Passion = Work (and chocolate, too)

Ann Parker here, every other Thursday (except when I'm not), staring at the computer screen at the 11th hour and trying desperately to dredge up a topic for PASSION.

It's not that I don't have my passions: reading, writing, music (listening only, I'm no musician), family, friends, coffee (I could not start the day without it), research, and, of course, chocolatet. But right up there in the top ten (okay, probably the top five) would have to be WORK.

Work, as in a job, the 9-to-5, the daily grind, a gig, a commission...

Okay, that's about all that's interesting under synonyms. Now, want to know what's listed under antonyms? Unemployment (no surprise there) and ... get this ... fun.

Unemployment, I can understand. Been there, done that, don't ever ever want to be there again. Would rather be saying, "Want fries with that?" or pretty much anything else rather than revisit those grim gray days.

So, unemployment, a definite antonym. But fun?? Who decided that work is not FUN?? I guess someone who isn't passionate about their vocation.

I'm a science/technical writer by trade. I'm hoping I can continue working with scientific/technical concepts and people until the day I die... because it's FUN. (And it's work that puts money in the bank, which is, of course, a very very important consideration.)

Some people have said to me, "Well, if you weren't doing all that you could spend your time writing fiction." Sorry, it doesn't work that way for me. If I don't have "work" of the type described above, I spend all my time panicking and wondering when the next project will come in. Rather than thinking about the next book or all the promotion I should be doing on the current book (yes, I should, I really should), I start scanning the freelance lists, Craigslist, employment boards, you-name-it, just in case my main bread-and-butter clients suddenly decide not to come calling anymore.

So, I'm passionate about work and staying gainfully employed in my haphazard freelance/consulting-type world. Case in point: yesterday, after depositing a nice check from one client, another client popped up on email, saying they had a small, quick-turnaround project and was I interested in working on it? Since I'd just finished up a couple of big projects elsewhere, I was much relieved to received this query. I know this particular project will involve learning and writing about some very neat science-y invention/development. Of course I said yes. So before heading to bed tonight, I've got to to check in and find out what the technical topic du jour will be. Whatever it is, I know one thing for certain: More fun ahead!

 

Comments

[Dana]

ooh, I envy you your passion about your day job. I am fine with mine, like my co-workers, but I can't say I'm passionate about it. I'm grateful I have it for a number of reasons... but passion? nah.

My passions include wine, cats, reading... writing is in there, but it's not always as fun as drinking wine, reading someone else's work and playing with cats!

[Ann Parker]

Hi Dana! Yep, I know I'm lucky to be doing something I love, and like you, I'm grateful beyond words for the income. Hey, the day job makes it possible to buy the wine, books, and cat food, right? :-) Wishing you happy reading (and sipping, and playing)!

[Susan C Shea]

Ann, I felt the same way you do for most of my day-job life. It was interesting, it was varied, I helped shape the universities I worked for, and a campus is a lovely place. Then, one day - bam - it wasn't, and I began visualizing the next career. How lucky we are when education, experience, and contacts help us move into and toward work we can love. To me, it's something to remember when schools are in danger of losing funding, and the creative arts are dropped. A broad education is the key to a future with options like we have!

[Camille Minichino]

Work, yes! Some jobs I've had were less fun than others -- working in a factory as I approached my 40th b'day was not fun, for example -- but I always would still rather be working than not working. For the wages, yes, but also for a reason to get up and dressed.

[Ann Parker]

Hi Susan!
That's true... a broad education allows for lots of options and moving around, which appears to be the way things are going these days. I suspect that, for those entering the workforce, few and far between will be the ones who stay in one place/one job for 30 years.
And, interesting thing: I just read in the newspapers today that a few universities (Stanford was prominently mentioned) are working hard to reignite students' interests in the liberal arts...

[Ann Parker]

Hi Camille!
Yep, you and I are of the same mindset. :-) And I recall my past minimum wage jobs--kitchen help in restaurants, maid at summer resort--as mostly "just passing through." But one of my most favorite jobs of old was working as a librarian's aide at the old Castro Valley Library, back in the Dark Ages. Shelving books, surrounded by books, ... it was heaven (and a lot of fun).

[Margaret Lucke]

Ah, the joys of the freelance/consultant world! Some clients and projects I've been passionate about, others ... well, not so much. But I agree that we're lucky when we find our work to be fun and can have a workstyle (our lifestyle during working hours) that we enjoy.

[Ann Parker]

Amen, Peggy! :-) Although, I'd have to say, that even a regular 9-5 job would be okay. Being unemployed was a very humbling experience, and made me appreciate work in all its (billable) forms.