Today is my last day at the most fun job I’ve ever had in my life. I’m going back to a mundane answering-phones-in-a-cubicle job because, frankly, it’s less stressful.
As some of you may know, I’m working on my master’s degree in English, so I can go teach college. I don’t know why, but I’ve done it part-time for several years and that’s what I want to do with the rest of my life. I want to build something that will live for a time after I’m gone.
Well, I’m into my final semester of classes, and Spring Semester will be devoted to writing my master’s thesis, then it’s all over but the finding a job part. Meanwhile, the radio station where I work is getting ready to launch a whole new programming lineup, and it included huge parts for me. I looked at the schedule and the amount of detail involved and realized there was no way I could finish my master’s degree AND help launch the new programming, and do justice to either of them.
I’m gonna’ miss radio – we get paid pretty well to be smart-asses on the air and basically surf the internet looking for “show prep” material. On the other hand, I had to get up at 4:00 every morning, and usually put in 10- to 12-hour days. And there were the ruined holidays and weekends and cancelled vacations when the transmitter blew a tube or a virus melted our computer network. There was a time when I thrived on that kind of stress, ate it for lunch and asked for more, but no longer. The stress level was so high it made me physically ill for most of August, and my doctor seriously wanted to prescribe mood-altering drugs.
The call center stuff is easy, it’s a set 8-hours-a-day shift five days a week, it’s 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and I can swap a weekday off for a Saturday any time I want to. I’ll be able to focus on the research and writing without worrying about something at work pulling me away.
So, on to the next phase. But I sure am gonna’ miss these clowns!
