Thursday, August 12, 2010

I Know How Old Age Feels

I've discovered what old age feels like. Not because I'm getting older or that I recently have started taking more drugs and vitamins but from my temp job at the 2010 Census. I wasn't going door to door but monitoring phone calls ("this call maybe monitored...").

In the beginning we were taken care of by a trainer and formed friendships. Then we got sent out on the floor and gained more friendships. Then we got switched around a bit. News from the central office would come in to our disbelief at how they kept changing things. I realized that there was a lot of big talk from people that would try to make us worry about possibly losing our jobs, but it was just talk. So, I relaxed more and just enjoyed the ride. Soon people started being let go, not from their behavior but just because the Census had to end sometime and they weren't needed anymore. Fortunately, I was able to hold on to the end. As time went on I saw less and less of my friends and more and more strangers. I was more forgiving in my monitoring and cared less and less about the work that became less and less. I kept thinking I'd see more of my friends from before, but I knew I wouldn't. I'm sure this is how old age feels; a bit lonely, nostalgic, reminiscing about how things used to be and ready to be done.

Makes me wonder if thats why there are so many old people that become greeters at Wal-Mart; they are just happy to see people visit them.

Makes me look at my life now and not worry about all the big talk from the news or from those that think life is a competition, makes me enjoy my friends and time, makes me want to work on things that really matter and forgive others their trespasses, and not be scared of change or death but just go with the flow.

Life's too short to not do these things. Even if life was long, it'd still be a waste of time to hold on to grudges or to worry all the time about things that don't matter.