Ambition. Jobs. Get money. The End.

Unless you are lucky enough to be making a living doing what you LOVE - it's a *job*. Get money. Go home.

There was a time in my life when I had an ego about "jobs" - ie. where I worked, how it looked to the rest of the world, how much money I was making, etc. etc. Recent life experience has taught me otherwise. In December of 2009 I was as financially destitute as I have ever been. January-August I was delivering pies for a major nationwide pizza chain. Now I'm working as an instructional designer, using my "degree," and the contract ends in a little over a month.

I remember being in my recruiter's office before I was hired for my current position. She was young. She was excited. She was going on and on about her career ambitions...how she wanted to ultimately be the *best* (paraprhased) "...senior vice president in charge of something-something-multimedia instructional-something-sales and development-blah-blah for the southeast regional business unit level-something-x with a concentration in oligopoly..." that she could be!

Who grows up thinking that? I wanted to be a police officer. ROFL not so much anymore.

Actually, I wanted to be a Lego expert or a Nintendo game tester.

What got me thinking about all of this? I read the job postings on Craigslist every day. All I see are a thousand qualifications required and a million hoops to jump through for: pennies on the dollar; a comfy chair; and a moon roof (oh, and the company only pays for half). I really do pity recent college grads. To enter a job market like this, an economy like this, with no experience...makes me shivver.

If I could, I would tell them all, "Ask yourselves what's most important to you. Then taylor everything else in your life to serve that end. Because they will have you chasing paper, chasing titles and brass rings, and driving you to drink. And in the end, you will have wasted years, and they will have made a fortune."

Bottom line: my priorities are my music, and the people I love. Aside from that? I get money, and I go home.

Anecdote from a CVS

My girlfriend and I were at CVS waiting in the check-out line, and sitting in one of the chairs at the Pharmacy counter was a co-ed who had obviously just graduated from UNC. She was also talking on her mobile, at full volume, about every detail of her life for the last 3 days. At first i was annoyed. Then I began to feel like I was on some reality show and the camera was rolling. Maybe I am. "And OMG, do you know what she SAID about me? I was like, really hurt, you know???" I began to remember college. The more things change, the more they stay the same. She concluded her conversation with the following: "So then they played 'Carolina In My Mind', and like, I just lost it. OMG." They play that at EVERY UNC graduation. James Taylor was a UNC grad. No big shock. (Mr. Rogers spoke at my commencement, no lie. We all sang "Won't you be my neighbor." No one lost it, I don't think.) ...and the kicker: "So I was like, OMG college is over, what's left of my life?" LOL!!!! :) I wanted to grab her phone, point at the cashier - and the customer - and say, "Absolutely NOTHING. You're either going to serve, or you're going to GET served." JG