panic! at the cubicle

when you used to sit in school, under the table and dreaming, did you ever think about escaping? not escaping school for the day or for a month, but forever. like, "man, i wish i was outta here and i didn't ever need to come back." probably not right? school, at least up to the high school level, was a chore we had to undertake. our day dreams were probably more along the lines of "i wish the bell would ring so i can get out of here already" or "i sure wish so-and-so would acknowledge my existence."

i think part of the reason why our little minds never reached beyond the scope of skipping school temporarily is because none of our peers were escaping education either. aside from a few home schooled freaks, a few delinquents, and the occasional athlete, everyone went to school. there was no escape, for us or for our peers.

the problem nowadays is that there are plenty of our peers opting out of work. i define "working" as being chained to a desk nine-to-five. just in the last month, i've had friends dreaming big -- beyond the scope of the office. they are leaving a steady job to start their own company; they are leaving their lucrative, but hated, professions for the unknown; they are preparing to move across the country, or even across the world.

the point is, we're quitters. without either (a) proper motivation or (b) excessive compensation -- sometimes both -- nobody's sticking around. changing jobs is part of our lifestyles. bigger and better, or even simpler and better if that's your style.

maybe all this is happening because my friends now have enough experience and leverage to call their own shots and to dictate their own paths. the "oyster" that was promised to us almost a decade ago is finally opening a crack. that's a nice way to think about it. we're not quitters, we're progressors. however, i have a sneaking suspicion that some of us are just hitting dead ends rather than open fields of grass.

actually, i'm a quitter. i've quit every real job i've had. i'm aiming to go three for three. at this rate, i'll never gain the "5 years or more of experience necessary" to obtain a real craigslist or monster.com job. i feel like with most jobs, you can learn everything you need to know within a year -- six months for exotic sponges like me. apparently nobody else agrees.