Back out to work

Getting out of bed and out to work after a four-day weekend is perhaps one of the most difficult things. At least, it is for me. I suppose it would be different for someone who enjoyed their job or loved it or found some measure of satisfaction in it. I don't have that. I've been wanting to leave my job for... years. YEARS. Instead of doing that though, I've done a lot of complaining and made a lot of "I want a new job!" statements both here on the blog and elsewhere. 

I have reasons for not leaving the current job and they are as follows:

1. It is close to home - 8 minutes drive if there's no traffic, 30 minutes and more if there is. Close enough that if something were to happen at home, with the mother or otherwise, I can get there quickly. 
2. The pay is fairly reasonable - it's one of the few workplaces close to home that can offer such compensation without being in the energy industry, I don't think I'd mind working in that industry but... my dad left it for health reasons and I'd be just as concerned about my own health. 
3. There are times when the work is interesting - I sometimes feel as though my job is an extension of my dad's; he was a technical vocational teacher for over 30 years and I'm part of an agency that is responsible for technical vocational education and training (TVET) in my country. I firmly believe that TVET is just as important as academic education and training. Where would a society be without its craftspeople? 
4. They know my business - and by this, I mean that they know that my mom is not well... I can call in and say I'll be running a bit late on a morning and they sorta know why. I've been using my sick days on days when the mother isn't feeling well... or days when I've been up all night with her and need to get some amount of sleep. 
5. I don't know what I want to do otherwise - and that's the kicker isn't it? I do know I don't like having an 8 - 4 desk job. 

I've been asking myself the questions: 

1. What are my skills? My talents? 
2. What do I have to share with the world?
3. What would I do if I had a million dollars?
4. What would I do if I only had one year to live? 

I'm still stuck on the answers. I like reading and writing. I like travelling and exploring. I like food (though I'm vegetarian so I'll never be quite like Andrew Zimmern or Anthony Bourdain). I know how to take care of myself and others. I [sometimes] like talking to people. I would invest... funds and stocks and property then I'd travel. A year to live? Travel. Write. Take photos. Spend time with old friends, make new friends. 

How do I get all that to work for me? I'm trying to figure it out. In the meantime it's back out to work today.

peace,

Ren

Some insight to Trini Food...

"Food is our common ground, a universal experience." ~James Beard  

My family is obsessed with the Food Network... maybe not my dad so much... but the rest of us? We ♥ Food Network. Perhaps it's that we like to learn about new things... perhaps it's that we like to eat... perhaps it's that we like competitions... perhaps we like to cook (this is true in my brother's case... only sometimes true in my case)... I'm not sure what it is really but the most watched channel at home is - The Food Network. It's particularly exciting when we see them feature something we're familiar with in T&T... e.g. karela known here as carailli (known in the U.S. as bitter melon) was an ingredient in one of the baskets in the recent Chopped All-Stars Competition. Oh excitement! my brother and I would have had so many ways to cook that if we were there... lol...

What's also exciting is when we see shows featuring T&T or Trinis abroad. My cousin posted this video on facebook - an old Diners, Drive-ins and Dives episode featuring Pam's Kitchen, a Trini restaurant in Seattle, WA. I had to share... it's something to be proud of I think - that our food is loved by many people :)

It reminded me of how excited I was when I saw the Chicken Wings Throwdown... Bobby Flay was defeated in this throwdown by Colette of Super Wings NYC. 

Finally, this show is not from the Food Network but from the Travel Channel... it was actually one of the first shows featuring Trinidad & Tobago and our food that I saw... Andrew Zimmern of Bizarre Foods fame visited our islands and did an entire show on it... this video below is video 4 of 6... chosen because at this moment I feelin' for some doubles... lol

Am not going out for any at this hour though... ah well. 

Wishing you all a fabulous week ahead.

peace,

Ren