An advantage to a consultancy gig in an exploitative, underpaying government think-tank is that my superior’s hands are tied in times I ask that I work from home.
For the past three days (well, three months, in fact), this project I am working and slaving on (even made me risk my baby’s life at one time) has made me want to blow my top off on my PM, so many times. I usually get pissed when I have to pinch-hit, under pressure, and do someone else’s work because of incompetence. I think my body has long adopted a mechanism to deal with such stressors. I get ‘lazy attacks’.
They say it is normal during pregnancy not to want to work or to get moody. Funny thing is, I like working. I am still good at it. I am still fast and disciplined. I just have lesser patience to deal with externalities lately.
Instead of working, I spent today sleeping soundly.
Which is kind of ironic since I just had this conversation last night with Pong. He was asking his mom to find a babysitter for us when the time comes that I have to go back to work. I was proud of him because not once did he consider making me give up my career to care for the baby, even with all the yaya horror stories floating around.
He said pointblank that he could not imagine me giving it all up to stay at home and care for the baby. Nor does he want me to. Then he asked me if I want to.
I cannot imagine myself giving up my work to care for the baby. Lucky for me though, I am in a work environment where I can keep up my career and still have time for the baby. Working from home is possible. I can even do four-day workweeks and flexi-time. They will let me adjust my schedule if I want to. I am even working on two jobs right now and I can continue doing so without having to spend 10 hours in the office, 5 days in a week.
So I don’t imagine giving up work but I do know that there are compromises I can make so that the kid will not grow up in the typical ‘no-quality-time’ family.
I do foresee that there will be a time when I will declare a mini-retirement. When my most important goals have been met and i am tired. Probably in 4-5 years. I relish the day when I will just look at my supervisor in the eye and say, ‘I don’t want to handle that project. I am taking a 6 month sabbatical effective tomorrow’.
I look forward to the time when I can just walk away for some time and not worry if I will have enough money because I already have enough saved up. I will not worry that my marketability will decline because I already established my portfolio and my networks and getting another job or project is easy. I will not worry that I will compromise my daughter’s future because it is provided for already.
In no way do I salivate at the thought of early retirement. I like work. What I dream of is the freedom of doing what I want without considering monetary compensation anymore. That I can take on volunteer work for six months in some province in need of a development project and my family will not complain. In fact, they will be happy to go there with me.
Until that day of the ultimate lazies, I will take my lazy days whenever I can.
