Are we there yet?

And finally, a real post. I've been trying to study all day, but I've gotten to the point where my head hurts and my eyes hurt and I don't really give a shit (which probably means I shouldn't be staring at a computer screen, but I digress)

I don't work Fridays, but lately I've been going into the office to study (when I stay home I get too distracted). A college friend was passing through LA, so I met up with her during our lunch break.

This friend and I are of a similar breed. We worked hard in college and got good, (reasonably) well-paying jobs immediately after. We talked about how it was nice to make money and have jobs when so many people don't. We acknowledged that there are many college grads that would love to be in our position.

And then we both admitted that working life isn't all we thought it would be. Now that we're 6 months into real life, we've hit the "is this it?" rut. It's lonlier and more tiring than we imagined it would be. When we fantasized about the glamorous working world, we left out little details such as sitting in traffic, coming home to an empty (and sometimes messy) apartment, and having to figure out what to eat.

Unlike college, real life has no orientation. You are not handed a pamphlet filled with clubs to join, and your neighbors won't knock on your door wanting to hang out (or ever introduce themselves, for that matter). Social plans are hard to come by and take a lot of effort and advanced planning (making Saturday plans on Tuesday? What happened to making saturday plans on saturday, like 2 hours before?) And on weeknight - forget it. After 11 hours of work, socializing does not sound like fun.

Another concept, one that only working people understand: working people do not get to choose how they spend their time. In college, you get breaks between classes, and you get to study as much or as little as you want. If you need a break, take it. At work, if you need a break, you buy a coffee and keep working. You don't have the option to not work at work. Every day is a long day.

I'm fairly certain that we are still in transit. Working life is different, but I suspect that our real problem is that our social lives haven't had a chance to catch up with our professional lives. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.