Today is a holiday in the Philippines - Ninoy Aquino Day to be specific. Let's ignore the fact that his son is the current President (since we're totally into political dynasties) or the fact that our country has more holidays than most.
I work in an industry that doesn't get many holidays. It would be overly simplistic to simply blame the fact that I work for a US-based company as being the main reason for my lack of holidays. It's really just about the way the service industry is built - the support of customers is a non-stop process and people tend to expect someone to pick up the phone regardless of when they call. Most of our own local customer support queues tend to shut down on weekends while thousands of Filipinos trek to their respective BPO companies in the middle of the night to make sure folks on the other side of the globe get supported.
My job primarily consists of writing. And these past weeks have proven to be particularly busy. And that means even more writing. It means conference calls about what to write. It means brainstorming with my peers about how to write things better. That's a lot of writing. And for those folks who dismiss white collar jobs like writing as being "easier" than blue collar jobs that require more physical activity, you're crazy. All work is tiring and stressful and draining.
And yet I also resort to writing to find some relief. Writing about what troubles me and what makes me happy and all the different stuff in-between actually helps me feel better. It helps me organize my thoughts and bring back a sense of order to things and all that. Some people find solace in a few drinks to cap off the night (which can be fun, too). But when you work at night and your shift ends just before lunch, it really makes more sense to find other stress-relievers.
And so I write. And then I start to feel better.
Sometimes I worry that I write about the same things over and over. After all, I've been in the same role for more than 4 years now and this my problems tend to repeat in cycles. But then this is my blog, and I write here for my benefit. The rest of you are just along for the ride. And I write. And I hope things get better.
And while I don't necessarily get all of the local holidays, at least I get my weekends.
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