deep end.

Despite needing to hit the bed pretty soon if I hope to get at least 5 hours of sleep, I figured I ought to blog because, if I don't, it will probably be awhile before I get into it again.

So today was training day. And I find out that there's an evaluation period of 6 days. Which means either you perform well enough to impress, or they boot you out. No pressure.

I'm beginning to understand certain things about age and status already. Someone once told me when you finally enter the working class, it becomes difficult to communicate with students. Already the gulf has become an unfamiliar territory. You begin to forget what it's like to be a student.

Part of it lies with what you deal with on a daily basis. While I would still choose working life over student life, mostly because of the sense of achievement and self-satisfaction you get when you become independent and self-sufficient, free time has become a luxury you have to learn to do without. And work takes on a different level altogether. While assignments can be admittedly difficult, it's more or less a one-off thing. Meaning you get the deadline, you spend weeks/days working on it, you're done, and you can forget about it and enjoy the break.

Work on the other hand, has a daily expectation to perform. There is no 'happy hour' during work. You've got to look your best while you do your best. Assignments are stressful at that point of time, but work is everyday. So when you have a bad day and you're trying to relate that with a student who has a bad day, one of you is going to think less of the other person's day, simply because there is no level of comparison. Unless of course, the conversation goes like:

Student: Man, I had a crappy day today.
Salary man: You're telling me, I had a crappier day today.
Student: No way. Mine's crappier. I got a P for my assignment which I thought I did well in. And then I have 3 more assignments due next week. Then got exams.
Salary man: Yours is nothing. Mine's even crappier. I've got to meet 6 sales targets by today alone. And I'm working double-shifts for the whole of next week. And on top of that, it's the evaluation period.
Student: No, mine's crappier. The girl I liked for 3 years has gone out with my best mate. And on top of that, I'm flat out broke.
Salary man: You think yours is crappy? A sewage truck hit me and spilled shit all over me this morning before work.
Student: ... Dude. Seriously, that's imba lar...

Especially now, since most friends here are going through exam periods. They have their own busloads of screaming monkeys to deal with, and telling them you're worried about hitting your sales target is going to lose their attention in a matter of 3 seconds.

Thankfully, I've still got a support group of friends whom I can share with and talk shop with, though some others I find harder to relate to. Your priorities change, and to be honest, some things you just don't want to face at the end of a tiring day at work.

Except beer. There's always time for beer o'clock.

. Arigato .