A job to do

When in college, I fantasized about the day when I would be able to waltz about the town with a degree in one hand and a paycheck in the other. I could get up, go to work at a reasonable hour, go home at a reasonable hour, and go to bed when I wished. A compartmentalized life in a compartmentalized society where everything has rules, ownership, and responsibility. The problem is that this is not home, not America, not even western civilization. Rules, ownership, responsibility, expectations, quality, timeliness - everything has such a different meaning. However, the biggest thing to me is my job. It's not a 9 to 5 or even 8 to 5. It's officially a 7 to later, but all too often starts well before 7 am and frequently goes past 7 pm. What I am learning is that although I have a job (if you can call it that), it's not one that I can leave at work. Going home at night is really just pausing until tomorrow in a location that's convenient in the case that I will be needed before then. I guess I don't have a job, it's more like a duty. Until my quota has been filled, you will probably find me here, so far away.