Cerberus;340572 wroteWasn't able to respond to this thread yesterday as I was too busy loving all the awesomeness of it!
Well done on the mob chick for getting in and getting out without losing anything important (i.e. life)
For the job stuff, while it totally sucks about leaving that kind of money, I'm glad to see there's still good people out there that don't let the almighty dollar run their entire life. You'll enjoy Santa Barbara :)
Or, you could start a co-op vet. Just sayin.
Thanks for the encouragement -- hoping that the Santa B job will sound good. It would be awesome to live minutes from the ocean.
If not, the Las Vegas Emerg Clinic looks to be hiring again...I'm thinking taking 8-10 shifts a month and pokering part time would not be all bad. Cost of living down there is dirt cheap. Vegas isn't the beauty of California, but I have always really liked the desert. Everything seems great after the apocalyptic Edmonton winters.
A third and less likely option is moving up to Vancouver. I have a very good friend up there with 2 kids and her husband has been quite sick for a while. It would be nice to spend some time with her and help her out a bit. I would probably just play poker in the short-term up there, I hear on 2p2 that the games are super soft and it would be a nice kind of holiday for a short while...giving it all up to go pro.
I guess I've been having a bit of a realization over the past year or two that I no longer love working emergency. I have done it for over 12 years and it becomes draining. I love animals and I love helping them but it's kind of a thankless job. The pay is good in most areas and you generally get lots of time off, but the hours are crazy (mostly 12-14 hour overnight shifts), you don't develop any relationships with the people that come in (I used to like that but am starting to think maybe it would be nice to be more of a part of a community somewhere), you can be incredible at your job and rarely get recognition and, mostly, you have to deal almost exclusively with sick and dying animals. Most of them get better, but if I never had to work a shift where I have to euthanize 6 animals again I would certainly be a happier person. I realize that I help so many animals and do a far better job at it than most vets, but it still becomes both mundane and taxing at times.
I feel the need for some kind of change or maybe I just need a small break from working to get a bit of perspective. The answer could be in the proximity to the ocean, getting a dog again and enjoying the outdoors more often or in helping a close friend or in dating the cute Mexican woman I went out with last night...other than the financial uncertainty at the moment I have no regrets about this job not working out. I'm hopeful that a 1-2 week trip to Vegas will be in my near future.
#thesearethedaysofourlives
