codewritinfool wrote:Tell me about what you've learned so far in your lives!
Where I'm at:
I worked my way through high school and college, finally got a degree in chemistry, and was hired by a local med school. I piddled around in Anatomy the first couple of years, and then got a position in the Pharmacology Dept. We did drug screens and drug studies, and really kicked butt. Got my name on 15 or 20 seminal papers in the field (but only one as first author). I had my own lab, ran lots of very expensive equipment nobody else knew how to use, and filed reports. There were around 7500 employees on the site at its peak, and I couldn't walk to the cafeteria without saying hi to two dozen people and stopping once or twice to talk to someone I hadn't seen in a while. Work was my social life. The place was like a fucking city!
So after 38 years I retired, and lucked into a job at a brewery: Chief of QC! I grew yeast, did cell counts, and ran the pilot rig and did all sorts of stuff. I left two years later, and I'm not going to go into that.
After the brewery job I looked at the walls. I did every fucking project around the house, and then I looked at the walls some more. One day I was driving down the road and caught myself touch typing everything I was thinking on the steering wheel, and I said; "Buddy, go find yourself a job!" So I applied for a job in hunting and fishing at Academy Sports and they hired me (Oops!). That was a lot of fun. Except for closing. And I got to close three days a week. My social life went straight to zero! I was with Academy about a year, and we parted ways in mid 2016. Once again I am trying to find meaning in my life.
A couple of weeks ago I ordered a fishing boat. It will be here in a couple of months. I'm going to get out and explore the lakes and waterways in this area. I am also considering getting a teardrop camper to tow up to the mountains and shit. And I go to the range a couple of days every week for nothing in particular. Punching holes in paper. Presidio drill. That kind of stuff.
We spend our lives working toward a goal, but I think it's more about the journey than the destination.
Charlie
