Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Re-Entry

Into the work force, that is.  I am pretty much back in career mode- sans paycheck.  Working for free- I sure do love it!  Actually, I pay to work.  I hand over a handsome sum to UT so I can work from 7-5 for free.  It is a sweet deal :)  Anyways, I am relearning how to work- the loss of flexibility, the meager amount of time left in the day to do anything after work, the tired legs and back, the coming early- missing some lunch- and staying late.  Yes, it has all come back to me.  

I have a feeling most of you think I have never worked before.  I do have the reputation as a career student, but this is actually the first time since I first graduated from college that I have not had a full time job.  When I was first in grad school, I worked as a special education teacher. Yep, work 7:45-3:15...be at class by 4:15-7:30...sleep, and do it all over again.  Dave was still trying to finish up college in Mobile, so I didn't have too many distractions.  After graduation, I had my master's in counseling in hand and worked one year before deciding- hey, I want to be a physical therapist.  So, I started taking night classes, again.  Full time counselor by day, student again by night.  I did this until I had all of my prerequisites.

From there it was UT Physical Therapy school- full time school 8-5.  But, there were some perks- like the occasional 3 hour break in the middle of the day so I could run.  The longgggg holiday vacations.  The all-nighters studying for neuro....just kidding, that sucked.  

But, I am here to say that although work can stink sometimes, being a very broke, in debt student stinks more.  I am welcoming the shrinking 401ks, the micro management, and the loss of workout time with open arms.  Okay, that is too dramatic.  No open arms, but I am ready to be a career girl again.    

3 comments:

CBD said...

Everyone loves a good work-life balance reset. It seems we're fantastic at working ourselves to death in this country. When did 10 hour days and forgoing the European standard of 5-6 weeks off a year become the norm?

I'm getting a little off topic but another blogger I follow (http://arcticglass.blogspot.com) said, "time is the most valuable thing in this life, and all money is good for is buying more of it."

Anonymous said...

I have to hand it to ya! You are one tough commited girl!!! There is no way i could take all that on! Don't get too stressed! Hope we can train together soon!!!

Damie said...

I promise I am not tough or too committed. Ha ha!!! I swear I could sit on the couch with the dogs and do hardly anything for the rest of my life, too. (well, as long as I have coffee club, training, racing, and hanging with friends and family). I would be a great candidate for winning the lottery. Angie, let's definitely train together soon, and Charlie, let's move to Spain. Siesta!!!!