I've been wanting to try my hand at Lulu's great idea for Somedays are... Tuesdays for a while now, so here goes!
Somedays I wake up well in the morning, but most days I'm still tired and crabby.
(ummm, I think its supposed to be the other way around, but unfortunately that is not the case... Let's try this again)
Somedays I am overwhelmed by all that I have on my plate, but most days I think of a couple other things I'm tempted to add.
Somedays I despearely want to jump to the next (or rather the next-next) step, but most days I am totally content with where U and I are.
Somedays I question what I am doing and wonder about my professional future but most days I love my job and feel valued.
Welcome to Somedays, I'm glad you joined us!!!
ReplyDeleteI think it's great that you love your job. Many people go to work well qualified in their field but don't enjoy what they do. I'd rather be in your situation.
...overwhelmed, but keep adding, oh that sounds so familiar!!!
next next as in baby? You don`t need to do the first next to have a baby if you don`t want to.
ReplyDeleteFeel you on the overwhelmed front. And I don`t even have that much to do apart from take care of my kids and work 2 Saturdays a month.
Oh and the first one sounds about right to me! LOL
yes i wrote about NOT being a morning person too! haha. crap. it's ok, you are not alone here ;p
ReplyDeleteAchan - I have to remind myself just how lucky I am to have a job that I love (most days) especially since I am in a foreign country and work in a foreign language! It is tough sometimes as there are opportunities that I am just not eligible for because I live in Japan... but I do love most of what I do and it is a great opportunity!
ReplyDeleteLulu - yup! But, it isn't like I want to skip the whole getting married part. Just biological clock starting to tick really really loudly.
Not much to do?! Taking care of your two little ones sounds like two full-time jobs to me! ;)
Ai Sakura - good to know I'm not the only one who isn't a morning person!
Okay, my two-cents worth for a strategy:
ReplyDelete- apply this fall to get into a PhD program for 2012 (only if you think it's important for career advancement, even though you love your job now)
- 2012 (either before or after PhD program entry): wedding bells
- after one year in PhD program, can take maternity leave! As long as you have a supportive spouse, the PhD experience is one of the most flexible and accommodating times for having children.
Outcome: by 2014 or 2015, you will be satisfied with where your life is going, both professionally and personally. It was not always possible for women to do both, but many of my friends who are ten years older than you are are living very fulfilled lives doing both - happy in their work and with their families. The most important keys to this kind of success are good social policy (ie state-sponsored affordable daycare, workplace flexibility, or capable family help nearby, etc.) and a good partner, who will do half or more of all domestic chores (easier to find in your age group than in previous generations).
love and hugs,
Cath
Cath - thanks for the suggestions. Yor plan, however, has a few serious holes. First of all, no matter how supportive U is, he works 12 hours a day 6 days a week. Hardly conducive to doing more than helping around the house. Second, a grad program starting in the fall would be one in the UK or North America which would require me to leave Japan and U for a short time at least. Hardly the right timing for either newlyweds or soon-to-be parents. Third, daycare programs are not as available in Japan as elsewhere and, most importantly, you have to prove you are working full-time to be eligible.
ReplyDeleteI am looking into grad programs and will keep thinking, but unfortunately it isn't quite as easy as your plan...
I've heard similar complaints from German women - work is just not structured in a way that is conducive to both parents leading fulfilling professional lives. Of course, feminists have written about these gender disparities and barriers for decades. Are there any Japanese feminists? After all, how can someone be an involved father or mother if they're working 12 hours a day, 6 days a week? One of my great joys is listening to my 30-something junior MALE colleagues talk about being fathers, and how their 3 or 6 months of parental leave went, when their wives went back to their jobs, and they took over the main parenting role. With that kind of experience, these men clearly appreciate how much work is involved in looking after a baby/child and they have much greater respect for their wives and are much less likely to rationalize away working long hours at the office and dumping domestic chores on their equally busy partners. I guess I hope for both you and U the ability to lead fulfilling lives in all the ways that I know you are both capable of leading. Being parents and having careers are not easy life projects in themselves - it's just too bad that societies add such unnecessary and unhelpful barriers! Good luck with the grad programs! love and hugs, Cath
ReplyDelete