what is going on in my life: work
i guess i don't actually talk about that very often, do i? i was going to do this all in one post, but it got too long. so here's part one.
work
as of monday i am legally employed by my parents' business, design paving. i've been working for them under the table for about three years now--mostly doing (computer-generated) mock-ups of potential projects, but also other stuff like transporting materials (roughly six hours round-trip, ick), preparing records for doing the taxes (so not smart enough to actually do them myself), and maintaining the website (i'm even partially responsible* for its design). now i'm also the official bookkeeper, which basically means i have to learn quickbooks, microsoft office, and federal and tri-state tax requirements for small businesses inside and out in about a month. (i spent all yesterday morning fighting with the PA department of labor and industry's website to find out that i can't find out what i needed to find out on the website.)
in a way it feels good, a) to have a real job and b) to realize that i actually, functionally, have had a real job for the last few years--that what i've been doing really does count as work, that i haven't just been fucking around living at home and occasionally doing "favors" for my family because i feel guilty. on the other hand, this is not what i want to do with my life. running a business is intellectually engaging and definitely rewarding--i do actually enjoy what i do--but i know i would be miserable if i tried to make it my career. and that in turn would make my parents miserable. i like my parents too much to work for them for the rest of my life. i've seen what happens; it's not pretty.
*my brother did all the code, as well as... well, basically everything else even remotely difficult.
work
as of monday i am legally employed by my parents' business, design paving. i've been working for them under the table for about three years now--mostly doing (computer-generated) mock-ups of potential projects, but also other stuff like transporting materials (roughly six hours round-trip, ick), preparing records for doing the taxes (so not smart enough to actually do them myself), and maintaining the website (i'm even partially responsible* for its design). now i'm also the official bookkeeper, which basically means i have to learn quickbooks, microsoft office, and federal and tri-state tax requirements for small businesses inside and out in about a month. (i spent all yesterday morning fighting with the PA department of labor and industry's website to find out that i can't find out what i needed to find out on the website.)
in a way it feels good, a) to have a real job and b) to realize that i actually, functionally, have had a real job for the last few years--that what i've been doing really does count as work, that i haven't just been fucking around living at home and occasionally doing "favors" for my family because i feel guilty. on the other hand, this is not what i want to do with my life. running a business is intellectually engaging and definitely rewarding--i do actually enjoy what i do--but i know i would be miserable if i tried to make it my career. and that in turn would make my parents miserable. i like my parents too much to work for them for the rest of my life. i've seen what happens; it's not pretty.
*my brother did all the code, as well as... well, basically everything else even remotely difficult.