Have you eaten yet?
Coming back from watching Jason do a ballet recital (only boy among 11 girls) I stopped off at the local second hand bookstore.
I bought some books - pretty predictable, given that I am something of a bibliophile.
Anyhow, I was struck by a sign in the window that said, "Help Needed - Apply Within." It filled me with that eerie, yet comforting delusion of karmic opportunity. I automatically suppressed the urge to inquire then and there.
What better place to work than be surrounded with dusty old books a few hours per week (I have no idea what sort of help they were looking for, since I didn't inquire).
When I got home I called Sofia to let her know that I found a job in Montreal I would be interested in doing. After the initial silence, she asked "Have you eaten yet?"
Of course, it would be foolish ... or would it? Yes, I would be losing a great salary, health benefits, pension plan, and experience in my profession - to be clerk in a bookstore earning minimum wage with no benefits. Go from a prestigious job to one with no prestige. Sofia suggested at least working for a library.
Interesting how we chance across things in our life and are somehow irrationally taken by it - whether it is love, moved to buy the winning lottery ticket, or given a chance to take sweet fortunes preordained path. Even within me, there lurks the foolish romantic.
Image originally from here
I bought some books - pretty predictable, given that I am something of a bibliophile.
Anyhow, I was struck by a sign in the window that said, "Help Needed - Apply Within." It filled me with that eerie, yet comforting delusion of karmic opportunity. I automatically suppressed the urge to inquire then and there.
What better place to work than be surrounded with dusty old books a few hours per week (I have no idea what sort of help they were looking for, since I didn't inquire).
When I got home I called Sofia to let her know that I found a job in Montreal I would be interested in doing. After the initial silence, she asked "Have you eaten yet?"
Of course, it would be foolish ... or would it? Yes, I would be losing a great salary, health benefits, pension plan, and experience in my profession - to be clerk in a bookstore earning minimum wage with no benefits. Go from a prestigious job to one with no prestige. Sofia suggested at least working for a library.
Interesting how we chance across things in our life and are somehow irrationally taken by it - whether it is love, moved to buy the winning lottery ticket, or given a chance to take sweet fortunes preordained path. Even within me, there lurks the foolish romantic.
Image originally from here
Comments
Oh, and bravo for putting your son in ballet! When my daughters were doing ballet, there seemed to always be one single boy in the class. I was always so impressed with that.
Maybe, when your kids are older, you can retire and do something for yourself. If you can turn a hobby into a job, you will be a much happier man as compared to holding a "prestigious" one.
elvina: I have been rational and making sensible choices all my life - maybe I should have been an accountant. This is not a dream of a lifetime, but it was something that stirred an emotional chord in me and resonated within me. The job at the bookshop would not be a career choice, merely a stop gap until I finally manage to become more entrepreneurial. But ... can I trust myself to actually accomplish something? Or will I just dither away the time?
I just don't want to wake up one day and say "If only ... "