Friday, February 20, 2009

Working for my job...


Three weeks into the new job has left me quite satisfied. I’m satisfied to spend approximately 10 hours each week motoring back and forth across the San Pablo, Richmond and San Francisco Bay on the ferry. I’m satisfied to say that I’ve learned how to traverse across the City using public transit. And I’m satisfied to feel as though I do all this traveling in order to do my work as opposed to a job. A very wise friend told me once that there is a difference between one’s job and one’s work. A job is something you do to make a living. Work is what you do for life. It’s a seldom privilege to meet both objectives in one’s occupation.

Going to the City every day is still quite exciting. Metropolitan areas have always fascinated me. There’s a rhythm to urban space that is infectious. It’s both fast and intense. There’s always a lot going on, people walking places, deliveries being made, and eye candy on every block. This is especially true in the city that I work in. There’s never a lack of something to look at. I could spend days just examining the architecture. And then there are the random exhibits of expression. These come in many incarnations: sidewalk stencil art, political messages inwindows, stickers on bicycles, graffiti, and of course fashion. I’ve begun taking pictures on my cell phone of things that catch my interest. After time I believe these shots will begin to tell a story that my words never could.

Well, it’s 5:59PM on Friday, ad as I write this the sky is turning a dusky purple and refinery lights can be seen reflecting off of the silvery water. And as the ferry slows, and turns into the channel where we will dock, I look forward to another grueling week of work, and hope that the satisfaction I feel on this Friday will be a frequent occurrence. Or at least, I hope I remember to come back and read these words when they aren’t.

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