tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18829500.post114272246552436816..comments2023-10-11T10:40:48.712-04:00Comments on The Miserable Annals of the Earth: Phoning it inDoc Nebulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13052810933464744998noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18829500.post-1143028061927421212006-03-22T06:47:00.000-05:002006-03-22T06:47:00.000-05:00I disagree, but not without qualification.I was re...I disagree, but not without qualification.<BR/><BR/>I was referring to a career, not a job. While I don't know anyone who is completely happy with their job, most people I know are happy with their career choice. Those who aren't, like me, are actively trying to change careers. <BR/><BR/>I often joke that I don't like people, which is why I choose a career with machines. That is disingenuous. I guess it is ego, but I do enjoy it when I enter an office and people say things like, "Thank God you are here!" or "Please help me, I don't know what to do." And they frequently feed me snacks, which is always a nice bonus. Somewhere, a rumor or myth was started that if you provide food for computer technicians, you will get better service. <BR/><BR/>As for the lottery/inheritance comment, please. I expected more from you. It is not an issue of working or not working. The issue is working in this field or that one.<BR/><BR/>I work in the field I choose. This is what I wanted to do. I work for an organization that I choose. I certainly don't feel trapped by circumstances (however, I do often feel trapped by my own stupidity and the poor choices that I made, but that is a different conversation). The only circumstance that controls me is my health. Needing over $700 of perscriptions a month is daunting. With my insurance, I only pay $32. That is what keeps me at my current job. I don't see that as a "trap", though it does limit my choices.<BR/><BR/>You have my sympathy. Not knowing your circumstances, I will accept your contention that you have no choice in your career. That is a pity. <BR/><BR/>I can understand your frustration with writing. I'm going to attend a writing conference in a couple of weeks, and I'll be meeting with 1 of the 5 agents in attendance. I don't know if they are hungry, however, I can't imagine they are coming to Allentown, PA for shits and giggles. <BR/><BR/>They are out there.Juliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02216365213708551330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18829500.post-1142941540366580202006-03-21T06:45:00.000-05:002006-03-21T06:45:00.000-05:00Hmmm. Well, if I don't enjoy customer service, I'...Hmmm. Well, if I don't enjoy customer service, I'm hardly the only one. I can't think of a single person I work with who would show up for work the morning following them being told they'd gotten any other job that paid them at least as much money, leave alone sudden inheritance/winning lottery ticket scenarios. I cannot tell you the number of times I've heard the people in the cubicles around me tell me how much they loathe their jobs. I can tell you I've never once heard anyone on the phones in a call center say they liked or enjoyed their job, much less loved it... and if I ever heard anyone saying such a thing, I'd either suspect them of irony or sincerely believe they'd gone off their medication.<BR/><BR/>Very few people have the luxury of choosing what they will do for a living. Most of us end up trapped by circumstances... an economy that is more and more service oriented, combined with really bad choices made in my youth, has all resulted in me ending up apparently only employable in call centers. <BR/><BR/>I have one gift, pretty much, and a talent for writing well doesn't mean much in the current market, where even wonderfully gifted and marketable writers like Lois McMaster Bujold need a friend on the inside to get them their first break.<BR/><BR/>Barring being able to do the one thing I'm really good at for a living, it's hard to think of a job I could get out there that I'd enjoy. Customer service is dreadfully stressful, and providing it to a lot of spoiled snotty wretches who make more money than I do and who are primarily in my queues because they don't want to pay their taxes, certainly taxes my empathy. But what in the name of God makes you think I've 'chosen' it as a career? Point me in the direction of a good literary agent or a hungry assistant editor who is looking for someone who can type marketable prose in a big hurry, and watch my smoke.Doc Nebulahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13052810933464744998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18829500.post-1142910683983773712006-03-20T22:11:00.000-05:002006-03-20T22:11:00.000-05:00You really don't seem to enjoy customer service. ...You really don't seem to enjoy customer service. Is there a masochistic reason you've chosen this as a career?Juliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02216365213708551330noreply@blogger.com