This is not a tale of a downward spiral that ultimately leads to spiritual enlightenment, there is no genuflecting in the middle of the night or a come to Jesus moment. It would be apt to say this is a modern tale of recognizing there is danger Will Robinson and taking action to thwart the onslaught. In my case it was a job, that was making me miserable in every way. When getting off the subway and walking to work filled me with nausea, days when I secretly (and sometimes not so secretly) hoped to get fired just to be relieved of my misery and still be able to cash a check.
I know what you're thinking. You think I think I'm too good for just any job, that people in my generation no nothing about perseverance, have no respect for real work. You're wrong, I worked my ass off to good result. Promotions don't just come to you, you have to work for it and I had for many years. Yet, in the end I was still unappreciated by those I'd served well. Not to mention I was in a toxic work environment. When the human resources director quits over Christmas break with an email and is never seen or heard from again, there is a serious problem. Wouldn't you agree?
I had reached a breaking point. If I didn't change my circumstances I would work myself into an ulcer at best and alcoholism at worst. Those vodka tonics were not going to drink themselves! And so like any female protagonist I made a radical change. To get the fuck out of Dodge. Which meant quitting my job and leaving the center of the universe, New York City. Yeah, I could have just left the job and stayed in the city, but I needed to break-up with my surroundings, New York and are were fast becoming frenemies and that was a relationship that I wanted to preserve, so I needed to take a step back. (that sounded a little Carrie Bradshaw, no?)
Simply put I was sick of my life and soooooo over myself. Since I couldn't get away from myself I decided to take myself away from everything that I knew, my city, my friends and family and my soul sucking job. Like a heroine out of a Henry James novel I sought Europe as my refuge. More specifically Barcelona, a place in which I'd only been in the train station between Nice and Madrid. And no pesky reader, I did not speak Spanish fluently (still don't) and I knew nothing of Catalan culture. To add to what could be deemed reckless behavior I bought a one-way ticket to boot. Much like W I had no exit strategy.
I know what you're thinking. You think I think I'm too good for just any job, that people in my generation no nothing about perseverance, have no respect for real work. You're wrong, I worked my ass off to good result. Promotions don't just come to you, you have to work for it and I had for many years. Yet, in the end I was still unappreciated by those I'd served well. Not to mention I was in a toxic work environment. When the human resources director quits over Christmas break with an email and is never seen or heard from again, there is a serious problem. Wouldn't you agree?
I had reached a breaking point. If I didn't change my circumstances I would work myself into an ulcer at best and alcoholism at worst. Those vodka tonics were not going to drink themselves! And so like any female protagonist I made a radical change. To get the fuck out of Dodge. Which meant quitting my job and leaving the center of the universe, New York City. Yeah, I could have just left the job and stayed in the city, but I needed to break-up with my surroundings, New York and are were fast becoming frenemies and that was a relationship that I wanted to preserve, so I needed to take a step back. (that sounded a little Carrie Bradshaw, no?)
Simply put I was sick of my life and soooooo over myself. Since I couldn't get away from myself I decided to take myself away from everything that I knew, my city, my friends and family and my soul sucking job. Like a heroine out of a Henry James novel I sought Europe as my refuge. More specifically Barcelona, a place in which I'd only been in the train station between Nice and Madrid. And no pesky reader, I did not speak Spanish fluently (still don't) and I knew nothing of Catalan culture. To add to what could be deemed reckless behavior I bought a one-way ticket to boot. Much like W I had no exit strategy.
