Thursday, March 31, 2011

Heigh ho, heigh ho ...

It's off to work I go.  Tomorrow, in fact, if such a thing is really possible.

I think I'm even okay with the concept.  It might even be good, to have a purpose to my days beyond how long I spend ont the beach and which yoga class I go to before lunch at which cafe. 

People make a difference, of course -- it makes a work day so much more enjoyable if you get to spend it surrounded by good people.  I got a chance to visit with some of my old coworkers this week, and they're a pretty good bunch.   Travel gives you the chance to meet some fantastic people -- locals and other travellers -- but it's nice to spend time with people I already know.

And I'm thinking it's a good thing, even, to challenge my brain in ways it hasn't been challenged for a while; use the analytical left side instead of the free-thinking creative right that I've put to work writing fiction this year.  I might even find it fun going back to all those numbers (remember I'm in finance, after all -- and I`m a math geek to boot).

I am much clearer now than I once was that having work that is challenging and interesting is important to me; it's all well and good to say work-life balance is important (and it is), but for whatever hours I choose to spend at work I want it to be doing something that pushes me, tests my limits and puts whatever talents I have to good use. And yes, I'm okay with the notion that a sense of professional accomplishment is important to me; I`m unlikely to turn into a barista at Starbucks any time soon. 

I'm also much clearer that having work with meaning is important to me; I don't think that I will ever choose to go back to the singleminded pursuit of the bottom line that ultimately drives the private sector.  I don't know, for sure, whether I want to stay in government or seek something else, but it's a pretty good place to go back to at least for a while.

And hey, I get paid again, which can only be a good thing.  I`ve got to pay for that new pair of shoes somehow ...

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