Working For The Weekend
So, I used to view my weekend time as kind of... "I'll catch up on things over the weekend."
I feel as though that's changing. I feel like the weekend is more of a let loose and have fun time. I'd like to also work more on music related projects over the weekend. Some weekends I'm going to plan lots of events... I've been really into lots of events lately. I'm not sure if I'm just feeling the whole spring is here vibe that everyone seems to be sharing... Or I don't know. But I feel more on the go and energized lately. Other weekends... I won't plan much of anything and I'll just get more down to business with music recording, or trying to push through and finally finish this book of mine that I'm writing.
So, like today for example... I got up, got ready for work, made a french pressed cup of coffee for my insulated 16 ounce Klean Kanteen coffee and tea container and then went off to work. Lately I've switched to coffee in the morning... I used to do black tea... Then green tea... Then coffee after work. Before that it was mostly green tea.
I've been playing around with the order of those drinks. I find that coffee, especially a nice fancy french pressed roast that I can sip through the morning, really boosts my emotions and work productivity. I've been at the same job for 10 years... Obviously that has its ups and downs. It's complicated. I mostly stayed because of my mom and to be able to help her out. While her stuff is still nearing the tail end of still being in the works as far as her estate and the trusts and such... Once all that is settled... and then perhaps after another year or so... We'll see where I'm at in life. I might decide to get super serious about music and books. I might decide to get super serious about the IT world and try to hop jobs to a company with more upwards mobility and opportunities. I'm not sure yet. Yes, it's a little stagnant with working the same job for a long period of time without any real upward mobility. I mean, I've been there 10 years... but I do a lot more now than when I first started. My tasks have definitely evolved over the years to more advanced and complex things... Mostly because I just start doing it when no one else does... So I just kind of take the initiative and say... Eh, I'll just do it...
Here's the thing...
A) I like the job. The people are nice. It's not too hard or stressful.
B) I have my own investments. And those will continue to increase... Especially once I've got more money from the trust and my mom's estate. I'll put that all into a solid mix of dividend income producing long term stocks, bonds, ETFs and other growth and income investments. So that effectively gives me a raise on top of my base salary at work.
C) Some people live to work... I work to live. I use my salary for base bills. It's not my dream job. Sure, I enjoy it... But my passions are music and books. While I do have some income starting to come in from music in recent years... It's not enough to just go do that full time. One day I hope to start an entire media company and make music, write books, and work on movies full time, even do some venture capitalist type start up stuff maybe too. For now the IT gig at the college is low key enough that I can pursue my passions... And I can live relatively stress free and go out on the town and have fun.
Basically I'm in a unique position where I can live a higher standard of living than my paycheck because I'm standing on the backs of giants. And I realize that. I am very thankful every day that I've been given what I have been given.
So, back to the coffee... I know is that a morning cup of coffee has done wonders for my mood and work productivity. After that runs out I move to green tea, then black tea and cocoa nibs to keep me going until bed. Then I switch off the caffeine and hit up the herbal teas.
Now on the weekends I'm more about trying out craft beers and various wines. The weekends... they're for that. So here's where I'm kind of starting to change my life outlook/lifestyle. Previously in my life I really used to kind kind of meander through my week and push everything to do over the weekend. But, I'm starting to realize that weekends are sometimes tough to get going in the morning. So why fight inertia? If my natural tendency is to just let loose come weekend...
Heck, it's not just MY natural tendency... It's a whole culture thing in this world we live in. The weekend is for unwinding. For socializing for beer and wine and friends and conversations. And the week is for getting work done. For focusing on the tasks at hand and pushing through so that you can just have some fun over the weekend.
So instead... My week days are more recently more of a GO GO GO from dawn to dusk. I do house chores, clean inside, yard work outside... I take care of administrative things like bills and emails to the attorneys and such.
I went after work to grab more dry and wet food for the cats after work and then on to yoga right after. Then I did some yard work with the last bit of sun.
Then I cleaned the turtle tank and made dinner. Packed my lunch for tomorrow, did some dishes...
That will be my Monday through Thursday. Come Friday... I'll just make it a goal to do fun things and go out. I love to figure out ways to do more with less. I love efficiency... just better ways to do things around the house and in life and at work.
My week days are filled with work, coffee, tea, yoga... runs... House work and yard work. Practicing music. Bills... Administrative emails related to my mom's estate and the trusts. Etc. etc. Cat things, changing litter, and making sure they have food and water and such.
Practicing music for my upcoming show, and hopefully more other shows... and working on recording music and the book...
I'm kind of adopting the slogan of something like...
Week days are for... GO GO GO! And weekends are for SLOW SLOW SLOW.
People change as they age and make their way through life. I feel like I'm sort of turning a corner where I'm changing from a slow paced leisurely walk to more of a jog... I'd like to work my way up to a much faster paced run. I feel like I want to be the one in charge of my life going forward and really fill it jam packed with a lot of things.
It's strange... Ever since my mom passed it's been kind of like, I was helping her steer... And when she passed.... "Here... Take the wheel!"
And I'm like "What? Wait... But... How does this work... Wait... Hmm whoa... I got this."
I probably shouldn't admit this... Because I'm fairly certain it was illegal at the time... But the statue of limitations have long since passed... Since it was in the 80s that this happened... So... I'll tell it anyway... My mom used to take us out as little kids in our family Dodge van. We had this huge van that we'd use to travel across the country. When we were little kids in California she'd take us out around the neighborhood and let us take turns sitting on her lap while she drove around and we would pretend to steer. Every now and then she'd let us steer entirely only for a few seconds... Then she'd take the wheel again.
When your parent leaves for good... It's like they are no longer there to take the wheel back. That's it. It's just you and the car. And when you look in that review mirror you see them siting in the back seat waving at you. Or just smiling. They don't comment on anything. They don't say a word. They just sit there smiling and looking at you. But it's all up to you. It's scary at first... But now it's kind of becoming old hat. I guess everything is scary at first. But eventually... The hat gets old and worn and you wear it like it's always been on your head.
Every day I'm feeling more and more like... I got this. I used to dread giving the cats Curio her little green pill and Fluff her white pill. I'd do it anyways but I was terrible at it... And I always knew it was only for a few days or a week or two while my mom was in the hospital... And then my mom would be back home and well enough to take over again... Now, we're a team. It's cake.
Before I only stepped in when she was weak or sick... But now it's all me.
And... I feel like I'm starting to really grow into it.
I used to be like... Blah... I don't want to do this stuff. I just want to bang on my drum all day. And while I still would just like to bang on my drum all day...
I've realized there's never going to be a.... One day I won't have to deal with this and I'll just be able to make music or whatever...
Nope. There's always going to be life and administrative things to handle. You just have to get better at time management and finding time to balance the stuff you love with the things in life that need to be taken care of.
Life... Handle that... Will ya?
Yo... I got this! No prob. This stuff is cake.
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