lonecity.com

Recently I’ve been thinking alot about changing jobs.  Some people seem to be able to accomplish this simple task almost on a whim.  I get really hung up on making such massive life change though.  I took a job that requires me to drive for nearly an hour each way when my last employer went under.  The severance package I got from my previous employer was quite nice and I found myself getting double paychecks for several months after changing jobs.  This huge extra income masked the true expense of traveling so far just enough that I didn’t realize exactly how bad it was until after I got settled into the new rut.  The sad truth is that the only real reason I chose this new job is because it was easy.  Someone I knew offered me the position and I didn’t have to apply so I took it.  I’m the hardest working lazy person you’ll ever meet.

With gas prices stedily climbing I’ve started to realize that I’m going to have to get serious about making a real job (and life) change soon.  Here’s the math that’s getting me proof of the need to change. 

Lets say I were to take a job making minimum wage at about $7 an hour, but I only walk 5 minutes to work and I work for 10 hours a day five days a week.  ($7 x 40 = $280) + ($10.50 x 10 = $105) = $385 per week.

Now lets figure out my $12 an hour job at 38 hours per week (never any overtime)  I get $456 per week on my check.  From that $456 you take away the $72 a week I spend in gas money and you come out with  $384 per week.  Seems about equal in the pay, but I am working 12 less hours a week right?  No  because I’m spending 2 hours a day driving to and from work.  Even though I am not actually at work I have to spend 10 hours a week of my own personal time unpaid driving to and from my job.  The reality is that its a break even situation.  I’m probably losing money already if you throw in vehicle maintenance and associated costs.

Where the scale is tipping balance is that the price for gas has gone up half a dollar in the last year.  So the $72 a week I spend in gas is now closer to $82 per week.  Throw in that I’m sure I can get a job closer to home that pays more than minimum wage and you see how it simply isn’t economical to travel to work anymore.

I wouldn’t want anyone reading this to think I’m just another stupid american bitching about the price of gas.  The truth is I think the cost of gas going up is a great thing.  I wish it would get closer to $15 a gallon.  The blind masses of the american people will never open their eyes to the damage they are doing to the environment with their millions of cars polluting the atmosphere.  I can’t blame that entirely on people bing stupid though.  It is more the nature and tendancy of people to follow along the easiest path.  Its just easier to drive to work than to ride the bus.   I hate to admit it, but I’m one of those people blindly following the same path.

I used to think about global warming and wonder when the end of the world would come.  You see I could see that we were polluting the earth, but I couldn’t see how the earth was going to fight back.  It seemed the planet was destined to lose the battle and we were going to be the eventual downfall of ourselves.  I know all about the prinicpal of equilibrium but I couldn’t see its effect on a global scale.  With the rise in gas prices I’m starting to get a glympse of how equilibrium will balance the pollution with lack of natural resources.  A little too much of the Polar Ice caps may have melted to make me comfortable with the situation, but at least I see there is a chance the earth might survive yet.

Now I just need to do my part and get over my fear of change.  I need to get that new job closer to home.  Its whats right for me.  Its whats right for the planet.  I just wonder what this invisible barrier that holds me back is.  I know its fear, but I can’t comprehend the full scope of where it comes from and how to defeat it.  If I could just conquor this deep seeded fear I would become a truly great human bieng.  (albiet still an asshole, but there’s no cure for that)