get by

when i started in the advertising business, i had the fortune and misfortune to work at a firm that had my last name in the title. people assumed i was related to one of the principals and expected me to coast on my name. that was so far from the truth it`s scary. when i started working i had my mother`s work ethos stuck in my head; give the job 150% because there is someone else that can do your job just as well.

i learned the hard way when you give 150% all employers do is take advantage of you so i revised my work ethos; find a job that you like, do it well and when it ceases to be fun, it`s time to move on. it seems a little fickle, but life is too short. as long as you`re working for someone you`re prostituting yourself; i hold no illusions about that; it`s about how badly you want to be screwed for what you`re getting paid. i enjoy what i do, i work hard, but i`d rather not have sodomy with a barbed wire and sandpaper condom as part of the daily ritual.

so here i am 13 years later, older and somewhat wiser. and these are this i`ve learned; i have realised that even with all that experience; that`s also apparently scaring people off; without a degree people don`t seem willing to give you a second glance or if they do, not pay you anywhere near market value. experience outside the US; where the quality of work, in my humble opinion, is higher; also doesn`t count for squat.

i`m bitter and upset about how things are going with my job. it will pass and if it doesn`t i`ll have to suck it up and do my job because that`s the kind of person i am anyway. at the end of the day, the work i produce is an extension of me and i`d at least like it to be positive.