Sometimes I wonder if I made the right decision moving into my new job a few months ago.  I left my comfort zone where I had great travel perks, steady hours, and 3 day weekends every week.  One of my managers at my new place jokes around bout why I left then.  It's been quite the change working 35 some hours a week at my old job to often 60-70 hours a week at my new one.  The pay is much better and the potential to learn more is greater at the new place too.  At some point or another, I'll run my own projects and get thrown in the fire.  It might be this year.  The partner had a discussion with me last week on my expectations for promotion, and he was going to think about it this weekend and give me a decision sometime soon.  I honestly don't think he'll give it to me this year given that I'm fairly new to the firm even though I was eligible for it this year.  It wouldn't kill me to stay at my level for another year.  I'll actually be able to work on a variety of projects and not be pigeonholed into one type of work.  This got me thinking about what I really wanted to do with my career.

I know at some point I won't be able to keep up with the hours at work, and I'll end up crashing.  In fact, I've been somewhat burned out for the past few weeks having to stay till past midnight for work.  Even now, during my long Memorial day weekend, I'm up at 1:30am doing a bit of work.  Even though the pay is better and I'm learning more, my work/life balance is almost non-existent and the little free time I do have I spend at the gym to try to burn off some of this stress building up in me from work.

But then what is more valuable, the money or the work/life balance?  I wish it were true that you could have both and at times you possibly can but not all the time.  I couldn't make the kind of money I do working a 9-5 job, so then I wouldn't be able to have as much discretionary spending as I'd like.  It's nice to not have to worry about money sometimes and just being able to go out and get whatever you want to get, eat at nice restaurants, or take mini vacations whenever the chance came up.  However, I know in the past 6 months since I've been at my current job, I've not been able to see as many of my friends as I would have liked, not have enjoyed some of the free time to explore the new city that I'm in, or really have time to make any new friends at all.  I can't see myself doing a 9-5 job, doing the same shit everyday and watching the clock hit 5 so that I can get the hell out of my workplace.  I can't do that now.  I can't be in a mundane type of job.  I know I want it all when I want the money and not have to work the hours that I do but then would my life be better if I were in a boring job?  I'd be bored 8 hours of the day but then have the nights to do whatever I wanted to but would be limited in what I could do in how much money I'd be making. 

I wake up every morning to check my work email only to thumb through my cell phone figuring out my responses to write once I get into the office an hour later.  After I leave work, I'm always thinking about work too and checking emails/doing work at night once I get back from the gym.  It's almost as if I breath/live work even though I don't have the passion for the work I do.  It's only a means to an end and I don't even know what that end is.  I'm sure many people out there feel the same way that I do now.  They're trudging through the daily grind unwilling to take a chance and leave their comfort zone to do something they'd rather much enjoy for fear of not making money or losing out on benefits.  Most people I'd say are either content at best with their jobs or truly unhappy.  I really haven't met too many people the truly love their jobs.  I wish I could just say fuck it and leave the corporate life and open up my own restaurant.  If it weren't for the money, I'm sure I'd be doing something that I love.  It's tough though, do you pick happiness and satisfaction with your job over having a lot of money? 

EDIT:

H&M FRIENDS AND FAMILY 25% OFF MAY 25-28

I was at the gym running on the treadmill when all the sudden my calves started cramping up.  Even when you massage the cramp out, there's still this lingering pain.  How annoying.  So as I was walking to catch the metro, I thought to myself, "What's the most annoying bodily pain?"  I came up with a few things, so here's Inky's top 5 bodily pains...

5) Calf cramps
If you're outgoing and active and you get leg cramps, once these hit you they gotta be some of the most pain-in-the-ass things that can happen to you when you're exercising/playing sports.  One time I was running on the treadmill at the gym, and then some severe leg cramps hit me.  All the sudden, there's this loud thud and scream cause I couldn't move my leg and so the treadmill kept going on while I stopped.  I slammed down onto the treadmill and everyone looked at me as if I was stupid enough not to be able to use a treadmill.  Word to the wise....stretching is good.

4) Severe diarrhea
Say you just had an authentic burrito at this shady little cart near work and then you head back to the office only to feel some grumblings in your stomach.  As the day goes on, your stomach isn't feeling to good anymore.  You make a mad dash for the toilet and then you sit there for 30 minutes tearing up the toilet.  15 minutes later you run back to the toilet for part deux of dropping the kids off only to find out the kids must be 300 pound linebackers that want to tear you a new asshole.  What's even worse is that if you eat some bad dinner and then hop onto an hour long metro ride only to find out that 20 minutes into the ride that you really need to take a shit.  What's a guy to do for the rest of the 40 minutes...See #1.

3) Menstrual cramps
So I really don't know how bad these really can be but I knew one person that every month when this time would come around, they'd be bed ridden for a solid 3-4 days and would go through a box of tampons and a bottle of Midol each time.  At least they've come up with a pill that stops the period.  Something though about not having a period that is just unnatural.  I wonder what weird side effects come out of this we don't know about yet.  I can only though imagine that a bleeding vagina every month is about as fun as having to listen to George W. speak about foreign policy.

2) Blue balls
Let me tell you that blue balls does indeed exist.  Now, I don't know about everyone else but it's really not as bad as some guys make it seem to be.  There's this shooting pain that goes up around the scrotum for a few seconds and that's about it.  I think most guys use the blue balls excuse just to get a happy ending some way or another.  It really ain't that pleasant at all and it definitely feels like someone all the sudden just grabbed you by the balls and pounded it with a sledgehammer. 

1) That shooting pain up your ass...
You all know this pain and not because someone decided to shove their whole hand up your ass to do a prostate exam and not because some 300 pound linebacker is trying to Brokeback Mountain your ass but it's that pain when you really got to take a shit from something you ate and then it really does feel like a 300 pound linebacker is trying to play cowboy with your anus.  I think I've become somewhat lactose intolerant over the years as many Asians are so sometimes when I do eat dairy, I get these severe shooting pains in my ass.  I don't know if any of you guys have felt this but let me tell you, if I was gay or a chick, this experience would definitely deter me from ever wanting any anal sex.  Maybe it's some people's favorite sex thing but if that shooting pain is anything of what it feels like, I wouldn't wish that upon anyone even George W.  Well, maybe George W so he can feel what it's like to be a pain in the ass to so many people.

Anyone else have any others to add?

I've been to my fair share of graduations the past few years, and it amazes me what people will do to get that money shot of their kid/loved one/relative getting their diploma.  I was at Georgetown Law School's graduation this past weekend and when they started to announce the individuals, there was this mad rush to get to the front of the stage.  People were literally bulldozing me over to get a better angle.  I even saw one guy climb up top a tree to get a better view.  I even see a whole bunch of dads whipping out the telephoto cameras to zoom in on their kids.  It's like all the sudden every parent learns to become a papparazzi. 

Remember my entry about toilet seat covers?
Well, I was flying through Chicago O'Hare, and that airport implemented
my idea...toilet seat covers that magically appear at the wave of a hand.  A new toilet seat cover appears when you wave your hand in front of this sensor.  What a great invention.  Now someone just needs to come up with an invention that will do my work for me with the wave of a hand. 

Living in Hollywood, you have to have an appreciation for everything being glamorized.  On my way back home, I walked by the Hollywood Hooters down the street from me.  I was wondering why everyone was crowded around the Hooters and then when I got there, they had apparently rolled out a red carpet for some celebs that were coming to eat there.  Red Carpet entrance at Hooters?  Only in Hollywood.

People always seem to be doing interviews outside the Chinese theater, which I have to walk by everyday on my way home.  Tourists gather around camera crews trying to get a glimpse of who's getting interviewed.  Everytime I've seen these interviews, it's always for some crappy network like the G4 network and they're interviewing some random tourists. 

Is it just me or does anyone else think the LA metro is retarded for using an honor system rather than having people swipe their cards to get in?  I've met my share of crazy bums and just last week, there was this one guy that went off on a rant on why Asian girls are the best lays.  Kept telling me over and over about this girl he met in the War and still didn't forget her to this day.  From the looks of it, it seemed like he was talking about World War II, but luckily my stop came up and I hurried away. 

Time for the weekend and time to catch up on Heroes.  I've missed that past few weeks and can't wait to see what happened!

Been in the office past midnight the past couple weeks.  I barely can function right now, and my mind is just jelly.  Who knew I would be grinding these hours at work.  I'm so behind in returning phone calls, emails, and my yelp reviews.  I completely forgot to Tivo Heroes this week too!!! Ugg.  Someone save me.

It's been an exhausting past month with work, so I haven't been able to update lately.  Lots of stuff going on, and I'm just spent after being in NYC last week.  Good to get away from LA for a bit, this weather has been crazy.  This has to be the longest I've spent in one place in the past 4 years.  It was great to be back in the city again and kicking it with friends.  Too bad I didn't get to go out as much as wanted to because of work.  Man, these days I'd just be happy if I could get to bed before midnight.  More to come.

Even when you have a long weekend, it always seems that Sunday creeps up on you just as fast.  Sundays are bad but Sunday nights are the worst.  You've just had a good weekend and you wake up Sunday not wanting the weekend to end.  Sunday night you suddenly realize you either have to go back to school, back to work or both.  There never seems to be enough time during the weekend to do everything that you want.  Whoever came up with a 5 day work week needs to be shot.  Why can't we all have laws like the ones in Europe where you only have to work 30 hours a week?

It was good being back home.  No matter how much my parents drive me crazy, it's always good seeing them again.  With all my traveling and being able to sleep on some of the nicest beds in some of the nicest hotels, the only place that I can sleep the whole night through without waking up is the bed in the room that I grew up in.  Home sweet home.

Headed back to VA for a long weekend.  It'll be nice to visit home.  HELLO EAST COAST!

Edit: So my flight got pushed back to 1:30am. I'm taking the redeye so I should be getting sometime around noon. I remember now why I took a job to stop having to travel.

I'm sitting here on the crapper killing time and you know what kills me about public bathrooms (other than I'd rather not have to deal with the stank smell)? It's a blessing in disguise to have toilets that have automatic flush. You don't have to worry about having to press the nasty flusher. Who knows where some people's hands have been. I always make it a point to line the toilet with the seat guard and then a layer of toilet paper because I don't want no pee seeping through. Then when you've lined the toilet and get ready to sit down, the damn toilet flushes and there goes your lining. Gotta repeat and do again but then if it flushes again, you have to hold the lining so it doesn't flush hence having to touch the nasty toilet. What a predicament.

Happy Pi Day!

I finally furnished the rest of my apt last weekend. The founder of Ikea is a great man. However, who knew it would take 3 hours to put together a bed and couch (yes I had to assemble a couch). They always seem to give you a hundred screws and bolts that don't always fit into the holes right and you have to screw them in with that tiny wrench they have. You would think 6 pieces of wood wouldn't take 2 hours to put together. I'm glad though I have my bed now since i've been sleeping on my mattress topper on the floor for the past 2 weeks. I now have 2 fridges to because the first one I bought was an inch too big for the space and then I picked up the right one on craig's this past wee,k. Hopefully someone is gonna buy my other fridge this week. Someone tell me why LA apts make you supply your own fridge. How ghetto.

Work's been a lot better recently, and I finally have some time to breath. I don't think lawyers realize how long some of this stuff takes to put together. Then again when I'm responding to their emails at 4am, they better know.

Being able to come back to my own home rather than a hotel room is actually nice. How I traveled for the past 4 years non-stop is beyond me.

It's been a while since I've had a somewhat meaningful entry so here you go...

I made the move out to LA a few months ago as some of you may know, and it's definitely a nice change of pace from what I've been doing the past few years.  I was traveling non-stop for the past 2-3 years, living out of suitcases, hotels, and having to fly back and forth every weekend from home and work.  I eventually gave up my apartment in NYC because I was hardly ever there, and I figure if there were any time to travel in your life, it would be in your 20s.  You don't ever get to live these years again, and I feel as if these are some of the prime years of your life.  You don't want to hit the 30s and regret not having lived it up, so that was my main reason for traveling so much.  Company paid travel whenever/wherever.  Who could beat that?

LA is a different animal from any other place that I've been to.  It's got a different vibe from it.  Not NYC, DC, SF or any of the other cities but somewhat a mix of everything.  The weather here has been awesome.  Can't complain about that although I had no idea how warm it would get in the winter time.  People tell me it's 50/60, and I think it's great.   Other people think it's freezing cold.  It's weird seeing people busting out in parkas just for 60 degree weather.  I miss the seasons, the leaves changing colors, snow blanketing the city.  I don't miss having to trek my ass through airports in the middle of the winter only to have my flight canceled and me spending the night at the airport.  LA doesn't quite have the culinary variety that I would like but there are a few gems that I've found. 

I'm in the midst of a move, my 2nd move in my only 3 months here.  I think I've moved in the past 8 years, 10 different times at least.  It gets tiring moving, but at least you can clean out all the shit that you've built up.  I'll finally have a place of my own, a car of my own after not having either one for the past few years.  It'll be nice to feel some sense of normalcy again, being able to cook dinner, have a routine, not have to pack my suitcase to go home and just being able to settle into my own place.

I haven't really had much of a chance to wander around my neighborhood in Hollywood although it is nice to be able to walk around a bunch of people again.  I'm a city guy, and I like the busyness.  But I'm far enough from the tourists that go up and down Hollywood Blvd checking out the Chinese theater.  There's even an In N Out around the corner from me!  I still have to furnish my place because when I moved out here, I didn't buy any furniture and just relied on a craigslist roomie to bum off of his.  That'll be a pain in itself having to get a couch, bed, and I don't even have a fridge in my new place.  How strange is it that a bunch of rentals in LA don't have fridges with them??

It's really different seeing the huge class gap in LA.  LA is home to one of the largest homeless populations in the country, yet there's also some of the wealthiest people here as well.  You go a few blocks from my apartment and there are mansions and a few blocks in the other direction is the slum.  The metro is an entirely different system from anything I've seen too.  The NYC subway system I feel as if everyone takes it even a lot of wealthy business people, but the LA metro seems to be only the bums take it.  I take it because my company pays for it, and I'm used to public transportation having lived in DC and NYC for the past 4 years.  I can't imagine how the other half lives, the other half being the ones so impoverished that they can't even pay for the metro fare.  The metro is on the honor system here, so there are no turnstiles.  They'll have random checks to see whether people have a ticket or not, but in the past 3 months here, I've been checked 4 times.  Hearing how people have to nickle and dime their way through even with food makes me see how lucky I am.  I just couldn't imagine to understand what it would be like to be living from paycheck to paycheck.  Maybe it's just me, but I don't like the uncertainty of not knowing if I'll be able to have a place to live the next month or whether I'll have enough money to eat the next day.  I always felt that even if I fell into a rut with money, I'd have a crutch somehow or another.  I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have that support.

A bit about my work for those that make it this far.  I switched from doing IT consulting for one of the largest IT consulting firms over to doing some more of the typical management/strategy consulting with one of the Big 4s.  It was a good change of pace.  I had it great over at my former company.  Good people, nice hours, great travel perks, but I wasn't learning at all and I would just spend countless hours each day surfing the internet.  I made the change because I wanted to learn and in the past 3 months at my new job, I've learned more than I have in the past year at my old one.  A lot to learn, and I'm constantly working even when I'm at home (right now I'm having some work run while I type this) and always checking my work emails via my pocket PC phone.  I work with the pharmaceutical industry and also work a lot with the lawyers that represent them.  My work entails helping support litigation against the pharmaceutical industry and supporting investigations into any fraud that might be going on at the company.  Those that are in the healthcare/pharma field know how confusing pharma can be.  So many players involved, but man do these people have some huge pockets.  As for the lawyers, the ones that I work with really have no lives because I'm getting emails from them at crazy hours like 3am and on weekends.  Hardcore people but some great people to work with nonetheless.  It's always a great motivation to work with bright people.  So for any of those lawyers out there, if you guys have anything going onn with the Pharmaceutical industry, let me know

As for now, it's back to work, back to reality.  Hopefully, I'll have something more interesting later on.  Till next time..