I won it. Really. I wouldn't pull your leg.
OK, I confess. It's not true. I did not win the lottery. That would have been impossible since I don't play the lottery, although Bob does now and then.
But with this crazy work that's been going on, I really wonder what EXACTLY I would do after immediately winning the lottery.
Who doesn't imagine winning the lottery and telling your work, "bye bye" the very next day?
So, let's go down the path of fantasy land.
There have been plenty of jobs, maybe most of my jobs where I would do just that. I have worked my entire life to some day provide us with a comfortable retirement. I haven't regretted working. I've worked for some wonderful people and I have worked with Lucifer himself and I've managed to manuever through that minefield for more than 30 years now.
Three years ago I was forced into a career change in an entirely new industry due to my company going bankrupt. Technically, I am now self-employed as I'm working as a contractor with a company that is growing fast, but the basis is a family business and that mentality of all that is good about a family business has been maintained.
Significant project, rolled out almost three weeks ago. We are suffering through bringing ancient programming code, nearly as old as hieroglyphics into today's world. Working with a skeletal IT staff, where the complete understanding of the business and IT is wrapped up into only one brain. On top of this major project are suddenly all kinds of personal issues with the IT staff and their families. The Spock Brain of the operation lost his mother-in-law last Friday and there are other health issues abounding within the staff that are not insignificant.
My job? Officially it's Project Manager of this major project. Which means you do anything that needs done that helps the subject matter experts keep seated and doing their jobs long past the time any reasonably sane person would work.
These people are all hard working, committed, fun people. They overwork themselves, to the point I worry they won't be able to function. While I've been putting in 80 hour weeks, at least four or five of them have put in well over 100 hours or more. When I object about how much they are working, they are soooo quick to point out they are ALOT younger than I am. No, they aren't clueless to what they are saying, they mean it and they love to slam me that I'm the old lady of the group. I'm good with that as long as they keep working. And I wait for my time to find an even better smart remark back. It's the way we roll and laugh through the chaos.
So....
If I woke up tomorrow and realized I had mega millions now waiting for me at the lottery office, what would I do?
Would I cash in the money and tell all of these good hardworking people good luck but I'm outta there?
"Hey I would be glad to continue to help you, but I don't need the money now, so you're on your own."
As crazy as it seems in my head, I could not do that. I couldn't leave in the middle of rolling out this project and telling people that I've worked with for three years, people that I have grown to love and care about that I don't care enough to help get this project running smoothly enough they don't need me.
I cannot imagine doing that. I don't think I could enjoy the freedom the money would provide by knowing I have made it worse for the people I work with. And NO, don't suggest I just split the winnings with them so all of them could quit, THAT is not happening even more.
But I am tired. I want things to smooth out. I told Bob this morning that I was going to call in "retired" but he wasn't keen on that idea. So I got up again, in the office by 7 and volunteered for the support line until 10 tonight, which really lasted until after 11. I can't wait for a day off.
If I was still working for Lucifer, all bets are off and I'm "outta there", maybe without even calling in at all.
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2 comments:
I have a book on lottery winners...
It's old, probably written 30 years ago when New York was one of the few States using the lottery for revenue production. It details the lives of eight or so BIG lottery winners following their win. Most of them of them take the route you initially imagine... quitting their jobs and enjoying the winnings. Oddly, the great majority of them end up bankrupt more quickly than most would believe.
I've thought about this a lot, and think there are a couple things at work here:
Some folks can manage money, some cannot. Those that buy lottery tickets in hopes of making up for the fact they haven't planned for retirement will soon lose their fortune because they have no money management skills. We've seen several celebrities that should be millionaires file bankruptcy because of poor budgeting skills.
Secondly, whether we like our occupations or not, one of the first questions we all ask when we meet someone is "What do you do for a living?"
It's WHO WE ARE. The answer to that question tells us SO much about someone...
What's your education?
What have you done with your life?
How motivated are you?
Are you satisfied with your station, or do you want more?
When we quit our job we lose a great deal of our identity. I once had a student tell me, in answer to that question, that he was a "trust buster"...
His job was to spend the money his parents put into a huge trust for him. The money was doled out to him via a monthly allowance, and he was using it at that time to learn to fly helicopters. I never looked at the guy with the same respect after he told me that.
So be careful what you wish for, girl. You seem happy and well adjusted, in spite of having some ugly images forced into your head by a stupid blogger lately. If you win the bundle, you might not be so happy.
GB: I know what you mean about some lottery winners. They think a million dollars will last forever and they blow through it sometimes in a matter of months. We would be smart enough to invest most, blow just a little and start traveling.
And, you're right. I'm convinced people who win 10 or 100 million are actually getting a curse. I'm sure the sharks teeth begin to show on alot of their friends and family and that amount of money ends up being just a headache rather than a blessing.
I'd settle for 2 milion, figure 1/2 is gone instantly in taxes. Throw the last million in investments and paying off the mortgage and quit. But then my too responsible mind goes into the "what about health insurance?" mindset. We'd figure that out too.
So, let's say I'd clear 1MM. It's not enough to significantly change our lifestyle, but would be enough for me to retire.
And then it gets back to what you indicated. No work? After 32 full time years with no break in all those years? I don't know who I would be. I'd like to give it a try, but as the retirement time gets a bit closer in my non-fantasy life, I wonder that. I wonder if I would feel I was contributing in life. I know a million things I would like to investigate, but not being on someone's payroll would probably be a hard adjustment.
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