Thursday, March 04, 2010

Lost Freedom

So yeah, I am working again.

I had forgotten how inefficient this job thing can be. For the last couple of days, I've spent much of my time just siting and waiting - waiting for people to have time to talk to me, waiting for the next thing I'm supposed to do, waiting for my computer to be readied.. and that's apart from the two and a half hours per day on commuting. To think I used to guilt myself for the time I spent playing games in the last few months... At least that was fun.

Other things I shall miss:
  • Sitting in my shorts and old t-shirt all day long
  • Eating whenever I'm hungry, including Maggi nearly every day (anyone surprised I've put on weight?)
  • Watching TV. I actually enjoyed TV after years, looking forward to the couple of shows a day I watched regularly (Bones, How I Met Your Mother, Ugly Betty and sometimes Desperate Housewives or The New Adventures of Old Christine, including old episodes of Friends that I still sometimes compulsively watch - and oh, Rishta.com).
  • Not showering till evening if I didn't have to go out: sometimes not at all.
  • Not stepping out of the house at all for days, and even then often just to go to a weeknight party or dinner out with friends.
  • Instigating weeknight parties and then grinning smugly when the others complained of having to go to work with a hangover and a few hours' sleep. Given my weird working hours now, I can't even make it to any Friday night parties.
  • Being so relaxed. No deadlines. Nothing to do except what I want to. Mindless hours of games. Long hours of lazing on the sofa and reading. Watching movies in the afternoon. Taking naps whenever I was sleepy. Nothing to worry about (except for money).
I had nearly forgotten how it feels like to go to work every day. To come home tired and brain-dead. To be in office till evening and then look at my watch and realise I have six more hours to go (as happened yesterday). To deal with the differences in temperature. I roast in the car in the afternoon heat, and am frozen in the air-conditioned office. (I am beginning to feel like one of the meals the Guy and I cook, carefully keeping leftovers away in the fridge.) How does one dress for summer and for cool temperatures and appropriately for the office at the same time?

15 comments:

Pallavi Sharma said...

Did another lazy act, and passed my comment off as a post: http://simplypallu.blogspot.com/2010/03/working-for-money.html
:D

Anonymous said...

LOL!!!
I so agree with the dressing for Summer AND office part!!

I wear light clothes and then end up shivering the whole day !!

Anyhow, good luck with the new job.
I guess once you start 'working' , you won't have much time to think over what all you'll be missing.

Have fun :)

transmogrifier said...

Good luck getting back to work!
Being a grad student with the flexibility to work at home, I do have the luxury of doing some of the things you talk about.

@simplypallu: Nice, short post.
Makes me feel that I am not all mad for being scared of a grown up corporate job which will give me a lot more money, but eat up all my time :)

Pallavi Sharma said...

transmogrifier: Indeed you aren't mad. For all the money can do, it can't buy you time. Well, it can pay for househelp, etc so that you have more time to relax or do other things, but then you have to work to earn that money, so effectively you are losing time. It's sad.
But brush that thought aside and go enjoy your time with Hobbes while you can :)

Unmana said...

simplypallu: Well, as long as you're linking me... ;-)

momofrs: Actually, it hasn't been that bad. I am quite enjoying it, though it's early days yet. But I have to crib about something, don't I?

transmogrifier: Great name! You know, before I started working, I loved the idea of a corporate job. I would earn money! I would be on my own! It wasn't like I was using my time very productively anyway.

But yeah, it exhausts you. As Pallu said, there's no time to enjoy things you spend money on. And you need to spend more money to feel better, to get things done quickly.

On the other hand - I realised I'm not good at working from home. There are too many distractions, and I guess I need a bigger carrot as well as a stick lurking somewhere in the shadows.

simplypallu: I wish we had shorter work hours. You know, six hours a day would be so cool, or maybe a four day workweek.

Pallavi Sharma said...

P1 and I have often talked about 4-day work weeks. We don't mind putting in 10 hours a day because we sometimes do that anyway. That would give us 3 whole days to do other chores and also rest and not feel exhausted when Sunday comes to an end.

Anonymous said...

well in a couple of months I will be writing a similar post :-/
Good luck and tell us how long it takes to get back the groove?

Babita said...

keep a sweater/light jacket and a pair of good shoes in office draw and enjoy the rest of the day in your summer cloth..:)

Anonymous said...

Oh, that is so lousy :-(
Oh well, some find satisfaction at work. Hope this job offers you flexibility in work hours, and creative freedom sometime down the line...

Unmana said...

simplypallu: I agree! But I don't see that happening anytime soon.

By the way, my official work day is 10 hours long. *sigh*

Babita: A sweater/jacket is part of the solution, definitely. But work clothes are generally too stiff for hot summers here: compared to a sleeveless tee and a cotton skirt, which I'd prefer.

unsungplasm: Well, my flexibility is limited by the fact that my office is quite a distance away and office transport is at fixed times. I choose to work at those somewhat-inconvenient hours because office transport makes it more convenient overall. But I'm liking my job as of now, there seems to be a certain amount of freedom and accountability, some excitement and a quite a bit of learning. Of course, it's early days, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Perakath said...

Three consecutive starred posts in my Reader!

Unmana said...

Perakath: Wow, I'm so flattered!

Now all I need is 99,999 more people who think that way and I can quit my job.

dipali said...

Enjoy the new job! Despite the several disadvantages of working out of home, there are huge advantages too.
Enjoy. And just carry one of those really light and soft 'pashmina' wraps! They are cheap and can fit easily in your bag. All the best:)

Unmana said...

dipali: I hope you're doing well.

Oh yes, I'm using one of those! Though more to protect my hair from the dust in my long drive all across town.

And yeah, I'm enjoying it, really, the excitement of a new workplace, getting dressed for work every day, learning what's happening in the company and thinking about how I can do it better... All a lot of fun.

Mystic Margarita said...

Congrats! Despite losing the perks of staying home, I'm sure you'll enjoy your new job.

To deal with the difference in temperature, wear layers of clothes -- a top with a button-down shirt inside, which you can take off when you're commuting...such like.