Wanted: One Year, Part-Time

Wanted: one year, part-time.

This has become the evolution of my intentions for 2012.

As 2011 concluded, so too did my employment. Of itself, this is nothing unusual. The fact that I had nothing else to go to was definitely uncharacteristic of me. It was my choice to leave, and it felt ‘right’ to do so, in both timing and reasoning. And while I wasn’t exactly rolling around in a mountain of $100 notes, I had a small buffer between me, hunger and eviction. (That buffer is definitely smaller at the time of writing.) For some eerie reason, with the bills still needing to be paid and my need to eat ongoing, I’ve been unusually nonplussed about my state of unemployment and lack of income. I’ve applied for a couple of full-time jobs, but my heart just hasn’t been in it.

My former boss has been asking me to work one day a week, until they find a replacement or I find a job, which I’ve started doing. (They’ve been asking if I want more, they’d be happy to accommodate me, but hey, I quit for a reason!) A fellow Grindr user needed someone to fill in a couple of holes in his roster (bite your tongue!). And this morning (2012-01-21) after catching up for breakfast at a local café that I used to work at (just under a different name…the café, not me…and under different owners), the current owner asked if I was looking for some work, just for a few weekends while their chef was away. It was then that I thought, “Maybe I should try working this year on a part-time basis!”

For most of my working life, I’ve always chased the full-time job, mostly because it offered secure, guaranteed income, holiday pay (a great way to save) and sick leave. Also, because it’s what I’ve always done, and I figured that it is better to be able to concentrate on one job rather than having a variety of worries to handle. While it may prove to others of my responsibility and commitment, at my end, I’m hardly in a position that I would consider to be ‘happy’ with my life.  It’s been the cause of me missing out on a great deal of functions and activities, and I have a habit of ‘owning’ my work a little too much.

As I thought about it, working a couple of days, at a couple of jobs, might actually be more beneficial. I wouldn't be tied down to the same routine, and could gain a little more freedom over how I allocated my time. I figured it could also reduce ‘burnout’ working with different people in different environments, rather than being locked into the same one day in, day out. I do realise it could also mean I’m constantly on the lookout for more work, more often, but then hospitality is a transient area to work anyway.

So this year, I’m going to try and work part-time in an effort to live full-time.