Work To Live.

The only thing that sucks about having a great weekend is that it inevitably ends, and Monday looms overhead like some gloomy cloud.

Good thing I enjoy the work that I do.

I'm really not sure what would take more getting used to: going back to school after spending years in the workforce or going back to work after school. I can honestly say that I kinda liked not having to work the 55-hour weeks anymore (granted this was in the mortgage industry where the turnover rate is much higher than average) and downshifting into going to class a few hours a day. It was a different type of time management; you could say that "going to school" became my job. This became literal once we entered into our yearlong clinical internship and became completely immersed into the world of diagnostic radiology. Now I work full-time at my MRI preceptorship, which will transition into a real job after I go through the usual process of applying to hospital/clinical positions.

I like the structure it gives me, coupled with a nice rewarding feeling of having done some good in a grand social sense. It didn't take long to re-familiarize myself with the pace of getting up and working long days. Guess I'm just gearing up to re-enter the rat race for real.

[via]

Lately I've been entertaining visions of moving to Europe to sample the lifestyle there. From the articles I've read and a brief first-hand look a few years ago, the general pace of life seems to be much more relaxed -- not centered so much on grinding it out at your job for 40+ hours and trying to amass wealth. Not that I wouldn't want some extra zeroes in the savings account, but I don't want to have to burn myself out over a period of years to do it. I don't think it's worth it. But here in the land of "keeping up with the Joneses" and "he who dies with the most toys, wins" it's hard not to get caught up in that mentality. As in all things with life, a balance must be achieved.

Ahhh fuck it. Who wants to move to Europe with me?

Sorry if this entry is all over the place! This was more of a stream-of-consciousness thing than anything else.