a good job, obsessively important. I don’t like to be a fuck up, I don’t like making mistakes but I know in the case of the job I’m coming to the table with some holes in my knowledge because the work I’m doing is packaging and I’m learning about some things as I go.
I don’t have a lot of knowledge about the intricacies of printing, I just don’t and I can’t say I’ve ever been that focused on it. I didn’t want to know about it and on a level I still don’t but that is a part of my job now.
However, one of the things I do bring to the table is an understanding of process, and how to get things done efficiently and consistently. Also, my bigger concern is about design itself and how there is a consistent message presented to the consumer. It’s interesting if only that many of these ‘rules’ could be carried over to the work in the instance where you are doing what they refer to as brand extensions, in essence taking an already established design and reworking it to a different format.
Here I sing.
But, the rub I am quickly finding out is that while the company I have hitched my wagon to is growing, they are severely understaffed. Perhaps this is one of the rubs about companies today in that they don’t staff up unless they absolutely need to.
So the flip side is that they hold out overtime as something of a perk.
Now, I don’t mind making money but the flip side to that is hoestly that my days are very, vary long even without overtime. I am up at 5:30 and don’t walk back in my door until 7 at the earliest or 8 most evenings. That leaves precious little time for me and for standard life maintenance. Were not talking big things here either, were talking really simple stuff like laundry and food shopping and some cleaning around the house. It’s not as if we’re talking about extravagance here.
Over the last two weeks I’ve been suffering from lack of maintenance.
I have bad teeth and if I were Peter David I’d be putting out he call to see what monies I could drum up to get them repaired but I’m not a comic book writer with a bunch of fanboys, I’m just another working schlub so I have to suck it up and take care of it myself.
The week before last, I had a weird thing happen in that I went to a supermarket after work and when I got home and got about the business of preparing something to eat (although why I eat at night really doesn’t make much sense these days) I was sticken by the most incredible pain I’ve experienced in some time.
I had pain all through my jaw on the left side from the join along the cheekbone and down through the jawline itself. It was so painful, it hurt to even chew. It was really bad.
In the ensuing days, I began to wonder what had happened. If you}re a guy reading this you understand unless you are out and out on death’s door, you remove yourself from these things and become a bit analytical about them, holding off on the doctor and the like at your own peril.
I figured it had to do with my bad teeth and so I went into the dentist this week knowing that tye wouldn’t be able to fix it (pull the tooth) but rather they’d only be able to take an x-ray, confirm that there was an infection, give me antibiotics and a referral.
Well I did that and they didn’t find so much of an infection although the point is where it could be might actually not be where they x-rayed so I’m on antibiotics at the moment.
But back to work... we are understaffed which has meant that each day this week has been a long one. I bring lunch and eat at my desk and most days don’t take any kind of break at all. Even the day I went to see the dentist and came in a little before 2 pm turned into a full day as I didn’t leave until 9... and then they asked me to work on the weekend with the offer of ‘overtime’ as if I would see dollar signs.
But I don’t
I’ve been doing this long enough that I know there will always be a crisis and working yourself like an animal won’t be appreciated. It just won’t. Instead you’ll only be cast aside when you break down. Also I wound up late again on Friday night and as the weekend approached I had already logged over 50 hours and you know what, at the age I’m at, I’m done.
If younger people want to work like dogs more power to them.
I want work yes, but I also want to be able to enjoy the remainder of my days as they grow ever shorter.
So, while initially I agreed to work on the weekend as the clock got later and later on Friday afternoon I let my supervisor know not to expect me on the weekend. It’s not mandatory and truthfully even if it was I wouldn’t do it. I’ve offered to telecommute on especially long days because 3 hours of my day is taken up by commuting and I think that’s more than fair. They are actively looking into making that happen now but I don’t think they would if it wasn’t to their interest.
Yet, working an entire week with pain that I don’t make mention of but that I’m well aware of every time I chew something, working many days in a row wothout taking a break, feeling as if I’m always behind, watching other people make decisions about process which appear counter productive, well, I think you’re getting the gist here.
It’s about boundaries.
On the good side since I’ve taken this job, I’ve gotten two calls for other things! Go figure.
And while I feel like I am not doing the level of excellence I want the people in charge at work keep telling me how happy they are with me. They may be happy but I’m not. I really want things to run more smoothly but then maybe there’s the difference in working for yourself and working in a company.
I don’t shy away from work like some people and as I’ve said before it’s important for me to do a good job, obsessively important. I don’t like to be a fuck up, I don’t like making mistakes but I know in the case of the job I’m coming to the table with some holes in my knowledge because the work I’m doing is packaging and I’m learning about some things as I go.
I don’t have a lot of knowledge about the intricacies of printing, I just don’t and I can’t say I’ve ever been that focused on it. I didn’t want to know about it and on a level I still don’t but that is a part of my job now.
However, one of the things I do bring to the table is an understanding of process, and how to get things done efficiently and consistently. Also, my bigger concern is about design itself and how there is a consistent message presented to the consumer. It’s interesting if only that many of these ‘rules’ could be carried over to the work in the instance where you are doing what they refer to as brand extensions, in essence taking an already established design and reworking it to a different format.
Here I sing.
But, the rub I am quickly finding out is that while the company I have hitched my wagon to is growing, they are severely understaffed. Perhaps this is one of the rubs about companies today in that they don’t staff up unless they absolutely need to.
So the flip side is that they hold out overtime as something of a perk.
Now, I don’t mind making money but the flip side to that is hoestly that my days are very, vary long even without overtime. I am up at 5:30 and don’t walk back in my door until 7 at the earliest or 8 most evenings. That leaves precious little time for me and for standard life maintenance. Were not talking big things here either, were talking really simple stuff like laundry and food shopping and some cleaning around the house. It’s not as if we’re talking about extravagance here.
Over the last two weeks I’ve been suffering from lack of maintenance.
I have bad teeth and if I were Peter David I’d be putting out he call to see what monies I could drum up to get them repaired but I’m not a comic book writer with a bunch of fanboys, I’m just another working schlub so I have to suck it up and take care of it myself.
The week before last, I had a weird thing happen in that I went to a supermarket after work and when I got home and got about the business of preparing something to eat (although why I eat at night really doesn’t make much sense these days) I was sticken by the most incredible pain I’ve experienced in some time.
I had pain all through my jaw on the left side from the join along the cheekbone and down through the jawline itself. It was so painful, it hurt to even chew. It was really bad.
In the ensuing days, I began to wonder what had happened. If you}re a guy reading this you understand unless you are out and out on death’s door, you remove yourself from these things and become a bit analytical about them, holding off on the doctor and the like at your own peril.
I figured it had to do with my bad teeth and so I went into the dentist this week knowing that tye wouldn’t be able to fix it (pull the tooth) but rather they’d only be able to take an x-ray, confirm that there was an infection, give me antibiotics and a referral.
Well I did that and they didn’t find so much of an infection although the point is where it could be might actually not be where they x-rayed so I’m on antibiotics at the moment.
But back to work... we are understaffed which has meant that each day this week has been a long one. I bring lunch and eat at my desk and most days don’t take any kind of break at all. Even the day I went to see the dentist and came in a little before 2 pm turned into a full day as I didn’t leave until 9... and then they asked me to work on the weekend with the offer of ‘overtime’ as if I would see dollar signs.
But I don’t
I’ve been doing this long enough that I know there will always be a crisis and working yourself like an animal won’t be appreciated. It just won’t. Instead you’ll only be cast aside when you break down. Also I wound up late again on Friday night and as the weekend approached I had already logged over 50 hours and you know what, at the age I’m at, I’m done.
If younger people want to work like dogs more power to them.
I want work yes, but I also want to be able to enjoy the remainder of my days as they grow ever shorter.
So, while initially I agreed to work on the weekend as the clock got later and later on Friday afternoon I let my supervisor know not to expect me on the weekend. It’s not mandatory and truthfully even if it was I wouldn’t do it. I’ve offered to telecommute on especially long days because 3 hours of my day is taken up by commuting and I think that’s more than fair. They are actively looking into making that happen now but I don’t think they would if it wasn’t to their interest.
Yet, working an entire week with pain that I don’t make mention of but that I’m well aware of every time I chew something, working many days in a row wothout taking a break, feeling as if I’m always behind, watching other people make decisions about process which appear counter productive, well, I think you’re getting the gist here.
It’s about boundaries.
On the good side since I’ve taken this job, I’ve gotten two calls for other things! Go figure.
And while I feel like I am not doing the level of excellence I want the people in charge at work keep telling me how happy they are with me. They may be happy but I’m not. I really want things to run more smoothly but then maybe there’s the difference in working for yourself and working in a company.
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