Sometimes I'm just grateful to get through another day. Like today. It hasn't gone at all badly, and in some ways better than expected. Still, it is always nice to come home from work, just as it is gratifying to have a job I can leave home for every day. They balance each other, I suppose. Of course, I do have to work, and not just for a living, but also to contribute to the common good. If I have any quibble about my job it is simply that they might pay us a decent wage and make it possible to work only part time. This isn't because I dislike my work. It is stressful and demanding work at times and in order to do this kind of job well, no matter what the position, it is much better to do it part time than full time, unless you can do this kind of work full time without burning out. The pressure of having to pay the rent, the bills and feed and clothe myself can also feed into the quality of my work. If I work more, I make more money. If I work less, there will be less and I could easily find myself living paycheque to paycheque, and I do actually. The stress this creates can also compromise the quality of care that I provide to our clients.
It isn't that bad. I've really done okay in this career for thirteen years and in less than four more years I can collect my full pension and reduce or completely eliminate my contracts and still enjoy a decent standard of living. I will likely go on working into my twilight years because I really thrive on being able to contribute and the extra pay is a bonus.
Despite the flies in the ointment, and there will always be flies, my life works. At times I can feel a bit isolated, if none of my friends are available to visit for much longer than a week, but this also teaches me to be independent and to take time to care for and know myself. I have no family, by the way, and this can really make me feel isolated if I don't take care of things. My apartment is usually quiet and pleasant, despite occasional noise from the elephant upstairs or the lost boys who live in the hard to house facility next door. And there is also construction racket. But I have earplugs and they work.
Food is always good. I eat whatever I want, but I always try to err on the side of good nutrition. I just made a great gallo pinto. I started it last night after dinner. I put two cups of dry black beans and one cup of dry brown rice in a big cooking pot. I added six cups of water, heated to boiling and let it simmer for a couple of hours, adding soy sauce, miso and garlic powder. Today, after work, I took the gallo pinto out of the fridge, put it on the stove, and added a lot of extra sharp cheddar and four teaspoons of Dijon. Delicious, and so pleasantly this dish reminds me of my recent month in Costa Rica.
This brings to mind another thing I am grateful for. On my low income, I can still travel every year in Latin America for a month, learn about the culture, enjoy the climate, improve my (already fluent) Spanish and meet old friends and new ones. On twelve glorious bucks an hour! In one of the most expensive cities in the world.
My rent is still affordable, always calculated at thirty percent of my monthly income. I could have a good thirty or even forty years left to my life, so I can't fairly say that I am waiting to die. This evening, as usual, I am happy to spend my time writing this blogpost, listening to interesting news and current affairs stories on the CBC, drawing and painting, emailing a friend, or Skyping, watching a documentary in Spanish, giving time to prayer, sacred reading and meditation, and going to bed early, reading for maybe a half hour or longer a novel in Spanish. I also will likely be watching a video lecture as part of an online course I'm taking on ancient philosophy (Aristotle, and rather boring, but good mental exercise)
Hardly an exciting life. Certainly meaningful. Very satisfying. Thank you, Lord Jesus. (Well, Gentle Reader, I am a Christian, so that is the name of whom I am going to thank!)
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