Internet Addiction... or is that too broad a term?
So very few people really enjoy their jobs… that’s just a fact of life. I’m dealing with it by enmeshing myself in every single thing that interests me via clubs, professional associations, and college courses. I’ve decided that while I have a job that pays (and pays much more than I really need to survive), I’m going to use their generous education benefits to keep seeking a way to:
A) Turn my general interests into real skills
B) Specialize those interests and skills until I’m proficient enough for someone to be willing to pay me to do it.
C) Say to myself, “F*ck it, the money will come from somewhere, I’m not starving, and I don’t have to take care of anyone but me for now,” and jump headfirst into a brand new career, at entry level salary.
I’m currently taking pre-med classes at the local community college, because I know I have the energy and the smarts to make it through med school, and I think when I’m 60 I’d look back on a career as a doctor fulfilling. I would do really well with patients, I would meet a lot of great people, and I won’t lie; I wouldn’t mind the respect that comes along with the title. At the very least it’s gotta get me laid from time to time.
From when I was little though, I’ve always been fascinated by electronics. I took stuff apart. I put it back together. I blew some stuff up… ya know. When I was in Iraq back in ’03 I filled in the dull moments by designing my own home automation systems on paper, and when I got home I googled how-to’s to my heart’s content. I discovered that looking at what other people had done was good and great, and completely different from what I had in mind. I did what most people who face reality and roadblocks: I moved on. Now I’m getting back into it, and I’m realizing… just because home automation has been done, and just because no matter how cool it is, it hasn’t caught on… it’s probably because engineers are inventing this stuff and aren’t bothering to make it mainstream… why isn’t it in every single home? This shit is EASY to design, it’s CHEAP to make, and if it was marketed right, it would BE in every single home… And the cost vs. savings of installing some really basic stuff is astounding. It literally pays for itself within months. So I’m going to learn… and I’m thinking about inventing some of my own systems and making a business model. Hell, both my parents own their own companies, both of them are indirectly related to housing… I have all the cards aligned to take off with it.
On to the premise of this whole entry… Everyone hates their job. I don’t particularly hate mine. It’s boring, but it affords me the time to write ridiculously long stream-of-consciousness journal entries, so it can’t be all that bad. I was doing REALLY well here; I’ve gotten 3 achievement awards, and I got a promotion and 16% raise all within my first year here. There was a lull in work for about 3 months… I’d come in, there was no issues coming in from my posts, and I’d just sit idle, waiting for real work to do. I even started asking for extra projects to do, but the actual real amount of work trickled down to what I’d estimate to be about 30 min/week. So I did what anyone would do; I started googling stuff. Now I think it’s safe to say I’m kinda addicted to the internet. It’s interfering with work (now that I have work to do). I don’t mean a little… I mean that most of my day is spent on gchat, wired.com, instructables.com, the drudge report, etc… I can’t tear myself away… Only at work though… when I’m home, I’m internet free. Alright, I’m bored with this now.
A) Turn my general interests into real skills
B) Specialize those interests and skills until I’m proficient enough for someone to be willing to pay me to do it.
C) Say to myself, “F*ck it, the money will come from somewhere, I’m not starving, and I don’t have to take care of anyone but me for now,” and jump headfirst into a brand new career, at entry level salary.
I’m currently taking pre-med classes at the local community college, because I know I have the energy and the smarts to make it through med school, and I think when I’m 60 I’d look back on a career as a doctor fulfilling. I would do really well with patients, I would meet a lot of great people, and I won’t lie; I wouldn’t mind the respect that comes along with the title. At the very least it’s gotta get me laid from time to time.
From when I was little though, I’ve always been fascinated by electronics. I took stuff apart. I put it back together. I blew some stuff up… ya know. When I was in Iraq back in ’03 I filled in the dull moments by designing my own home automation systems on paper, and when I got home I googled how-to’s to my heart’s content. I discovered that looking at what other people had done was good and great, and completely different from what I had in mind. I did what most people who face reality and roadblocks: I moved on. Now I’m getting back into it, and I’m realizing… just because home automation has been done, and just because no matter how cool it is, it hasn’t caught on… it’s probably because engineers are inventing this stuff and aren’t bothering to make it mainstream… why isn’t it in every single home? This shit is EASY to design, it’s CHEAP to make, and if it was marketed right, it would BE in every single home… And the cost vs. savings of installing some really basic stuff is astounding. It literally pays for itself within months. So I’m going to learn… and I’m thinking about inventing some of my own systems and making a business model. Hell, both my parents own their own companies, both of them are indirectly related to housing… I have all the cards aligned to take off with it.
On to the premise of this whole entry… Everyone hates their job. I don’t particularly hate mine. It’s boring, but it affords me the time to write ridiculously long stream-of-consciousness journal entries, so it can’t be all that bad. I was doing REALLY well here; I’ve gotten 3 achievement awards, and I got a promotion and 16% raise all within my first year here. There was a lull in work for about 3 months… I’d come in, there was no issues coming in from my posts, and I’d just sit idle, waiting for real work to do. I even started asking for extra projects to do, but the actual real amount of work trickled down to what I’d estimate to be about 30 min/week. So I did what anyone would do; I started googling stuff. Now I think it’s safe to say I’m kinda addicted to the internet. It’s interfering with work (now that I have work to do). I don’t mean a little… I mean that most of my day is spent on gchat, wired.com, instructables.com, the drudge report, etc… I can’t tear myself away… Only at work though… when I’m home, I’m internet free. Alright, I’m bored with this now.