re: This season is so weird

Yeah, I remember that life when I finished my PhD and went to work in industry for a bit to be a part of the "real world." I came away realizing there is no "real world" and don't miss that shite a bit.

Back in the Spring of 21, I was showing the at-the-time North American VP of a very large international company around campus. He'd been a grad student of mine, which is long story itself. He had done his degree remotely and was in town for graduation.

In between a constant stream of phone calls he was getting, he asked me, "Why do you do this? You could make a lot more money with your skill set in the private sector."

I said, "Think of how much you've been on that phone on what is supposed to be a day off. Now think of how many people called me while I'm technically at work, where today my job includes walking around this beautiful campus on a pretty day. My time means a lot to me, and I've somehow gotten to a place where I own most of it myself and still pay the mortgage. Why would I frick that up?"

He laughed and took another call.

And I have no problem with guys who want that life either. We all live on the same planet, but we aren't all playing the same game. Scoring points means different things to different people. And I think that should be a good thing.

I look at my job as helping 20-somethings figure out which game is important to them and hopefully helping them get ready to play it when they graduate, whatever it is. Being able to do that for a living is worth as much as having some say so about how I spend my time.