Starting Over: "Pleasure's All on This Side of the Table"

Ever wonder what it would be like to start over again? Like the young woman who recently and quite publicly switched gears career-wise via YouTube (see here: Girl Quits Job on YouTube and subsequently offered a job by Queen Latifah!)... a relationship gone south, or maybe you just wake up one morning and decide to make that big change you've been dreaming of the last month/year/decade? Maybe it's expected or you're blind-sided by it... whatever the case may be you're faced with that "what the shit do I do now" moment. Not all of us are fortunate enough to be able to wake up one morning and no longer have a care in the world like Peter Gibbons does in the classic take-this-job-and-shove-it flick Office Space. But I bet my once employee-sponsored 401K plan that a few of you reading this have so desperately wanted to give your boss the ole' middle-finger salute a time or two!

"Have you seen my stapler?" Office Space ~ © 2005 Buzztone" 

Which way do I go?

Lost my job over the summer and at the time I was pretty freaked out over it.. it had been a helluva year, not just at my property but for the student-housing industry in general. I had learned so much there and truly value the experience. Even had dreams of moving up in the company after getting another year or so under my belt. On the other hand, the job was particularly stressful and I didn't want my best years to be wasted away at the property level only to end up that bitter old crotchety landlord everybody makes fun of and secretly wishes would fall off the side of a cruise ship. And, to be honest my feelers were a little hurt when I first heard the property was being sold. I began asking myself what did I do wrong and what should I have done differently. After torturing myself a little while I finally stopped obsessing over the Why? and started looking at it as a GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY! At what though?! Fortunately, I already have a bachelors degree.. and no desire to rack up more student loans. And who has an extra 10 or 20 thousand lying around to spend on more education?? Not I, said the little red hen...

Just to get that chance, whether it be your choice or not, to hit reset and boom! Just like that.. change the game. Would you squander it away and take the first opportunity that comes a knockin' ..or go with Aunt Sue or cousin Bill's latest suggestion? "Why dont'cha just go back to school and finish that Basket Weaving degree!" or "Hey, it's never too late to join the circus!" Maybe you've had some second chances in life that passed you by. If so, do you regret not spending time to really figure out where your true passion lies? You may be sittin' there right now agonizing over what you're "supposed" to be doing with your life... maybe you're a husband or father (or both) and feel the Mt. Everest amount of pressure that if you're not working some ridiculously stressful job then you must be the most selfish son-of-a-bitch on the planet. And, your family and friends and people you shouldn't even give a shit about what they think of you are all looking at you with those judgmental eyes screaming, "What the hell's wrong with you anyways? Why can't you be more like your brother, Cephus down at the chicken plant? Why, he was awarded 'Employee of the Stoop' just last week...blah, blah, blah " and other unsupportive banter.

Alas, along with many of the other 7.3% of Americans currently unemployed I now find myself wondering what role I'll be playing in the next episode. That can be quite scary in this uncertain time-nugget of American history we currently find ourselves in. However, I am hopeful and feel very fortunate for what I do have. I've the utmost confidence I will persevere and find that fulfilling new job title in due time.. who knows, maybe I'll find the pot 'o gold at the end of the rainbow along the way! In the meantime I guess I'll have to keep networking...  and maybe brush up on my fax machine bashing skills. Knew I should've grabbed that annoying printer out of the computer lab before my last day.

Anyway, it's been really nice talkin' to you guys...gotta meeting with the Bob's in a few.

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lori_greig/5331407245/">Lori Greig</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">cc</a>, http://www.starpulse.com/Movies/Office_Space/gallery/Office-Space-4/, http://goofycabal.deviantart.com/art/Employee-of-the-Month-Poster-144920435