It's A Living

This weekend I attended a party with an East Coast theme. Because of the space center, most of the people in this part of Houston are transplants. Many of my friends come from New England and spend a lot of their time being homesick. My friend V opened up his house, so I left Luke with M, put on my Red Sox jersey and headed out. It was fun, although I could only drink water since I had to drive myself.

Here is the obligatory alcohol shot. Yes, that big bottle of JD was empty by 9:30pm.



Fudgie the Whale and Cookie Puss made an appearance. I have no clue where V got them in this area. Knowing him, he paid an obscene amount of money to have them shipped, although I do not appreciate the writing on Cookie Puss. Considering the season that the Yankees are having, I'll let it go.



A few months ago my company was awarded a very prestigious contract to built the next suit. We unseated a very large and powerful company in the process. As we expected, they filed a protest. We were issued a stop work order and have been waiting for the whole issue to be resolved. It has been, sort of. You can read about it here.

As a result, things at work have been very slow. Right after we won everything was insane. We were reading resumes, interviewing and trying to talk people into moving to Houston, which is no easy feat in the middle of summer. It's all come to a complete halt and while there are some housekeeping type things that I am glad to have time to take care of, I feel a little under stimulated. I always wanted to be the type of person that had a job that was more than just a paycheck. I wanted to really like what I did for a living. I do like HR. It's not always very exciting, but there are some aspects that I find interesting. It's not my dream job, though. My dream jobs are jobs that I would do if I was independently wealthy and did not have to worry about steady income or job security.

Ethnomusicologist - Collecting folk songs and spending hours in libraries - heaven!!

Lounge Singer - I would get to sing all of the standards and wear slinky dresses. Hopefully the lounge would be smoke free.

Talent Scout for an Independent Record Label - Find new bands and go to lots of concerts!

I struggle with the feeling that I am a big sell out, but the practicalities of life make it hard not to be. Being a lounge singer would be great, but the hours and pay don't really do much to provide a stable home for your child. Maybe this is a good lesson for me. For too long I was my job. I lost sleep over the days events and part of my mind was always in the classroom. I'm not sure that's the healthiest way to live. I think that finding an identity that is different than what you do from 8-5 everyday is a good thing. Maybe I'll be a lounge singer on the side. As long as we're daydreaming, what is your dream job(s)?