Dread Not the Workday
posted by Daven @ 2:25 PM
We've all had it before. The countdown to the end of the workday. The countdown to the end of the workweek. The feeling that you just can't wait for the time to pass. Maybe you don't like your job and you can't wait for the weekend so you can get away from it all. Yet despite each weekend that comes and goes, that dreadful Monday always rolls around and the anxious weekend countdown again becomes the persistent thought in your mind. I've had the feeling before as well, mostly while in college in Omaha, Nebraska. I usually could not wait for 11:00 am on Friday so that I could jump in my car and get the hell out of Nebraska. But why? Why did I, and why do we all subject ourselves to these countdowns? If you think about it, watching the clock and waiting desperately for the workday to conclude--for the time to pass--we're basically wishing away our lives. Why would we want our lives to pass more quickly? If anything, shouldn't we want to maximize our lives? Shouldn't we wake up and be grateful for where we are and with whom we can interact? We should be happy with life--not annoyed with it.
I've had jobs before that have been anything but enjoyable. Washing dishes in a hole in the wall Jose Muldoon's restaurant, stocking shelves in Party City, hanging drywall. And yes, I usually did countdown the clock every time I went in to work. But then I asked myself why? Why was I willfully wishing my life to pass before my eyes? It was because I was limiting myself only to jobs that I thought were available. I had no idea what really was available. I was blind to the fact that practically any place in the world has available employment. Alaska, Austria, California, New Zealand, Mozambique; they all need employees of some sort. So I figured, why not take a chance?
Since that decision, I've found work in great places--work that has had me doing anything but wishing for the day to blow by. I've laid cable and set up cameras for ESPN. I've rolled pitas in a sandwich shop on Sunset Boulevard. I've hauled luggage and driven a courtesy shuttle for tourists in Denali Park, Alaska. And currently, I am a courier for Yellowstone National Park.
Is this irresponsible? Am I running away from the real world? I don't think so. If anything, I think I am seeking out a real, tangible, vivid life. I don't want to wake up dreading to go to work. I don't want my life to pass too quickly and regret not having life experiences. I want to wake up at 4:00 am in Alaska to a bright, mid-day sun and drive a courtesy shuttle full of eager visitors. How many people know what a 4:00 am Alaskan sun looks like? I want to have to alter my walking route to work in the morning because of a herd of 30 bison standing in the middle of the walkway. How many people have to avoid several dozen 2,000 pound mammals on their walk to work?
Working for the National Park Service accommodates this lifestyle, while fulfilling any societal or parental demands of responsibility and/or stability. Yet this stability does not mean stagnancy. The park service encourages its employees to work nation-wide, from park to park. It employs people with a desire for knowledge, travel, and life experience. It employs a great community, and it is very possible to join. Initially, I thought it was impossible to become an NPS employee. But it's not. I just had to know where to look. I talked with a few NPS employees from various parks, and they all told me the same thing: go online and apply to as many park positions as you can. Once you get your first job, your foot is in the door. So I did. I went to www.nps.gov, clicked the employment hyperlink, and applied to roughly 40 park positions. Within two months, I received several calls from numerous parks offering employment opportunities. I accepted the Yellowstone Park Courier position--a job that sounded quite interesting.
Working for the Park Service is great. I could see myself doing it for years. Maybe in Yellowstone, maybe in Hawaii, maybe back in Alaska. But that doesn't mean I will limit myself to only NPS opportunities. As long as there are new experiences and opportunities, I will keep my options open.
I've had jobs before that have been anything but enjoyable. Washing dishes in a hole in the wall Jose Muldoon's restaurant, stocking shelves in Party City, hanging drywall. And yes, I usually did countdown the clock every time I went in to work. But then I asked myself why? Why was I willfully wishing my life to pass before my eyes? It was because I was limiting myself only to jobs that I thought were available. I had no idea what really was available. I was blind to the fact that practically any place in the world has available employment. Alaska, Austria, California, New Zealand, Mozambique; they all need employees of some sort. So I figured, why not take a chance?
Since that decision, I've found work in great places--work that has had me doing anything but wishing for the day to blow by. I've laid cable and set up cameras for ESPN. I've rolled pitas in a sandwich shop on Sunset Boulevard. I've hauled luggage and driven a courtesy shuttle for tourists in Denali Park, Alaska. And currently, I am a courier for Yellowstone National Park.
Is this irresponsible? Am I running away from the real world? I don't think so. If anything, I think I am seeking out a real, tangible, vivid life. I don't want to wake up dreading to go to work. I don't want my life to pass too quickly and regret not having life experiences. I want to wake up at 4:00 am in Alaska to a bright, mid-day sun and drive a courtesy shuttle full of eager visitors. How many people know what a 4:00 am Alaskan sun looks like? I want to have to alter my walking route to work in the morning because of a herd of 30 bison standing in the middle of the walkway. How many people have to avoid several dozen 2,000 pound mammals on their walk to work?
Working for the National Park Service accommodates this lifestyle, while fulfilling any societal or parental demands of responsibility and/or stability. Yet this stability does not mean stagnancy. The park service encourages its employees to work nation-wide, from park to park. It employs people with a desire for knowledge, travel, and life experience. It employs a great community, and it is very possible to join. Initially, I thought it was impossible to become an NPS employee. But it's not. I just had to know where to look. I talked with a few NPS employees from various parks, and they all told me the same thing: go online and apply to as many park positions as you can. Once you get your first job, your foot is in the door. So I did. I went to www.nps.gov, clicked the employment hyperlink, and applied to roughly 40 park positions. Within two months, I received several calls from numerous parks offering employment opportunities. I accepted the Yellowstone Park Courier position--a job that sounded quite interesting.
Working for the Park Service is great. I could see myself doing it for years. Maybe in Yellowstone, maybe in Hawaii, maybe back in Alaska. But that doesn't mean I will limit myself to only NPS opportunities. As long as there are new experiences and opportunities, I will keep my options open.
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