A good couple of weeks getting acquainted with my new "working life."
Here's what the typical work day consists of:
Come in. Turn computer on. Sort mail. Check e-mail. Sit. Eat lunch. Come back. Sit. Sort mail. Sit. Go home.
If I'm lucky, there'll be an e-mail in my inbox. IF I'm lucky. Most of the time my boss is out which reduces my things-to-do list to niente. So that leaves me with a lot of time on my hands.
So, what do I do to pass time? Well, I would ideally love to do other work like practicing music, composing, painting, crafts, or even just working on my new blog. I guess I could do these things, but it'd be way too obvious that I have nothing to do. Covering up would be pretty hard. God forbid someone in the office walking in on me painting something artistic like a naked woman mixing her tea with a tampon or something... Anywho...
What I ended up doing is reading. I love to read so it's nothing new to me. What is novel about this favorite pass time is that I am reading more about the business market, the economy, and politics. These are all areas I had absolutely no interest in in the past. The perks of working at a business/finance newspaper company. Why not indulge?
Sadly, all this intense reading is depressing. There's a lot about the bleak economy and terrible job market. Adding to this, I have too much alone time on my hands. "Isolation" if we want to use technical terms.
I've always enjoyed my alone times to sort my feelings out and to center myself. I'm also a believer in balance. So when there's too much alone time, let's just say my mental/emotional state goes a bit cray cray. I begin to over-analyze everything and become my worst critic.
Here's the condensed version of what's been running through my mind:
The economy sucks. The job market sucks. Why is it so hard for most college graduates to get a decent paying job? I began to look at the different generations and I happen to fall under the Millenial Generation.
Millenials.... This generation were brought up with so much special attention and care. I know many of my colleagues and myself were brought up to be competitive. We competed with grades, extra-curricular actives, volunteering, athletics, private classes, second languages, and God knows what else. I know this generation is very gifted and talented.
We were raised to believe we would make a difference in the world. That we are special and unique. Mr. Rogers anyone? Captain Planet? Blah, it goes on.
We entered the job market (I did anyways) expecting amazing jobs where we felt like we were making a difference in the world. Well, based off of experience thus far, that a far cry from reality.
Is unemployment rate high because people can't get jobs? Or because most people don't want to "settle."
Which brings me to another point. This generation grew up in a time of instant gratification and ADHD. With high speed internet and more TV shows than one can follow, we grew up expecting immediate results and options. I think many of us lack patience.
Perhaps many of us are not patient enough to undergo and painfully boring job...
This is just my thoughts of course. I am sure there are many people who are working many jobs and can barely make a living. It really is frustrating.
But flipping the coin and looking on the brighter side of things, this just might be the time for us Millenials to learn/practice the virtues of patience. We can learn how to save money. Become more self-sufficient by learning DIY's. Become much more eco-friendly. There really is a whole lot of opportunity in this period of time is we really look into it.
I'll definitely work more on looking at the glass half full.
But while I go through this growing pain, I'll bake and eat cake.
I made this amazing Poppy Seed cake that I once had in Munich! It's called Mohnkuchen. I got the recipe from here. I just cut the strudel and dough recipe in half. Enjoy!
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