Unfinished musings

[susandennis]

Last week henare posted a poll asking people if they lived to work or worked to live. Predictably, he got more of the work to live variety. (And then even questioned if the others read the question right.)

I didn't answer because, well, I'm still thinking about it.

There have been long stretches in my past when the answer was clear cut. I lived to work. No doubt about it. I was my work and I loved it. I distinctly remember being annoyed on Friday nights when everyone went home. And I remembered resenting needing to sleep during the week. Really, seriously. It's true.

I hit a patch of this when I was speech writing - actually two of them in two different speech writing jobs. And I ran into it for a small bit at both startup companies I worked for. And there were bits in between.

During these times, I always felt strong and valued and smart and productive and happy. Mostly the money I made did not matter except as a performance thermometer.

These days, I guess it would be most fair to say that I work to pay Sheri. But, even that is short term. I twiddled the numbers the other day and figured out that at my current course and speed, I can pay off the 5 year equity loan I got last April in May of next year and still have a good ready cash cushion in savings.

I don't think I, even yet, work to live. If I had enough money to live like I wanted and do what I wanted, I suspect, I would still do some kind of work for pay. Probably not full time and probably not much pay but something. I just realistically cannot envision not. On Sunday nights, I'm ready for the Monday morning bus and my desk and my job. If I didn't have that, I'm not entirely sure how I would cope.

I know I'm in the minority and anyone reading this is probably just shaking their head in disbelief. I get that. But I also know that the few times in my life when I have been without a job have been the most frustrating and rootless and boring times I've ever spent.

Comments

[fj.livejournal.com]

I am not shaking my head, I am just wondering if there's anything I need you as a speech writer for. I've never had a speech-writer. Oh man, can you write what I should say during my (hypothetical) exit interview? That would be so awesome.

[susandennis]

You silly! An exit interview does not need a speech... So Long, Suckas usually works just fine.

Awesome???!!! You used the word awesome in my journal?

That's one.

[ms-hackman.livejournal.com]

Do we only get 3 chances to do something wrong --- is there a list of SD deeds ill somewhere?

[susandennis]

Ha!! SDeadlysins!! I love the idea... but nah.

And, don't tell fj this but, I'd even allow some of my friends the use of an occasional awesome... but that's because they don't know any better.

But, he does and besides that, he probably only threw it in there to get my goat. baaaaaaaaaaaa

[pookfreak.livejournal.com]

You know my initial instinct says that although you want to classify yourself as live to work, based on your description I think in some ways it's a work to live sort of situation because for you, working is an important part of who you are. It's not a financial requirement - which is what I'd use as the scale to balance between the two. You know you need the money to some extent but you don't work 80 hours a week JUST FOR THE MONEY.

There have been times in the past, current and will be times no doubt in the future when the actual work has been impetus. The learning of something new, doing something different. Even the search for the next new job gets you excited - and again I'll remind you that you've never stressed it's the challenge to get the most money but it's the challenge to find the job that excites you and fits the parameters that are incredibly unique to you, location, hours, etc. All of those things are things that I would say fall into a category of someone who works to live. If not why in the hell would you care about getting into work early so you could get out of work early to watch/listen to a Mariners game?

Also, just because you tend to be someone who spends more time in their own space and not in the space and company of others on a regular basis, doesn't also mean that you don't live your life in a balance that you want.

I dunno Susan - everything you say and do tells me that you work to live, you have reached a point in your life where you can live how you want and work how you want so they both fit together the way you want them to and I completely admire that. Admire and aspire to have it as a matter of fact. It's a wonderful balance of knowing yourself, knowing what you want, what you need to be happy, what you are willing to do and what you like to do.

I've said before I wanted to win the lottery. I also have said if I won the lottery I probably would go back to school full time and I've also said I'd probably find a job I really loved and worked that because then I wouldn't have to worry about whether it paid a living wage (like teaching or something). You said something similar to this. I don't think this means you work to live - it just means that you are the kind of person who enjoys what you do and can't imagine just sitting the rest of your life away on your tuchas knitting and watching the mariners games and doing Nothing Else and that's perfectly cool.

[susandennis]

I don't rush home to watch the Mariner games... (most of them are on at 7 p.m. anyway) If needed, I can get them at work or on the radio in transit as easily as home. I come in early and leave early because 1) it's the way I like to work and 2) it avoids traffic delays.

But, I think it's interesting that your comment wants to make me defend myself.

I guess that it means I did not explain my thoughts in a way that you could understand what I meant and I always get defensive when poor communications are my fault.

However, since this is my journal, I think I'm going to sit back on my "I can say what I want the way I want" haunches and not worry about it. ;)

[pookfreak.livejournal.com]

Heheh - funny how 2 dimensional this kind of intercourse can be when it feels so 3 dimensional sometimes. I don't mean for you to need to defend yourself and I was honestly surprised that 1) you felt that you needed to defend yourself and then 2) I immediately felt I needed to defend myself :).

I wouldn't assume your communications are poor - a lot of what I wrote are my perceptions based on reading what you've written over time. Perceptions are not fact and they are based on what I know about you which is what I've gotten from this journal which is, as much as I wish it were more than a flat medium and it feels more than that, a 2 dimensional medium where you tell me bits and pieces and my mind just fills in the blanks - like everyone elses does, over time. So don't blame yourself.

I still want to touch on what you said a bit though....you said, "I don't rush home to watch the Mariner games... (most of them are on at 7 p.m. anyway) If needed, I can get them at work or on the radio in transit as easily as home. I come in early and leave early because 1) it's the way I like to work and 2) it avoids traffic delays."

I know and I didn't say you rushed home. I simply was trying to show that I knew you had more facets to you including that you enjoyed the mariners so I took some liberties. I imagine probably a better example may have been that you scheduled your time to avoid traffic and used that extra time to stop by the library on the way home or maybe pick up General Cho's on Fridays. Anyway, the point was the fact that you don't work 16 hours a day, but that you limit your hours to a regular work day and take timing into account and enjoy the rest of your day doing non-work related things.

But again all of that is my perception and none of that was meant to be anything negative in any way and I don't think you took it that way (based on the wink/smiley) but just in case I wanted to mention it cause you are pretty cool and awsome and I like that I perceive you as having a very good work/life balance because it's a great thing to look at and admire and like I said, aspire to be more like.

Anyway sorry you felt the initial need to defend - don't knock your communication - you're a great writer - in this case I think it's more the tool (ie lj) than the person who is wielding (is that spelled correctly?) it.

[slinkr.livejournal.com]

I've never gotten to the point where I was annoyed by Friday evenings, but a lot of my happiness comes from working with other people to build things and I get that through my job when I have a good one. I work to work in my current situation, because my work has value to me beyond getting paid at the end of the week but my life outside work is also valuable. If my job went away, my life would still be pretty great, but I'd want to go back to working on something good after a few weeks of downtime even if I didn't need the money immediately.

"Work to live" vs. "live to work" is a bogus question. Everyone has multiple reasons for living and working, and everyone has their own balance between work and non-work energy and activities. If it weren't for people who could push their balance way over towards "work" for a few years at at time, there would be no start-up companies and nobody would get a PhD.

[susandennis]

Wow. Excellent points - all of them. Thank you. Your comment is more how I really feel about it than my entry!