7.25.2005

big step forward

I take another big step today: I'm giving notice on my day-job.

I know I speak for Allan, too, when I say these are tough jobs to leave. Not that we love our work so much, but we have the perfect day jobs. We don't expect to see the likes of them in Toronto, at least not for a while.

After making the decision, in the mid-1980s, to pursue writing more seriously, I've held an array of different jobs. I've been a nanny, a proofreader, a teacher, an assistant to a crazy artist, a data-entry operator, a political organizer, and probably a few things I don't even remember - and usually more than one at a time.

Once I gave up nanny-ing (which I did in exchange for rent), I needed something much higher paying. There's a whole culture in New York of writers, actors, musicians and students who "temp," and I heard the money was good.

I didn't even have a computer in those days - very few people did. I had one friend who was cutting edge! I would go to her place while she was at work and teach myself WordPerfect. (I know there are a few wmtc readers old enough to remember DOS-based WordPerfect.) Then I lied about my experience to the temp agencies, and went out and got some real experience. Soon I taught Allan what I learned, which rescued him from his deli-counter job.

Word-processing turned out to be the perfect writer's job. It's skilled enough so that it's not mind-numbingly boring, yet uses no creative energy. And word-processing in a corporate law firm pays better than anything else I've done. (Which is a sad commentary in itself.)

That was 15 years ago. We kept our skills top-notch and I made sure we never got too comfortable. I was always jockeying for a better spot - something that paid more for less hours.

Now we are at the top of the heap. We each work only 24 hours a week (in two days), but are paid the equivalent of a good full-time job. My job is virtually stress-free, and I am often paid very decent money to read the Sunday Times and catch up on all of your blogs. I work alone, which I love - no one bothers me, and I am my own supervisor. Allan's job is slightly more demanding, but hey, it's over in two days. He also gets health benefits (which also cover me).

And now, goodbye. No more jobs.

We have every reason to believe we'll find good work in Toronto. On our first visit to the city, we met with the two biggest legal staffing agencies, and they were practically salivating over our resumes. They assured us that we'll work. But we won't earn nearly what we're earning now - which means we'll have to work more hours.

We've been dreading this.

We will eventually work our way into better spots, with less hours. But not right away. And - she says whiningly - we love our lives the way they are now! Boo.

This is one huge down-side. But so be it. Staying put in order to keep a day-job is ass-backwards. The job is supposed to make your life possible, not the other way around.

I call my supervisor in one hour! Then I send an email to my friends at the firm who don't know anything about this. I'll be expecting a slight upsurge in page-views, along with a lot of questions...

14 comments:

Unknown said...

Just stopped in to say hi! And to my suprise I find you are headed up to the Great White North! I'm sure you'll find Toronto a great place to live. Work is here for those with ambition and I'm sure it won't take you long until you're back to half-time for full time!

I know you want those Timmies donuts too! I'm trying to give it up.

laura k said...

Hi Max! Thanks for stopping by. Where do we know each other from... let's see... David Cho?

Thank you for the vote of confidence on our jobs! I much appreciate it.

Donuts are a rare treat for me, but I did like those Tim's...!

gito said...

Hi L
I haven't even started thinking where I'll be working when we move to Canada yet. Of course Toronto is enormously compare to Windsor but I am sure a person like you with such interesting skills will fit right in! Hey thanks for the link!
Gito

laura k said...

Hi Gito! You have a ways to go before you have to think about working in Windsor.

Thanks for stopping by! Don't forget to keep me posted on the progress of your application.

Unknown said...

That's right. Commenting on Buster at David Cho's blog.

laura k said...

Max, oh of course. My brain is like swiss cheese.

Nice to see you here at wmtc.

James Redekop said...

I don't suppose Allan works in Information Technology? My SO's looking to fill out her team at CIBC... :)

laura k said...

That's so nice of you to think of that. Wouldn't that be cool?

But no. We both do the same thing - both writers, and both legal word-processors.

David Cho said...

Yes, I remember DOS-based WordPerfect. Tried to teach myself that, and gave up. Instead got into programming later.

I didn't know that you didn't have jobs lined up in Torronto. Wish you the best.

laura k said...

I didn't know that you didn't have jobs lined up in Torronto. Wish you the best.

Thank you.

We couldn't line up jobs, because we weren't authorized to work until the immigration processing was finished, and we had no way of knowing how long that would take. With these support-level jobs, someone leaves, a spot opens up, and you have to be ready to start work right away. You can't line something up months in advance.

Which is why we've spent the last two years saving money, for a cushion.

It's also why I'm so happy about the freelance (writing) work. I can take that with me, and we'll have that income. Imagine that, my writing is now a backup income, that's a first.

laura k said...

Yes, I remember DOS-based WordPerfect. Tried to teach myself that, and gave up.

I still think it was the best word-processing program.

There were all these crazy programs in those days. Office Pro, MultiMate, WordStar - and of course Wang. I got so cocky, I would tell the agency I knew a program, then go in an hour early and teach it to myself before the work day started.

David Cho said...

No wonder you are good with HTML. I vaguely remember having to use tags for Word Perfect.

Wow, you taught yourself. Cool. That is how it should be.

laura k said...

No wonder you are good with HTML.

I'm really not. I just play around til I find something I like - and copy other people's code. The free CSS tutorials have been a big help, too.

But yes, old WordPerfect worked on similar principles.

Kyle_From_Ottawa said...

So when exactly did you make the decision to move to Canada? (I looked through the archives, and found your reasons why Canada, and why now, but not when you made up your mind)

When you started saving up money a couple of years ago, had you already decided where you were going to go?