Ah, yes. Envy, the green-eyed monster.  How well do I know thee! I must be completely honest with all of you: I am filled with envy. Ok, let me be slightly introspective. Evidently I’m filled with Envy, bitterness, and marshmallow popcorn.

When I was a whore of the corporate world I was completely wrapped up in the politics of the workplace, the interaction of employees and clients, as well as the actual work getting done. I wound up finding that I would be envious (see how I worked that word in there?) of people who had a less stressful life; a more fulfilling occupation. Think about it, there you are tied down behind a desk possibly with a necktie on or business attire banging away at a keyboard, going to meetings and stressing yourself over a multitude of things. Heck, on a personal level it was almost like being in high school all over again.

In fact, it reminds me of the movie ‘Office Space’:

Peter: “Ever since I started working, um, every single day of my life has been worse than the day before it. So that means that every single day that you see me, that’s on the worst day of my life.”
Dr. Swanson (Michael McShane): “What about today? Is today the worst day of your life?”
Peter: “Yeah.”
Dr. Swanson: “Wow, that’s messed up.”

I envied the ending of the movie ‘Office Space’, where the lead character is content with being a highway laborer. I suppose this is also a big part of why I left corporate America and I’m looking for that ideal job.

This is something that has seemingly attacked several people who entered the IT industry around the same time that I did (or at least over the past decade). It seems that many of them have decided that writing code or going to endless, meaningless meetings is sucking the life out of them and they too yearn for a better way of life. As an example, I have a friend who left a fairly prestigous organization to start his own contracting business (remodeling and rebuilding homes, business, etc.). Another good friend decided that she would rather pursue becoming a chef. Yet another is contemplating doing something that blends the IT world with humanitarian efforts.

All of us are guilty of envy. We’re envious of people who have more time, have fulfilling careers, or who enjoy their jobs. The grass is greener on the other side, isn’t it?

Of course I need to end this by repeating what I told Angela the other night. “The problem with finding a job that fills that void in me and that makes me content normally means that it pays crap. Unfortunately, I like to buy stuff.”

The eternal conundrum…