Things I love about my job.
This morning (Feb. 28) there was a beautiful sunrise at about 6:30 – yellows, reds, purples, pinks. You could tell it was going to be a gorgeous day. I said to Art, “I’d love to go skiing this morning before work…”
The more I thought about it – and the higher the sun rose – the more I wanted to do it. It was only about 15 degrees out, but perfect cross country ski conditions – a couple inches of snow, no wind, brisk, and bright.
So I came down to my office, wrote a few emails, made some phone calls, got on my skis and headed out the door. By 8:00 I was standing in the sunshine looking around the lake. It was heaven.
That experience signifies for me the two main things I love about my job: 1) I get to work from home, and 2) I’m on my own schedule. If I want to start work at 6:00 a.m. and quit at 2:00, I do. In fact, today at 4:00, we’re meeting some friends down at the B.O.B. for a Fat Tuesday party. When things like that come up, I don’t have to ask my boss if it’s ok. I just have to ask myself – and it almost always is.
I get to work with a lot of fun, interesting people. Advertising people are some of the most fun people around. They’re smart, they’re funny, they’re quick, they’re creative. Working with people who make me laugh is something I value a lot. In fact, what I missed most when I started freelancing were my fellow creatives at the ad agency.
I get to learn about some interesting things. People assume that working on newsletters is boring, but I learn all kinds of things writing them. Here’s one example: I was interviewing some guys about a men’s choir they were in – the oldest continuously run male choir in the U.S. So I was telling Art about it later, and I said, “This sounds like something you’d like—you should check it out.” Well, he did, and he’s been with the Schubert Male Chorus – and loving it – ever since.
I get to interview some fascinating people, some of whom I would probably never in a million years get to know otherwise: ex-prisoners, hot shot designers, CEOs, people with various disabilities, scientists, artists, etc. The most interesting character I ever interviewed was a guy named Ivan Jenson (for the Goodwill newsletter.) Check him out on the web sometime at www.ivanjenson.com. Incredible story. But more about that later.
I get to write every day. I love the process of writing – taking a bunch of “stuff” and turning it into something that’s readable and good. It’s fun and it’s a challenge, and I get to do it every single day.
I earn a decent income. I average about $56,000 a year, which is not bad for 25 hours a week and a couple of vacations thrown in along the way.
I get to travel a lot. I’ve been to Hawaii, New York, Washington State, Idaho, Florida, West Virginia, and California, all on assignments that were completely paid for. I love seeing new places, and my job has shown me many.
All in all, I’d say the things I love about my job can be alliteratively summarized in three words: freedom, flexibility and fun. Now how many people around do you know who can say that?
The more I thought about it – and the higher the sun rose – the more I wanted to do it. It was only about 15 degrees out, but perfect cross country ski conditions – a couple inches of snow, no wind, brisk, and bright.
So I came down to my office, wrote a few emails, made some phone calls, got on my skis and headed out the door. By 8:00 I was standing in the sunshine looking around the lake. It was heaven.
That experience signifies for me the two main things I love about my job: 1) I get to work from home, and 2) I’m on my own schedule. If I want to start work at 6:00 a.m. and quit at 2:00, I do. In fact, today at 4:00, we’re meeting some friends down at the B.O.B. for a Fat Tuesday party. When things like that come up, I don’t have to ask my boss if it’s ok. I just have to ask myself – and it almost always is.
I get to work with a lot of fun, interesting people. Advertising people are some of the most fun people around. They’re smart, they’re funny, they’re quick, they’re creative. Working with people who make me laugh is something I value a lot. In fact, what I missed most when I started freelancing were my fellow creatives at the ad agency.
I get to learn about some interesting things. People assume that working on newsletters is boring, but I learn all kinds of things writing them. Here’s one example: I was interviewing some guys about a men’s choir they were in – the oldest continuously run male choir in the U.S. So I was telling Art about it later, and I said, “This sounds like something you’d like—you should check it out.” Well, he did, and he’s been with the Schubert Male Chorus – and loving it – ever since.
I get to interview some fascinating people, some of whom I would probably never in a million years get to know otherwise: ex-prisoners, hot shot designers, CEOs, people with various disabilities, scientists, artists, etc. The most interesting character I ever interviewed was a guy named Ivan Jenson (for the Goodwill newsletter.) Check him out on the web sometime at www.ivanjenson.com. Incredible story. But more about that later.
I get to write every day. I love the process of writing – taking a bunch of “stuff” and turning it into something that’s readable and good. It’s fun and it’s a challenge, and I get to do it every single day.
I earn a decent income. I average about $56,000 a year, which is not bad for 25 hours a week and a couple of vacations thrown in along the way.
I get to travel a lot. I’ve been to Hawaii, New York, Washington State, Idaho, Florida, West Virginia, and California, all on assignments that were completely paid for. I love seeing new places, and my job has shown me many.
All in all, I’d say the things I love about my job can be alliteratively summarized in three words: freedom, flexibility and fun. Now how many people around do you know who can say that?
posted by Keash at 10:40 AM
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