For a while I've been wondering what kind of part-time job I would want to have here in Budapest
When our daughter started attending preschool in September I had envisioned to have a ton of time suddenly to work on all kinds of things as I desired. Little did I know that this was going to be even more difficult time-wise then when she's not attending preschool. Not because of the distance, because that takes me about 30 minutes back and forward, which is fine. I'm talking about her bringing home all kinds of viruses and having to deal with either an ill child that wants to be with mommy all day because she feels so feverish or one of us infected with whatever she brought home from school. It was seriously an exhausting period the final three months of the year.
Because of this "little" obstacle. it wasn't possible to follow up on my own goal to let her get used to the preschool for about two months and then extend her day a bit longer so I would slowly gain more time to work. I felt bummed and also frustrated at times, but I had to deal with it as is. It wasn't her fault either, the poor child sure didn't like it when I had to keep her home. I'm glad she at least still likes going there, meanwhile, I try enrolling her in a new one for next school year.
How am I going to solve the time to work problem?
At first, I just decided to go with the flow and be thankful for the fact that I don't have to answer to an employer to tell them that my daughter is ill again making it impossible for me to attend at work. I mean, I've learned it's all so much easier trying to see the upsides instead of staying frustrated while it's actually out of my control. She is attending a less fortunate public school, so deal with it momma!
I decided that I would propose to let her stay 2 hours longer each day. This was fine according to the director, meaning she will now have to rest during nap times instead of sitting on the chair waiting for me to pick her up while others are trying to sleep. We tried to prepare her for it and we both hope she will not make a fuzz as I already feel for those teachers having to deal with it if she does. Let's hope it goes well. I explained to her that she doesn't have to sleep but just rest is fine.
As the Christmas holiday was coming to an end, I spent some time searching for job vacancies
As expected, many of the jobs are full-time and even though I'd find the most awesome job that I have a huge passion for, this is not realistic to think that will work. I won't say this will never work in the future, but I know we all have to adapt to the new situation first and mostly I can't be dealing with a toddler that gets a virus every other week telling my employer that I have to stay at home. There's quite a lot of companies allowing people to work from home with something called home office, but this benefit seems to be something you have to earn and doesn't come overnight.
I installed an app and set a few job alerts, nothing detailed but very vague in the hope that I would find a job soon. After a few days, I noticed that I kept getting notifications for new jobs, while after opening them in the app it turned out these were the same job alerts as the day before and even days before that. Quite annoying!
Suddenly it hit me
I remembered how nice I found my job when preparing breakfast for people in a hotel and also in an elderly home. Making sure the full breakfast buffet was ready for the clients was one of the nicest jobs I had. I had to get up really early but it also meant going home in the morning when most people just started working. It would actually fit perfectly in the new routine I soon hope to have once I start going to the gym. When I do, I plan on getting up early in the morning to start my day all fit and ready to go.
First I have to find out what would be the best option for me, maybe in a hotel or a hostel (probably they have volunteers mostly, but I can check this out of course). I believe there should be plenty of possiblities as we live in a vibrant city filled with accommodations for the many tourists staying in Budapest. I'm not going to have a tunnel vision about the job I want as I'm sure the right one will come on my path when it's the right time.
I'm not looking for extended time behind a desk
Let's be honest, I spent enough time behind my own desk as is, I intend on reducing that time, not extending it for an employer. I still have my own goals and dreams to work on, and I think that will be pushed aside quickly if I have to sit behind a desk at work constantly as well. I know how it all goes in these workplaces and it's the opposite of what I need.
A wise guy @galenkp has this quote below his posts:
Tomorrow isn't promised - Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default
The first time I read that quote it got me thinking, and it kept twirling around in my head. A few days later, I realized that I should think differently and not focus on office jobs. So thanks @galenkp for that quote, it helped me a lot!
I don't do well when I have to put up a fake smile and act as if I love my job, while actually I hate everything about it.
It will not help me as a person at all, neither will it help our family. I have to feel in my element when at work because I'm the last person you can just send somewhere only for the money (even if the money is really good), I have to find some passion to be motivated. I know this, so let's not pretend that I would be happy sitting in an office for a few lousy bucks at the end of the month.
Tomorrow I will start working on an updated resume
As the last time I needed one was in Spain it will need to be updated. On top of that, I want this resume to pop out in between the others and that's not an easy task I think. But I'm quite sure it will be 100x easier to accomplish that with the sort of job I will be aiming for compared to all these office professionals that have a ton of diplomas.
Either way, I feel quite excited and this is going to change a lot but I'm excited and looking forward to the moment that I found that job I think fits me so well. I'm patient though and not expecting wonders. If it happens in weeks, it's fine, but if it will take 1,5 months, It's all good as well. I will just take it all one day at a time.
~Anouk