On June 13, my office friends and I had an email discussion about the sex and cash theory, which states that creative people maintain a stable job that pays the bills but requires another one (whether permanent, full time or part-time/freelance type) that allows them freedom to experiment, create and express, even if it doesn't pay much.
Here's a draft reply I wrote but never got around to sending that day. I'll just post it for whoever finds them here one day. ;-)
*****
I used to run around the country and outside, having free lunches and dinners, business class trips and executive club rooms, watching plays and ballets, driving homemade planes, riding yachts and cruise ships, and swimming with the fishes at no cost on my part. Then i get to see my articles printed and my bylines all over the pages. And when I walk into a room and introduce myself, there's recognition in people's eyes. HEAVEN!
But, like I told Rose earlier, during those times I had never spent a decent summer or Christmas vacation with my family; no two-week leave during which I could go island-hopping without deadlines; no looking forward to non-working holidays or extended weekends; no concept of overtime or undertime or office time. I was working almost 24 hours with story ideas swimming in my head and I didn't mind.
My vacations were tied up to my work and my companions were always my colleagues. Back then, when you're single, it was OK. It was fun, no matter how small your basic pay was. You don't feel the smallness of the salary because your junkets were all paid for by your interviewees. You don't feel the need to consider the cash part because you have no responsibility to put food on the table and pay bills.
It was OK to work during holidays because you were always in the center of activity and you thrived on the fast-paced life. It was OK to get really serious about that investigative report you're writing, and time could fly by for all you care, because your focus was on how to squeeze the truth out of that travel agent who stole her clients' money and was being sued for estafa. I could have jumped from 21 to 71 years old and I wouldn't even notice.
My vacations were tied up to my work and my companions were always my colleagues. Back then, when you're single, it was OK. It was fun, no matter how small your basic pay was. You don't feel the smallness of the salary because your junkets were all paid for by your interviewees. You don't feel the need to consider the cash part because you have no responsibility to put food on the table and pay bills.
It was OK to work during holidays because you were always in the center of activity and you thrived on the fast-paced life. It was OK to get really serious about that investigative report you're writing, and time could fly by for all you care, because your focus was on how to squeeze the truth out of that travel agent who stole her clients' money and was being sued for estafa. I could have jumped from 21 to 71 years old and I wouldn't even notice.
But today, can I go a whole year without having a vacation with my own family? And go swimming and cruising and dining with only my colleagues as company? Each time I'd go somewhere, I'd probably wish Mel and Marthe were there, then I'd get depressed that I'm far from them. Can I live on a starting salary of P4,000, when one week's groceries already cost almost P2,000? Can I agree to be paid a P9,000 salary as section editor, as I used to, with Marthe going to school? Can I forego holidays and warm moments under the Christmas tree, and the opportunity to whip up a good New Year's Eve meal?
More than the cash, it's also the thought that you have a routine and a solid schedule around which you can build other plans. There's more to life than your 8-5 job and it's the more that counts most in the end. It's about you and everything you really care for.
Maybe back then, I chose the sex because I was young and free and raring to conquer the world. Maybe now I still want that because I don't feel the least bit old. Maybe back then, the cash could be had if I had wanted it but I was busy with the sex part to seriously pursue it. Maybe now what I chose was stability and the cash came with it but the sex did not.
Whatever, I agree with the sex and cash theory and the points emphasized by my friends Jason and Rose.
I'll be on leave from work from June 25 to August 24 to have a surgery and to spend time at home for recovery. During that time I will have less of the cash, but I'm dead set to pursue the sex part. Who knows? The cash might come with it too. =P
More than the cash, it's also the thought that you have a routine and a solid schedule around which you can build other plans. There's more to life than your 8-5 job and it's the more that counts most in the end. It's about you and everything you really care for.
Maybe back then, I chose the sex because I was young and free and raring to conquer the world. Maybe now I still want that because I don't feel the least bit old. Maybe back then, the cash could be had if I had wanted it but I was busy with the sex part to seriously pursue it. Maybe now what I chose was stability and the cash came with it but the sex did not.
Whatever, I agree with the sex and cash theory and the points emphasized by my friends Jason and Rose.
I'll be on leave from work from June 25 to August 24 to have a surgery and to spend time at home for recovery. During that time I will have less of the cash, but I'm dead set to pursue the sex part. Who knows? The cash might come with it too. =P
