Monday, July 23, 2007

Leaving cubbies behind

As some of you know, I left the corporate world almost four years ago to stay home with my son.

Although I have never regretted that decision (I would never have been able to rev up my freelance writing career if I hadn't escaped from high heels and annual reviews), there are some aspects of the business realm that I do miss.

Below, I've listed some of that stuff.

If you hail from the Land of Cubicles, feel free to add your own observations in the comments section.

WHAT I MISS ABOUT CORPORATE LIFE

Health insurance.
Networking.
Public speaking.
Attending conferences.
That first cup of coffee that's been made by someone else.
Vacation pay.
Sick leave.
Personal days.
Lunch meetings at nice restaurants.
Conducting interviews.
Mentoring other professionals.

WHAT I WILL NEVER MISS ABOUT CORPORATE LIFE

Bastard weasel bosses.
Being told, "You look too young to be a manager."
Having to "suck it up" twenty times a day.
Being expected to kiss derriere (it tastes about as good as you'd expect.)
Pantyhose.
Meetings that never should have been called in the first place. ("Let's have a pre-meeting to discuss what we'll talk about during the meeting..." -- I've actually heard this. It's steaming bulls*&t at its finest.)
Someone asking, "Have a minute?" and then taking up two hours of your time.
The words "paradigm shift".
Getting phone calls while on vacation about "urgent" crud you can do nothing about unless you leave immediately. (And even then, it's never life and death.)
The monotony of cubby life.
Overhearing coworkers' conversations (yeah, they might be titillating 1% of the time, but the other 99% they are talking about their damn gyno appointments or fighting with their significant other.)
Being taken for granted every freakin' day. (Parenthood is kind of like that, but the rewards are HUGE!)
Always wearing a "mask".
Being asked to lie ("It's really a half-truth... and it'll make him/her feel better!")
Getting yelled at by someone who really has no business yelling in the first place and deserves a good swift kick in the pants rather than an apology.

Have I missed anything?

2 comments:

Jennifer said...

What I miss... co-worker friends, lunches with said co-worker friends. Having my day end...eventually. Having co-worker Phil to blog about. Knowing to the penny what I'll be making each month.

What I don't...
Co-worker Phil and pretty much everything else.

It's harder then I ever thought but much better to be at home with my son.

The Quoibler said...

Jennifer:

Ooo... do tell about co-worker Phil. Was he a PIA? Or just a dunce? A romantic interest?

You've piqued my curiosity! :)

Angelique