Rat Race

[Pharmacy Kid]

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Anyone feel like life is one giant rat race? Go to work, save money, retire, etc. If you didn't have to work, what would you really do? I for one never enjoyed working. Whether it was summer jobs, pharmacy jobs, non-pharmacy jobs, I just never enjoyed working. I just really like traveling and working out.

 

[nasacort24hr]

You should listen to the song "chained to the rhythm", that's the life most people have nowadays.

 

[RxPreceptor]

Watch groundhog's day....feel's like everyday in retail

 

[BMBiology]

This is your life and it is ending one day at a time.


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[gwarm01]

Fishing boat on the bay

 

[lord999]

I'm so warped from my career and school experience that I'm not sure what I would do. I don't enjoy any of my hobbies enough to make it work for me if I had complete liberty(and I've learned that most people don't when they are given the opportunity),@ and I find my occupation to be like a real life RPG (complete with bosses and grinding. 60 years is more than enough for me.

Then again, I came from a classically abusive Asian household, so my idea of a good day involves something as little as not having to deal with family drama or obligation.

 

[nasacort24hr]

I'm so warped from my career and school experience that I'm not sure what I would do. I don't enjoy any of my hobbies enough to make it work for me if I had complete liberty(and I've learned that most people don't when they are given the opportunity),@ and I find my occupation to be like a real life RPG (complete with bosses and grinding. 60 years is more than enough for me.

Then again, I came from a classically abusive Asian household, so my idea of a good day involves something as little as not having to deal with family drama or obligation.

Lol, real life sometime does seem like RPG game. You want to pass each level / stage, and you need to gain experience, level up, and obtain certain equipments to help you pass through each stage. The most boring part is leveling up by doing repetitive tasks, which is similar to studying in school, passing tests, etc. You past college, finished pharmacy school, then there is residency or 1st job out of school, then there is leveling up to the chain or gain more certificates, or to move back to a desired location. Then you have to save enough cash to pay loan, support family at the same time. I don't think it ever ends, until the last day of your life...

 

[generallyspeaking]

I actually derive fulfillment from working (in optometry), so for me working actually is a positive factor for my pathetic existence. My extremely satisfying job I managed to acquire is the only saving grace in my otherwise boring, single, and lazy life. I'm actually proud of the work I do whereas on my days-off I usually have no accomplishments nor companionship (I have no friends outside of work).

 

[beautifulrobot]

kind of like lord999 and generallyspeaking, I find a lot of satisfaction in my work, and would feel a bit lost without my job. I also put a lot of my self-worth into working hard (at work that I consider worth doing), so I would feel pretty crappy without a job or a sense that I was contributing to something greater than myself. I guess I enjoy learning for the sake of learning, so if I didn't have to work I would probably go back to school and just take a bunch of classes that sound interesting, or maybe jump around different vocational training programs and learn new technical skills...

 

[wonger86]

I'm so warped from my career and school experience that I'm not sure what I would do. I don't enjoy any of my hobbies enough to make it work for me if I had complete liberty(and I've learned that most people don't when they are given the opportunity),@ and I find my occupation to be like a real life RPG (complete with bosses and grinding. 60 years is more than enough for me.

Then again, I came from a classically abusive Asian household, so my idea of a good day involves something as little as not having to deal with family drama or obligation.

Can someone please make an 8-bit pharmacy RPG game? This would be hilarious.

*You've encountered three refills!*
*Pharmacist sprite moves to counter and counts tablets*
*Pharmacist sprite moves to workstation and verifies prescriptions*
*You've gained 50 xp!*

*Screen flashes red*
*Angry Customer approaching!*
*Pharmacist dodges "Angry Customer Insults" and retaliates with "Common Sense Logic"!*
*Common Sense Logic" is ineffective!*
*Pharmacist absorbs "Angry Customer Insults"!*
*Angry Customer flees*
*You've gained 500 xp! Level up!*

 

[nasacort24hr]

Can someone please make an 8-bit pharmacy RPG game? This would be hilarious.

*You've encountered three refills!*
*Pharmacist sprite moves to counter and counts tablets*
*Pharmacist sprite moves to workstation and verifies prescriptions*
*You've gained 50 xp!*

*Screen flashes red*
*Angry Customer approaching!*
*Pharmacist dodges "Angry Customer Insults" and retaliates with "Common Sense Logic"!*
*Common Sense Logic" is ineffective!*
*Pharmacist absorbs "Angry Customer Insults"!*
*Angry Customer flees*
*You've gained 500 xp! Level up!*

But by the end of the day, your health point got -50 and spirit -100 due to customer insult, stress level up +100, physical health - 50 due to standing for a whole day, not break/no lunch.
At home: alcohol consumption --> boost up spirit, reduces stress level, but health point and physical health is reduced.
Spend money and time on hobbies on days off--->boost up spirit, physical health; but huge reduction on MONEY.....LOAN is adding up interest....stress level up each time looking at the student loan statement.

 

[Lnsean]

Anyone feel like life is one giant rat race? Go to work, save money, retire, etc. If you didn't have to work, what would you really do? I for one never enjoyed working. Whether it was summer jobs, pharmacy jobs, non-pharmacy jobs, I just never enjoyed working. I just really like traveling and working out.

Yea...that's why I went part time and have spent the last 2 years traveling the world and honestly...it has been the best experiences ever. I'd say there has been more personal growth within the last 2 years than in any other period of my life. When I was working FT as a manager, I was making good money but I always felt directionless...like a piece of wood drifting in the vast open sea...just living to work. My friend who is with one of the most prestigous investment banks in the world is also considering a sabbatical next year and he makes like 250k base ( like 6 fig bonuses past few years)...his hours are pretty insane too...and even with his kind of pay...he's worn out. Enjoy yourself...I don't regret any of it at all.

 

[sakigt]

You are what you spend your time doing.

If I didn't have to work for money Id probably get into politics. Once I pay off all the debt that I thought I needed I plan on working and donating 10%, saving every other paycheck and blowing the rest on awesome vacas with my husband and kids.

Edit: I suggest the Headspace app and the Minimalism podcast. The latter sounds really stupid but give it a try.

 

[confettiflyer]

I think I found balance...I derive a LOT of enjoyment with what I do at work such that I can actually see myself continuing to work part time/very part time (1-2 days a week) until I'm 75 (pending health).

Having the ability to take ~7 weeks off a year helps keep things fresh.

But sure, there are long stretches that feel like a grind. You just have to figure out ways to enjoy little things, like figuring out a new recipe for dinner when you get home.


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[mfdoom]

More and more often, I find myself staring at the ceiling after my alarm goes off, fighting the urge to call in sick to work. Of course, 99% of my friends (in different fields) enjoy their work and actually have passions they turned into careers. What the hell is up with that?

Honestly, even vacations seem like work nowadays. Go to new place, wake up early every day to explore new place, etc. I think my dream vacation would be to stay in one of those over-water bungalows in some tropical area, but just sleep all day.

 

[BMBiology]

Don't depend on work for your happiness. It is not going to happen.

Even if you love what you do, you also have to do the things you hate. That is why it is called work.

Work gets old and people's attitude changes when they get older.

Obviously there is no easy solution. You need to pay off your student loans. You also need to pay off your house before you can really start to work less.

Look at your friends and coworkers and the mistakes they have made. Marrying the wrong person is a destroyer of wealth. Buying craps you don't need is just a waste of money. Taking fancy vacations so you can post them on FB is just being fake. Having multiple kids that you can't take care of is going to make you old and gray.




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[gwarm01]

I think I'd get bored if I retired now, but I'd love to have enough money to just work a couple times a week. I'd be the cool Uncle of the pharmacy, just there long enough to have a little fun and cause a little trouble, out before it gets rough and no real responsibility.

 

[BMBiology]

.

 

[BMBiology]

I think I'd get bored if I retired now, but I'd love to have enough money to just work a couple times a week. I'd be the cool Uncle of the pharmacy, just there long enough to have a little fun and cause a little trouble, out before it gets rough and no real responsibility.

Would you really get bored? Were you bored during your summer break?

If you have kids, you can walk them to school in the morning then you can go hiking, ride your bike or work out. You also go to a cafe and just relax, go to the beach or watch Netflix. The possibilities are endless.

If we didn't work so much, we would live a longer, healthier and probably happier life too. You can't put a price on those things.


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[gwarm01]

Would you really get bored? Were you bored during your summer break?

If you have kids, you can walk them to school in the morning then you can go hiking, ride your bike or work out. You also go to a cafe and just relax, go to the beach or watch Netflix. The possibilities are endless.

If we didn't work so much, we would live a longer, healthier and probably happier life too. You can't put a price on those things.


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Hell, I get bored on the weekends sometimes. There isn't a lot to do that I enjoy in this area. That wasn't the case when I lived in a larger city on the ocean, so I'd definitely need to relocate in that case.

 

[Rainbowdash]

I found out that for me, work is tolerable and even somewhat fun, when done in short bursts--4 or 5 hr shifts. But what I truly enjoy is spending time with my kids. We are somewhat mustachian, no loans, no mortgage, but still about 10 years away from retiring. I am trying to work less now, about 30 hrs/wk, and my quality of life improved greatly just from that. Being able to spend a day in a park with your kid, going to the pool, reading them a book is priceless. All these topics about finding a side gig or working OT make me sick...

 

[lord999]

It's interesting that when we force administrative leave (paid, do not leave the country, you are not in trouble, and do not talk to your coworkers) on people for six months due to incidents which have to be settled in the system, I find that even the most diehard recreationalist misses the job. I think it has to do with conditioning in the sense that if you do not want to work, you figure out a way fairly easily if you are at work, but most don't work to begin with.

But the definition of work is fluid. People consider raising children work. People who are married to high maintenance spouses is work. People in the industry whose sole job is to be good-looking would be a job to anyone else who isn't a natural (and invent their own work by pursuing what and who they want).

The problem is that pharmacists and dentists have this issue where they are paid enough that they have spare cycles do things, but they never really can let go. I don't want to let go, I can easily be the house husband, but I don't want that for a job. But, it is fairly straightforward to work less (and in pharmacists' cases, far less) while maintaining a first-world standard of living without detrimental consequences. Most people buy into the system, thus they are consumed by it. It is only when you stop participating do you meaningfully get away from it.

 

[sakigt]

I think Id be a good fit for an admin "suit" job but the idea of working 40+ hours a week....NO THANK YOU.

 

[Sine Cura]

Assuming you are even lucid at the time of your death, you will surely long wistfully for the time you spent >33% of your healthy adult life increasing shareholder value or being a cog in a bureaucratic machine.

 

[Pharmacy Kid]

Look at your friends and coworkers and the mistakes they have made. Marrying the wrong person is a destroyer of wealth. Buying craps you don't need is just a waste of money. Taking fancy vacations so you can post them on FB is just being fake. Having multiple kids that you can't take care of is going to make you old and gray.

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The wisest words from BMBiology I have ever heard. Usually you rail about PSLF or the state of pharmacy, lol.

 

[Pharmacy Kid]

Yea...that's why I went part time and have spent the last 2 years traveling the world and honestly...it has been the best experiences ever. I'd say there has been more personal growth within the last 2 years than in any other period of my life. When I was working FT as a manager, I was making good money but I always felt directionless...like a piece of wood drifting in the vast open sea...just living to work. My friend who is with one of the most prestigous investment banks in the world is also considering a sabbatical next year and he makes like 250k base ( like 6 fig bonuses past few years)...his hours are pretty insane too...and even with his kind of pay...he's worn out. Enjoy yourself...I don't regret any of it at all.

I feel like that too. I need to find a sense of direction ... or enter a meaningful long-term relationship with someone. Maybe I'm just having a late quarter-life crisis.

 

[UofK]

I could derive 100% satisfaction from a job scooping up dog **** all day so long as:
-My co-workers were bros
-I made pharmacy money or better
-I had a hot chick to go home to and bang

Ultimately, my satisfaction from life comes from our evolutionary drive to marry, have kids, and raise a family...and enjoy all of the fun things associated with that. I've come to terms with the fact that I will never ever ever be truly happy until I have that...regardless of what clothes I wear, how much money I have stashed away, the type of house I live in, or the car I drive. All of that **** is pointless when looking at the big picture.

Sadly, I have one of the three above...so...c'est mon vie!

Honestly, even vacations seem like work nowadays. Go to new place, wake up early every day to explore new place, etc. I think my dream vacation would be to stay in one of those over-water bungalows in some tropical area, but just sleep all day.

Truth!

 

[Gombrich12]

I could derive 100% satisfaction from a job scooping up dog **** all day so long as:
-My co-workers were bros

Yep, my favorite jobs are still the ones I had over the summer in high school where it was a bunch of friends clowning around and worrying about what we were gonna do once we got off that night.

 

[CUninja]

Be honest with yourself...what is it that you want from life? (And be realistic...no you can't not work for the rest of your life.)

What's more important: money, companionship +/- kids, life experiences, work...etc? There is no wrong answer to that question, but you have to be honest with yourself.

To me, I could be happy making a lot less and companionship doesn't make me happy. I do right now what makes me reasonably happy while working a plan to change my life situation to a situation where I could be more happy. Yes, I'll likely make a lot less...but that's ok because in the grand scheme of things its a personal choice.

You don't want to work pharmacy for the rest of your life? Then don't...most of us are smart enough to make it in another career.

 

[croquemonsieur]

To me, I could be happy making a lot less and companionship doesn't make me happy. I do right now what makes me reasonably happy while working a plan to change my life situation to a situation where I could be more happy. Yes, I'll likely make a lot less...but that's ok because in the grand scheme of things its a personal choice.

You don't want to work pharmacy for the rest of your life? Then don't...most of us are smart enough to make it in another career.

Are you going to transition to part time or to another career entirely? Just curious.

 

[quickpic007]

I feel like that too. I need to find a sense of direction ... or enter a meaningful long-term relationship with someone. Maybe I'm just having a late quarter-life crisis.

If you are tired of railing randoms on tinder try a new city! LTR is not always the answer!!

 

[lord999]

I feel like that too. I need to find a sense of direction ... or enter a meaningful long-term relationship with someone. Maybe I'm just having a late quarter-life crisis.

You're also uniformed, and no kidding, it's a hell of a transition when you don't have a regimented path like school or the uniform hanging over you.

 

[CUninja]

Are you going to transition to part time or to another career entirely? Just curious.

I'm going to keep the details to myself at this time.