As I sit in front of my computer(s)- most days, I have the laptop and desktop going at the same time- I've found that I've been drinking more coffee, smoking more cigarettes, and eating more junk. It's a mindless exercise, one in which my hand idly reaches out for whatever's on the desk and before I know it, I'm a half-pack of smokes and four mugs of coffee fuller.
I'm a big enough drinker of coffee as it is, but was limited at day jobs by the availability of either a coffee machine or proximity to a coffee shop. Now, I'm 20ft away and go through it like there's no tomorrow. And I know, I know- I've read all those posts meant to scare you into submission about how it's bad to eat at your desk...which I do anyway. It's an adjustment period, one that took me a couple of weeks to move from working on my bed to working in the living room at a desk.
Socializing Becomes a Scheduled Activity
I was never the biggest party animal before I started freelancing, and I've become even less so now. My work is going out to social events, but a lot of the time, I'm only on the bill for one so it's a solo trip. Couple that with having to go home after and spend time writing up the review, and there's not much time left for fun stuff. But the downside of that is because I don't have a brick-and-mortar place I commute to work for, I see people a lot less.
And I kind of miss it.
I'm the type of person who's fine- more than fine- with being alone for extended periods of time. Groups of people exhaust me; one or two is just my speed. But once most of that's been removed, along with the option of being around either a small or large group of people, a little bit of loneliness sets in and I get as excited to be around people as a dog does when the owner gets home.
But...
Total Autonomy is Awesome
All the best things about being an adult, all that control you get to have over your own life- it's magnified by a thousand. Every other job I've had before this one, I've always found something to dislike about it, whether it was having to take a one-hour (unpaid) lunch break instead of a half-hour, work the closing shift and having to stay until a designated time even if all the work is done, or having to commute almost an hour and a half each way.
Not now. Now, my commute is to the kitchen for a pot of coffee; I take my lunch three times a day or not at all; and I work until my eyes get bleary, I have to head out, or I'm done.
I love it, and it's come on so gradually, I wasn't even aware of it until I took stock of my current situation and compared it to when I first started out. Looking back at the two points, I saw the progress even though I had never been aware of it while it happened.
And I don't think I want to trade it for anything in the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment