Tuesday, July 16, 2002

I got up today feeling much better. Both ankles look (and feel) good. My knees don't ache today. I've a little pain in my right wrist because of my mouse pad, which I will replace as soon as I can.

Life is good.

And yes, I do have a good life. I probably don't say it often enough between the snarly stuff about novels that are not getting finished fast enough, or heat waves with the AC out. Or the fact that I can't seem to get to this one little town down in southwestern Nebraska for some world building.

But you know, in the scheme of things, that's not bad at all.

I see so many people wasting their lives away in unhappy jobs and relationships, and I sit back and wonder what the hell they think they're doing. They will never get that time back. I don't mean 'oh we had a bad day' so it's time to quit this job. Or 'Oh, we argued about the new car for a whole week' time to get a divorce. I mean people who go on for years in situations where they are unhappy and where they have to know it's not going to get better. What do they think they'll get out of it? Martyr awards? Do they think that sticking with a job where they are treated like shit is going to get them the big break?

Sometimes I think people let this happen because then they can be self-righteous and prove what good people they are by putting up with it. I can't believe that they are all blind to the fact that their bosses are not ever going to suddenly look at all the work they've done and say 'hey, you know, here's all those raises you should have had.'

It's never going to work that way. At best you will end up, like the woman down the street, in the HR department trying to explain how you've been a good little worker and bowed your head every time the assistant manager slapped you on the butt or made a rude and sexual comment about your body. Why you, the person who has worked the longest with this person, never did anything about it.

They aren't going to give her the martyr award, by the way. At best, she might keep her job... but since she was willing to sit still for all of this for three long years -- which encouraged the person to just keep doing it with others -- they are likely going to think that maybe she deserves what she got -- because stupid and martyr do not equal the same things.

And why did she stay? Well, she had put all that time into the job already. It was close to home. She didn't like to look for work. It was only a job...

It's a life, people. Everything you do is part of your life, and if you let people walk all over you because it's easier, or you have some skewed vision of 'doing the right thing' then there's not much hope it will get better.

You are never going to get that time back. And you're never going to get your dignity back if you can't even stand up and say 'time to move on' and find something better.

Go for it. Enjoy life. This is your only chance to save this day.

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