Posted by mareserinitatis in career, engineering, family, research, work.
Tags: academia, industry, jobs, marriage, Mike, work
A few weeks ago, I posted about the difficulties that go along with working with my husband. That is no longer an issue…not because I’m not married anymore but because Mike has since changed jobs. He’s back to working in industry, and enjoying all of the fun of a more stable job. (As an aside, he must be type A because all of the anxiety about the job situation at work has now transferred into unfinished remodeling projects at home. I suspect we’ll have an entirely new house in about two years.)
We are adjusting to spending a lot less time together, and I’m getting to hear all about the joys of an industrial job. He has me convinced that is not the route I want to go. The primary reason for this decision is that, by leaving academia, I would no longer have unfettered access to research journals. That sounds like my personal idea of hell.
Posted by mareserinitatis in family, personal, societal commentary, work.
Tags: economy, housekeeper, jobs
I’ve finally broke done and done something I never thought I’d do: I hired a housekeeper.
Between working a PT job, teaching a class, working on a dissertation, running kids to various activities, helping with homework, and training a giant puppy dog…well, I got just plain desperate. Unfortunately, this desperation was coupled with guilt: there are other things I ought to be spending that money on. Maybe I should be saving it.
A while ago, someone told me that in other cultures, people who are wealthy are looked down upon if they don’t have a large number of household workers. Interestingly enough, it’s not because they’re viewed as less wealthy but as less willing to share their wealth in a healthy way: by giving people gainful employment. In other words, if you have a bunch of money and don’t use it to give people jobs, you’re kind of being a jerk.
I’m trying to use this train of thought to make myself feel better. Granted, I don’t think I’m wealthy, but isn’t giving someone an income a good way to spend money? When I think about it that way, it makes it feel like a very good use of my money.
Thinking about it in broader terms, though, I think that’s essentially what’s wrong with a big portion of the US economy…those who have the money are not using it to create jobs, despite all the cries that taxes and everything else is burdening these poor people so that they don’t want to create jobs.
But really…that’s what’s going on. And I think the rest of us are starting to get very sick of their hoarding.
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A little housekeeping October 26, 2011
Posted by mareserinitatis in family, personal, societal commentary, work.Tags: economy, housekeeper, jobs
6 comments
I’ve finally broke done and done something I never thought I’d do: I hired a housekeeper.
Between working a PT job, teaching a class, working on a dissertation, running kids to various activities, helping with homework, and training a giant puppy dog…well, I got just plain desperate. Unfortunately, this desperation was coupled with guilt: there are other things I ought to be spending that money on. Maybe I should be saving it.
A while ago, someone told me that in other cultures, people who are wealthy are looked down upon if they don’t have a large number of household workers. Interestingly enough, it’s not because they’re viewed as less wealthy but as less willing to share their wealth in a healthy way: by giving people gainful employment. In other words, if you have a bunch of money and don’t use it to give people jobs, you’re kind of being a jerk.
I’m trying to use this train of thought to make myself feel better. Granted, I don’t think I’m wealthy, but isn’t giving someone an income a good way to spend money? When I think about it that way, it makes it feel like a very good use of my money.
Thinking about it in broader terms, though, I think that’s essentially what’s wrong with a big portion of the US economy…those who have the money are not using it to create jobs, despite all the cries that taxes and everything else is burdening these poor people so that they don’t want to create jobs.
But really…that’s what’s going on. And I think the rest of us are starting to get very sick of their hoarding.