Life update

Hey y'all, in case any of you was wondering why I'm no longer posting as regularly as I used to, the reason is that I got a job. I've been working at a restaurant which name I don't want to disclose in case I get in trouble for something although it's not that I'm going to through shit at it or anything, but just in case. Let's just call it The Potato House. I've been working at The Potato House here in Wellington for the past couple of weeks. And today I quit. I know, that was fast. But before any of you starts pointing fingers and accusing me of not being able to take it - well, that's partly true. But the main reason why I quit is that I found another job. Let me sum it up for you. I applied at The Potato House after about a month of job hunting. Since we settled down in Welly, both Giac and I have been looking for jobs - any jobs. We handed in our CVs in every cafè and restaurant we could find, while also applying for positions at more 9 to 5 kind of office jobs. With a degree in Engineering, from the very beginning it was pretty clear that it would have been way easier for Giac to find a proper job rather than for me, with my Publishing background and my "I want to make art" attitude. But anyway, I did end up getting a job at The Potato House, which I was pretty excited about cos I love The Potato House and I used to go there all the time back in London. (Does this give it away? Well it's a chain ok?)

I started working and liked it. At the beginning I was doing a bit of everything cos I had to learn and I was being trained as a host, at the bar, as a runner and eventually as a server. There was so much to take in but my colleagues were super nice and supportive at the beginning and that made it easier to get over the bits I didn't like. However, after the first week I realised that this kind of job just wasn't for me. I know that before moving to New Zealand I kept on saying I didn't want to go back to an office job straight away and I'd be looking for more dynamic and active jobs where I could talk to people instead of staring at a screen eight hours a day. But guess what? Turned out I'm not that much of a people person after all. I'm terrible at small talk and have no idea how to entertain guests. In general, what I didn't like about the job was how unpredictable it was: you can't plan around it because you don't know what your next shifts are gonna be like, and for that matter you also don't have a stable paycheck because that depends on how many hours you work per week. Also, the hours were killing me. In fact, the most difficult thing for me to handle was the fact that my daily schedule was completely messed up. Meal times became random, most days I ended up having dinner at midnight and skipping breakfast the day after because I didn't digest dinner, and then starving by lunch time, which only happened around 3pm. My stomach is a wreck already and that was not something I could go through with.

I know what you're thinking: surely you knew all these things before signing the contract? I sure did. I also thought I could handle it. Turned out I can't. But that's not the end of the world. I still like The Potato House and will surely go back for dinner soon. In fact, please be aware that THIS IS NOT A RANT AGAINST THE POTATO HOUSE. Any restaurant job is like that. All I'm saying is that this is not for me.

On the positive side, I was lucky enough to meet a bunch of wonderful people with whom I share many interests and I'm overall very grateful for this whole experience. One of them was extremely supportive of my blog and her lovely message made me happy beyond words.

Having said all this, I was able to leave The Potato House because in the meantime I was actually offered another job. I'm not going to disclose much about it just yet, but let's just say it's a position that I'm sure will suit me better in a company whose values I resonate with more. All these recent changes got me thinking. I see more and more people quitting their jobs to do what they love - which is great. I think if you have the privilege to be in a position that allows you to go and follow your passions, you're the luckiest person in the world. I'm happy about my new position because I believe it will allow me to keep some mental space to dedicate to my own interests (this blog, my zine, my art, writing in general). I also have the privilege to do what I love, and I'm aware of that. I'll make my best to never take it from granted.

Conclusion: Change is ok. Do what you love. Make sure you find a job that reflects your passions and your values, and that also leaves you enough time and space to keep up with your passions. The world is full of opportunities and it's up to us to make the most out of them.