| [Tags**|holiday, job, leisure, ruminate] [Current Mood** |
placid]It is now one year since I finished my job at The Bank, moved to Germany, and became a gentleman of leisure.It's been a very quick year.In a way, a lot has happened. I went travelling in America and Canada, including a canoeing trip in Algonquin with  raikawolf; I moved to another country and set up house with akeela; I did a lot of gardening; I learned a lot of German; Aki and I went to conventions; I visited England once or twice; I kept on playing with computers like I always do. And of course there's been everything to do with Mischa, who's occupied at least three hours of my day almost every day since he arrived, and sometimes much more. So, while I've definitely been lazy, I haven't been altogether idle.But, three more years of this? No thanks. It's been delightful—a year off, doing more or less whatever I want when I want. I'm well aware of how lucky I am. But I can feel myself starting to stagnate. It's time to find something structured to do with my time. And unless inspiration strikes in the very near future, that means finding a job.Today I finally whipped my book-keeping back into shape, and ran a tally of where the money's been going for the past year. The bad news is that I've spent a lot more than I thought; the good news is that my reserves will hold out for at least another two years at this rate, and three with only moderate prudence. I don't like the current economic situation but I'm probably going to weather it okay.Even so, a job would be a good idea financially as well as personally. I've known this for a while, but I've been procrastinating. And I must admit, part of that is because I've been worried about finding a job as good as The Bank—a job which had a ridiculously low stress-to-pay ratio. I'd better accept that a job that good probably won't come round again. Fortunately, having just a little margin of financial security, I don't have to be too eager to go for high-paid but stressful jobs: I can sniff around for something I like the look of. My still-broken German will be a hindrance, but it's improving all the time. I'll manage something.But, morgen. Tonight I'm going to take Mischa for a walk, then get a decent night's sleep. Morgen fängt es an. |