Why Would I Write

Category: Thoughts

  • Labor Goals

    Over the past few weeks, I’ve come to realize that looking for a job is like looking for a life partner (or maybe I’m just mashing two subjects together, who knows?).

    In the past – people used to flip through classified pages to look for jobs – and to look for partners. While most of the searching has evolved to be online today, newspapers can still be used in the same way.

    Life partners can be introduced to people – so can jobs. People set up friends with each other all the time, they do the same with jobs too. There’s no guarantee that they will fit well – but at least you can say you tried.

    Head hunters function like matchmakers – seeking out potential candidates for companies or people to fall in love with.

    Relationships can end out of the blue – like being let go from a job. The difference is you sometimes get compensated by the company.

    Full-time jobs usually take up a significant amount of time – and so do relationships. If they don’t, it’s very cushy and you should keep it.

    Some jobs give you money, and so do some relationships, but some relationships require you to spend money to keep them (though it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to equate that to working for no pay).

    It’s not necessary to have either, but a good job or relationship will make your life much more pleasant.

    Rejecting a job offer is usually the nail in the coffin with a company, which is similar to rejecting a partner. Sometimes it’s due to various circumstances a person can’t commit to either. Maybe it’s not the right time, maybe it’s not what they’re looking for right now. Sometimes you try again after a few years, there’s no telling if it’ll be better the second time. It could work or fail terribly.

    When you find the right job or relationship – they say it doesn’t feel like work anymore. Everything just falls into place. You’re content, happy, and tell everyone about it. It’s all you’ve ever wanted in life.

    However, people sometimes look for new jobs while currently employed and or companies come knocking with a seductive deal. There’s always a better option out there – right?

  • Anti-Modern-Radio Me

    When I was young, I remember being bored to death whenever my parents switched radio channels to listen to oldies. Songs they listened to growing up. They would tell me that they don’t make songs like they used to anymore. I would fervently disagree with them, defending my tastes in Limp Bizkit and Eminem. I assumed they didn’t know better.

    Now that I’m older, I don’t listen to the radio anymore – mostly because they mostly play songs I dislike, have terrible DJs and too many advertisements. When I have to (because I’m driving someone else’s car), I tune into Light and Easy – a channel that mostly plays oldies because I can enjoy them, unironically. I enjoy listening to songs that I heard growing up even though I wasn’t a big fan of them back in the day because, amongst the cesspool of modern radio, they sound euphonious.

    It can’t be that music has gotten worse – there must be a reason why these artists on modern radio are getting airtime and making new records. There is a demand for them even though I might not like their music. It’s just not for me.

    But why do I not enjoy a lot of current music? I think it comes down to a few factors:

    • I’m listening to the wrong stations – maybe, but I can’t be bothered to give other radio stations a shot. It’s not worth the time, so I stick with what I know and enjoy.
    • My tastes have already developed and I’m rejecting what’s new and unfamiliar. I have noticed that it doesn’t apply to a lot of new music I discover that’s not on the radio, so probably not the case.
    • Mainstream radio has always been trash and the only reason I enjoy old pop hits now is that I grew up listening to them – the nostalgia and singalong factor is what draws me to them. This seems like the most likely reason.

    Is this what my parents were experiencing when I was growing up? As kids did they face the same chagrin for their music tastes from their parents? I’ll have to ask them to find out.

    On the other hand, if you think I’m just some whiney old boomer who is wrong about modern music, feel free to share some songs to change my mind. I’m open to listening to new songs and artists. I know there’s a lot of good stuff out there I have yet to discover.

  • Why Write?

    Over the past week, I found myself doing a lot of things I put off in the past. I finally set up a LinkedIn account, used it to apply for some jobs. Logged in to my many years old Jobstreet account, also to apply to jobs. Created accounts on brand new sites to look for jobs. It made me realize that for the longest time I didn’t have to look for jobs – for most of them I was just given the opportunity to do something by other people and I took it. It would also have been true for my next job but alas, things didn’t work out as intended. So now I’m doing the job hunting on my own.

    Nothing to report so far, but I find myself questioning my lack of productivity. After all, since I’m jobless – I should make the most of my free time right? Spend it drawing, writing, making music, etc. Instead, I’m gaming and watching shows on Netflix. I guess I need to get into the rhythm of working again. Tomorrow will mark the second month of unemployment. Woot.

    On the bright side, I can say I am ready to return to work again after this breather. It reminds me of the break I took after leaving Big Bad Wolf Books, but with 100% less Cameron Highlands. I think traveling around Malaysia would be nice, but irresponsible in this time of contagion. Better to sit home and do things in front of my computer. After all, that’s what I’m great at.

    The other day I was asking myself – is writing a phase? Is it something people only do once in a while? I know some people who have stopped writing even though they used to write tons only a few years ago. What changed? Do people eventually run out of ideas? Don’t ideas constantly refill? I’m not sure.

    Anyway, I’ve decided that I’ll update my blog every weekday. Back to writing topics, fiction and so on. It was a thing of the past and I’m bringing it back. I just want to tell myself that I’m capable of churning out content daily. It’s good writing practice after all.

    Wow, over three hundred words just to spout a bunch of bullshit. I think I still got it. See you guys next week!