Work is a Four Letter Word

For those of us whose college years are far behind them, we still can remember the all-nighters of cramming for exams, writing term papers, or the 11th hour scrapping of a going-nowhere project with an 8 a.m. deadline just to start over on a new idea that might actually work. We dreamed of the day when there would be no more homework, papers, reading assignments or projects, just the freedom of working and earning a living! Of course, the rigors of college were tempered by the social attributes and fall break and semester break and spring break and summer break. Oh, to have it all again. We’d enjoy it SO much more the second time around because we are SO much wiser now.

Working for a living is not for sissies. Of course it helps immensely if you like what you do, but even a job that’s loved can get boring and routine. And sometimes there are STILL homework and reading assignments and reports to write. Just no more sleeping in and showing up late for that 10 a.m. meeting. The parties have all but gone, but there are still tests: of patience, of stamina, of sanity, when dealing with work overload, incompetence and office jerks. And you still get graded once a year! Ahhhh, but then the paycheck arrives every second Friday.

Calvin was destined to be a programmer. He was born to think in numbers. I realized this when he was in first grade. He came to me one day and said he had just written down every number from one to one thousand. He had several sheets of notebook paper in his hand. Of course any Mom would say, “That’s great!” Then he added, “In Roman numerals” and handed me the papers. I had to sit down and take a look. I still have those papers.

He was intrigued at an early age by all types of games, computers and stories. And it wasn’t just playing video games; it was how does it all work? So twenty plus years later, it is no surprise to find him at Microsoft, thinking in numbers and doing what he loves. The new job is going well, but reality has tiptoed in, in the form of 7 am meetings, waiting for vacation to accrue, they took how much?!? in taxes, saying “where did the week go?” and spending the weekends doing “housework and grocery shopping”. Welcome to the real world.