一月十七日小記
Ever since I started working full time (that is, 8 hours a day, 5 days a week), I always think that I have the potential to be a workaholic. Yes, I have that potential and I just need a job that lets me unleash that potential. Given that the jobs I had allowed me to get off work at 5pm, and I didn’t need to think about work once I stepped out of the office, I actually wanted to have a job that gives me an opportunity to being a workaholic. While I use this word workaholic, it is a bit exaggerating. I meant to say someone that is dedicated to his/her work and work long hours. Maybe work overtime sometimes, for example.
After all these years, I finally have a job that allows me to be a workaholic. I have worked on eight weekends consecutively. Not all day and two days of the weekend, but at least two to three hours to start with. (I thought it’s six weeks, but it’s actually eight weeks after I recounted it.) I also get to work overtime on a weekday sometimes. I started to feel lucky or appreciate it if I get to leave the office on the dart. The long hours sure are tiring. Don’t get me wrong. It’s the amount of time and brain energy spent that makes me tired. Sometimes when I got home, I am so tired I don’t want to cook even though I felt so ambitious that I bought some veggies for cooking on the weekend. When I got home, I am so tired that I just have enough energy to cook instant noodles. Yeah, healthy, isn’t it?! The verb cook is not even used correctly. After all, that’s something that doesn’t need to be cooked. Anyway, sometimes I just sit on a chair and stare into a blank space. Then after eating something, I probably need to work on something work related. That’s why I bought a new laptop and a smartphone, my very first smart phone, just so that I can work more and always be on top of things. It’s survival. You snooze, you lose. A colleague just jokingly said, “You gave up an easy life to come here, and now you work 24 hours.” A former coworker of mine, who has been very supportive of me said, “At least it’s a good experience. You tried something new instead of just staying put.” (Those are not the exact words, but that’s the gist.) I get to appreciate a weekend that I don’t need to reply work email. I now understand why people don’t like to work long hours all the time. I now understand why people think that being able to get off work at 5pm and have an easy job is nice. Okay, so how can I work long hours without feeling dog tired?

