Ah...work. Making money to spend it on other goods and services to fuel the economy- The ultimate goal of every responsible person in modern society. It is the culmination of years and money spent on pre-education, education, higher education, and everything in-between. It is the crowning achievement of our work through the days of our youth, and it is what the majority of our lives will be spent doing. Ah...work.
...but if my current job is the culmination of my Stanford years and my $180,000 education, then shoot me now. Unfortunately, because I'm just starting my taiko career...it's not quite off the ground yet. In fact...it's far from that. I'm not really getting paid yet for what I do, so I actually have to have a "real" job on the side to support myself until taiko can be my means of living. And that real job is quite a source of anxiety in my life.
I'm currently working at a law office in downtown Honolulu, and I thank Yoko (not sarcastically) for getting me this job (she works there too). The three lawyers that work in the office are all young and (for the most part) friendly, and the work itself isn't hard...it's just mundane. It's boring. It's repetitive. It's tedious. There are lot of things I have to remember (and I'm always forgetting) with every task I'm given. Copies need to be made and then initialed by the lawyers, and then copied again for filing. But only certain copies get the stamp that says, "file copy", and not all files get hole-punched to be filed away. Some copies get sent out and some copies get scanned and emailed. And for all the copies I make, I need to put in the times at which I made the copies for record-keeping. But when I stamp, email, send, fax, or file the wrong copy, I ruin the whole system. I'm sure you're having a ball just reading about all of these copies.
Work does consist of a lot of copying, but I also answer the phone and deal with crazy people (I work for divorce lawyers) that have such messed up problems that they really ought to be looking into the services of someone other than a lawyer. Ah yes...work.
So...in word, work kinda...sucks. But it is paying the bills, and to be honest, it has given me such an increased appreciation for taiko and for the pursuit of my non-conventional, currently-non-paying job. Perhaps some people like filing, making copies, and dealing with crazy people, but it's not for me- enlightening me more to how important it is to find a job you love. Do something you love, because having a job you truly enjoy makes for an enjoyable life. Work is, afterall, what we do for most of our adult lives. Why spend most of your life doing something you don't enjoy?
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2 comments:
Because I need the money, haha. wow that sounds pretty bad... even my job is not quite that terrible.
so it goes with becoming a young man. deciding what one needs/wants etc. is one of the challenges that is on your path at this time. while common, it is not easy. one piece of your thinking that i really like is that you are able to recognize what your passion in life is for t his time in your life. so many people are unable to know what they like and how to pursue it.
i would challenge you though to consider the paperwork/legal environment as a metaphor for your drumming - how setting up a system for pursuing your passion is not so unlike the paper stream that you wrestle with ... you might consider it.
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