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January 29, 2015
So, funny story. A few months before I published Wage Slave Rebellion, I got laid off from my job. I’m sorry for not mentioning it until now. It’s not out of shame, nor a desire to keep parts of my life private. I do intend to keep some elements of my life private, but such a key detail isn’t among them. As for shame, do you really think someone who wrote a book called Wage Slave Rebellion—and those italics were for emphasis—was happy with his job? Possibly,...
January 22, 2015
We’re often told as children that, if we are to work as a cashier at a fast food restaurant, we should be the best damn cashier at a fast food restaurant we can possibly be; if we are to be a janitor, we should be the best damn janitor; if we are to mow lawns, we should be the best lawn mower we can be. I was never able to do that. It rings so hallow, wanting us to put forth so much...
September 2, 2014
I’ve been thinking a lot about my job lately. Not my work—that’s writing, and I love it. I’m talking about my job. My nine-to-five soul crushing job. When it comes to fiction where the main characters are engaged in a life or death struggle, it’s easy to imagine that we would take the risks they do. Of course we would. The situation warrants it. We could die. We would all risk much to avoid an untimely death. But what about when it comes to...
August 18, 2014
“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” -Confucius This is one of those bits of wisdom that does damage to many people. The conceit is that you must find a fun job–the kind of job you would do even if you weren’t getting paid–to obtain happiness. But what about the truck drivers, the retail clerks, and the janitors? Are they doomed? I prefer this: “If you do what you love, you’ll never work a...