Jolie's take

"But I HATE 9-5. It sucks so much of your life time. I mean, it really takes over your life."

This is a quote from my friend, Jolie, who now lives in NYC, but grew up in New Orleans,
and lived in Baton Rouge for a time. She worked here with me for about 3-4 years and I'm
so lucky to have gotten to know her. We've stayed in touch over the years and she always
makes me laugh; she just has a 'way' about her, you know. Anyway, she did the 9-5 over here
for years and couldn't stand that type of life. She went back to school (U.N.O.) to get her
Master's degree in Urban Studies, and then on to C.U.N.Y. to get her Doctorate (Gosh, I hope
I got that right). Right now, she's working temp jobs in the summer to save up some money,
partially to come down and visit family/friends. I sure hope she's saving up a lot
b/c I want to see her badly! Okay, I digress . . Jolie usually gives me a different perspective on
life, as she did when she wrote what she did above. That '9-5' has been my life for about 14 years
now and I'm so caught up in it, that I don't even notice sometimes how much of my life it sucks
up. I definitely wish I had more flexibility, but for now, I'll just have to adjust and make time
where I can. But life shouldn't be that way. Family . . people, in general, should be first. We're
just stuck in a rut where money is what rules our lives for the most part. And if we want to own
our own house, and drive a car that's not on its last leg, and let our children participate in various
activities, then we have to work. That's life for now, suck it up. I know. Which is why I'm trying to
learn acceptance of things the way they are now. I'm learning to appreciate the important things in
life, playing with my girls and my baby boy. Watching them play with each other, listening to their
conversations, just looking at them. Really talking to them. I have to work it around this damn 9-5
job, but so be it.