..and you know what, I use to hate bullshit jobs. I really did. I've worked in everything from a sysadmin at a debt collection firm to developing data entry sof

..and you know what, I use to hate bullshit jobs. I really did. I've worked in everything from a sysadmin at a debt collection firm to developing data entry software for a travel agency, to health insurance data science to identity management for a University with 20,000 students (actually, that one was rewarding. Working for a Uni didn't feel like a total waste). I dreamed of getting back into a University and getting my PhD so I could earn way less, but at least try to get grants for research I wanted to do and have summers to develop the classwork so I could lie to--cough-cough--I mean "tech" students. I got my masters, but PhD programs were much more challenging to get into, and my GRE scores are terrible. With the way Universities have turned so ideological and anti-free thought, I doubt I'll ever actually go back. I lived in some other countries (did software there too), took a year off to backpack, ran out of money, took more tech jobs ... and now, I feel like I'm okay working tech for the rest of my life. I'll probably be 100% remote from here on out (I have before 2020 at one place) and plan on moving out as far away from the city as I can (and still have decent enough Internet to work). Sure my life might be wasting away playing video games, blogging or attempting to learn banjo while working for another firm soaking up money ... but I've had adventures. I've literally traveled around the world. I might not hit a lot of my goals .. but man, I've done quite a bit and I'm not even 40 yet. I'm sad due to the pandemic, but at least I'm not bitter. I know if I was stuck locked up in Chicago with younger me, that kid would not have made it. My old project owner at a job sent me an e-mail about how her Italian roommate had committed suicide during the UK lock downs. Could have been me. It's only luck and timing that it isn't.