The Pursuit of Happiness~

No, I am not talking about the Will Smith movie.
Note the different spelling in my title & his movie title.
(His is 'The Pursuit of Happyness.')
What is it about humans that gives us a driving force to find happiness?
To keep searching & to keep pushing ourselves until we have a measure of it.
Are we depressed? Does our life suck? Stuck in a mind numbing, meaningless job perhaps?
 ***
Where do you look for happiness?
What do you look for?
Perhaps it's found in a new pair of expensive shoes, an overseas adventure, a new house, a new car.. you get my drift.
***
I was stuck in a mind numbing meaningless job where i worked in a white box aka office.
No stimulation. No fun. Laughs were few and far between and were often at someone else's downfall or expense. There was no appreciation. There were no perks. There was no commendation.
Oh and my boss liked to look at porn from his work computer.
Not the most ideal situation.
6 years i lasted there. 6 YEARS.
You want to know why i lasted that long?
I got comfortable. I was good at what i did & it came easily to me.
The hours were good & it was close to home.
Those were probably the only good things about my job.. and my boss used to buy me a coffee each morning. That was nice.
But that aside, I hated it.
My friends knew it, my family knew it, everyone knew it.
And then one day, something changed.
It was something internal & my life took an unexpected turn for good..
I decided to save up as much money as possible & go on an overseas adventure.
And i did it.
I quit my job.
And spent 4.5 months overseas on an amazing adventure.
You know what, quitting was one of the easiest things i have ever had the pleasure of doing.
The day i quit, i hadn't even planned to do it then.
Circumstance changed & my only option was to quit my job then & there.
***
Now that i have been home for a few months, i feel like the sun has started to shine on me once more.
It feels like i have escaped the depths of misery.
The longer i am away from my old job, the more i can see how much of a weight was lifted off me when i quit.
I knew i had made the right decision when my boss wasn't even sad to see me go. There was barely a reaction from him. That was the cherry on top which cemented the fact that getting out of there was the best option.
Recently, I have made some self discovery.
I am happy.
For the first time in as long as i can remember. I feel happy.
Happy. Content. Relaxed.
And i am petrified that it will all be snatched away from me.
xox

Just when you think everything is perfect...

BAM!*
You get screwed over. Just like that.
Ouch, this one hurts.
Hurts all over like a thousand daggers stabbing you.
Hurts all over like those stings you get in the middle of winter when you're freezing & get into a steaming hot shower.
Hurts like a paper cut.
If you don't want to read my whinges, take my advice & stop reading *now.
Seriously, stop now.
Don't be hassling me about whinging on my blog~ you have definitely been warned.
In the words of Bruce Wayne in 'Batman Begins,' ~ 'Please leave.'
***
For the last 5 months, i've been working 3 days a week.
I wont lie, it's been absolute bliss!
My days off involve: volunteer work, taking myself on dates, being a lady of leisure & just having that work/life balance.
3 days of work / 4 days off.
*Finally!
Working 4 days a week for the last 7 years was awesome but then going down to 3 days a week... it was the cherry on top.
Doing volunteer work on Tuesday & Wednesday mornings has been lovely.
A great start to any day off.
You feel good & like you've accomplished something, even if you don't find all that many people at home or who are willing to listen to you.
Yesterday morning (Wednesday) i did some volunteer work with a friend & we had a fantastic morning & some awesome chats were had with lovely people.
It really sets you up for the rest of the day.
We finished around lunchtime & we were ravenous, so we took ourselves out for lunch on Acland St where we devoured our food with minimal words being spoken.
Food. Coffee. Get it in us!
Later in the afternoon i was telling my friend how enjoyable it was only working 3 days a week & how it really helps you keep your sanity!
Little did i know, that 24hours later... this was going to change.
Arriving at work this morning, i notice one of our fulltimers is missing.
I figure she's just running late.
No.
I am advised that 'she no longer works for our company.'
That selfish woman! Doesn't she realise how this will impact my work?
My world is coming crashing down around me.
Not only this but a thousand other things right now too..
I open up my work email & there it is.
An email from my boss titled 'WORK DAYS.'
*shudder.*
He wants me to work 4 days a week again. Yuck!
Doesn't he understand i have places to go, people to see & things to do on my midweek break?
The nerve of him.
I haven't replied to his email.. yet. It will need to be acknowledged soon though.
Maybe i should quit & leave my boss high & dry?
Thats the advice i've been given from my nearest & dearest..
Or how about this:
Who wants to give me a 3 day a week job, blogging for them?
(Im also good at going to cafe's & getting you coffee, multiple times a day... )
Im not joking.
You say the word & im yours.
xox

ps- Welcome to 2013 xox

To quit or not to quit, that is the question.

*Sigh.
It's Friday. Finally.
Im telling you.. this has felt like one of the longest weeks of my life.
The reason? Actually, i have no idea why as i have been quite the busy little bee!
But last weekend definitely feels like an eternity ago.
What did i do last weekend? My memory fails me.
It's also been an eternity since my last blog post~ a thousand apologies.
I've had major writers block & am in desperate need of a muse.
Any takers? Im open to suggestion!
So the hunt for a muse continues.. but until i find one, i've had to dig into the core of my brain to try & find something... anything to write about.
And then it came to me.
(Although, i must confess- i definitely have some juicy tales i could tell you, but in this instance, i choose to protect the 'innocent.')
***
After a somewhat sleepless night, a few irritating phone calls at work this morning & realising i am due to fly out of the country in a matter of weeks, I found myself taking more notice of my darling friend who keeps asking me 'When are you going to quit your job?'
They have been saying this to me for weeks.. months even!
Their little voice has been etched into the back of my mind..
So coming to the end of a gruelling, busy week the idea of typing a short & sweet letter to my boss informing him that i am resigning is actually a teasing temptation.
Imagine that~
'The last 4 years working here have been nice but it's time for a change so here is my 2 weeks notice.'
(Do people even have to give 2 weeks notice anymore?)
And in 2 weeks i fly off to South America for a long awaited, much anticipated holiday.
The plan is to be back home in August but if i quit my job do i really need to come home?
Oh how the plot could thicken!
Or perhaps im just totally & utterly bored this afternoon & the day dreaming that my brain keeps running off to do is taking precedence over my logical thinking process.
No, surely that's not it.
In an ideal world, if i did quit my job i could sleep in every day, meet up with friends for lunch dates all the time & squeeze in a few coffee's too.
Ultimately?
Thats just all rainbows & unicorns.
How could that possibly be a reality?
I would still need to find an income of sorts.
*Work phone rings* bringing me straight back down to reality.
Argh, will this day never end?

~If anybody else can spot an angry face in the above picture, you are a champ!

xox