The Last Shift

It took time but I made it…

I remember, I went from working in the credit field to the telecom field. Two distinct fields with no concrete correlation. I had to take that new job. It was from one call center to another call center but the pay increase was significant. Almost 56%!!!

Where I used to work, people were very friendly and we were a small team, a small department. I felt like we were a family. We were about twenty-five employees in that office. After some time, the tasks involved had become too monotonous. I would end up repeating the same speech to the clients. The good side was the schedule. Weekdays from 10 AM to 6PM. I loved it!  

One day, an ex-colleague, emailed me a job offer he saw on the web. When I saw the salary my jaws dropped down! The most difficult part of this position was the schedule. I would have to be available seven days a week from 7 AM to 1 AM on weekdays and on the weekend, from 8 PM to 11 PM. Oh boy! That was going to be excruciating. The good side, it was a technical support position and I love technology. I am good at testing, troubleshooting, finding the root cause, then applying a fix.

I went to university and I do possess a bachelor’s degree from the faculty of arts and sciences with a major in match. When I completed my studies and left the classroom on my last final exam, I was extremely happy. I knew I aced the paper.

After a few weeks, when all my grades were in, I checked and I saw that I had passed all my classes of my last semester. I had my degree! Now, back to reality and the job market…that was another world.

During my time at school, I was pursuing a math degree because I always enjoyed numbers, calculus and statistics. My regret, I should have gone into actuarial math. I never had heard of that program before until I was in my last semester at McGill. I wish an academic advisor would had explained to me what an actuarial position entails.

As a kid, in my primary school years, I did enjoy math a lot and I was also good at writing essays. Especially fictional stories or semi real life events I have gone through or experienced. My parents, especially my dad, kept on pushing me since I was eight, to be good at mathematics. He did not seem to care about my interests and passions at school or in life. He absolutely wanted me to become an engineer. For some reason, when I go back and think about my childhood, I feel I was brainwashed by my parents, more from my father, and I am realizing that only today. I did enter engineering and guess what? At first, I enjoyed it, then by end of the first year, I lost interest, and it was tough for me in general. I had to switch programs. I went into a field I was good at since I was ten years old. Therefore, I applied and got into mathematics.

During my three years in the math program, I started reading a lot. Specifically, fiction novels and books about personal growth. To learn about life from someone who has been through something before you is a great tool. Examples are books from Tony Robbins, the philosophy about The Secret which dictates the laws of attraction, and about Ho’oponopono, a powerful Hawaiian prayer are just a few examples. As far as reading fiction, I got hooked with suspend, crime, mystery, horror, paranormal, supernatural and drama. That one author that will always fascinate me is the one and only, Stephen King!!! From Christine, The Shining, the novella titled Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption to Mr. Mercedes which is part of a trilogy. My admiration and respect for Mr. King is tremendous. To be this successful at a point where so many of his literature work were adapted to the small and the big screen is unbelievable.

A good part of my childhood I was very involved into writing fictional stories. My teachers praised me. My parents did not see it that way. For them, math and sciences were more important. During my high school years, I left writing on the side to concentrate more on math and sciences. Once I started college, I was back into writing, mostly on the weekend. You can say it was a hobby, a passion that returned into my life. I would maintain to write one story a week. A short story.

Now that I am working with a higher income, and odd schedules, I feel better at writing late nights after my work shift. In my case, my brain is awake, active and has plenty of ideas, stories, and plots.

It took time but I about to complete my first novel. It took close to five years. I worked on it almost every day if not five days a week.

I enjoy my current job but it is not what I want to do the rest of my life. Having the mathematical background and reasoning, I do believe that I am good at what I do for this telecom company. I do believe also that I have lots of imagination and creativity in my mind to one day, maybe…work from home, from anywhere in the world, as long I have a laptop, a word processor software and Internet. Just let my imagination run wild.

All I need is now get the help from a publisher to get this novel out to the world. I just need one person to tell me that they did enjoyed my story. This not about fame, money or stardom. I would like to know that my writing can make people happy and plunge into the universe of my characters. Have feelings for my them and reactions.

I have saved lot of money in the last years by living as a minimalist. I am about to focus only on my stories, my writing, and to produce more novels. Just enough to live from it, and be happy with what I got. Never trade your passion for glory…I will always remember from the famous song of the 80’s.

Thank you for the wonderful people I worked with for the great telecom company. Today is my last shift and I will embark now on a new adventure.