who even knows

me, a gay who does not want kids:

Pro: Thing

And then we broke up.

And I met the woman who I ended up marrying, and the idea of grinding a hundred hours a week suddenly seemed a lot less appealing to me. So I ended up taking a boring office job out of college, and I swear... I cannot imagine living a happier life. We live comfortably, we take multiple vacations in the Northwoods every year, and I have time for hobbies and my creative projects.

My ex on the other hand... uh... works in the White House? That was an odd thing to run across on the internet. I mean, good for her I guess.

One of the reasons I backed out of joining the Navy in ‘99 was being told that there was an expectation that I would constantly be working towards promotions (ahahahahaha fuck that, I just wanted to be an electrician on an aircraft carrier or something; I had no desire to be in charge of people. Also, I don’t take orders well when I can’t see a reason for following them). When I worked at a casino, I was told that if I didn’t improve my attitude, I would never be promoted from cashier, as if I had any desire to go from a lucrative hourly wage (we were on 60 hour weeks while they were expanding, and  the OT pay was amazing) to a salaried wage with no overtime. I was 19 and saving for college, and my response was, “Being a manager in a place like this is meaningless”. My current manager hates being a manager; it takes time and energy away from the actual work he’d rather be doing.

Some people define their success by climbing a figurative ladder, “getting ahead” as if having a career has to be a massive competition. Capitalism loves to push this definition. It’s not that there’s anything inherently wrong with being ambitious; but it’s a tool in an already toxic system which encourages people to think only of themselves and consider everyone else who disrupts their advancement as a threat. I’ve seen friendships and relationships get ruined because of it.