Changing direction, or standing still?

When I left my job at a deeply flawed, borderline law-breaking company last week, I had to do some soul searching. Friends keep asking where I’m going next, have I found a new job, and they’re kind enough to send me job opportunities. It’s very sweet, but I really don’t want to go back to an office.

A change of career direction should not be mistaken for standing still, but it often is. If you are seen to be sleeping late, not wearing pants*, etc, you are considered a time-waster; someone who doesn’t or won’t work. I disagree. I just don’t happen to work in a job like yours. I don’t commute anymore, I don’t buy my lunches at the fast food joint in the mall, and I don’t sit in a cubicle. Nor do I wish to.

Of course, friends have a right to be somewhat concerned, at least until I really start producing. After all, given what they know about me, it’s easy for me to spiral down into a depression and forfeit any good work I had already accomplished.

But for now, what I need is a week to get my brain used to the new routine, and to find the rhythm in my new lifestyle. I’m not standing still, I assure you. I’m just hitching a ride in a new direction.

* And I really do wear pants. Vinyl kitchen chairs in a heatwave? Yeah, pants.