Tuesday, July 3, 2012

When Minimum Wage Is Not



Someone finally saw unique my ability to waffle on without breathing. He saw the great potential behind it and decided he'd put it to good use. Hence, I now join the ranks of the employed, hired as a marketing newbie.

Since experience is directly proportional to price, I am paid newbie rates. But no matter. Coming from a situation where I receive a monthly allowance from the significant other, which was just enough to meet my cellular provider's most basic prepaid option, the feeling of being paid after long term dependency is akin to winning a jackpot.

There is freedom in being salaried. It may not be the same freedom as that being enjoyed by the Taipans of this nation, or by my niece who works as a successful fleet sales representative of a blue chip company that is Petron or even by the regular call center agent. But freedom is priceless no matter how limited it may be.

I can now afford to pay for a round of beer on the next bonding time with my biking buddies. I can now afford to treat my children to the occasional burger and fries at McDonald's or even a medium sized Pizza at Yellow Cab. I can now afford to pay for coffee during my mini dates with Cecille (as a fancy dinner is still a bit steep in my current category). I can now afford to get Efcie a new Duro Miner tire she badly needs.

But more than what I can now afford, there are lessons to be learned here.

I am already contented with my own goals but  to actually adopt someone's mission and vision and make it a part of my agenda makes me seriously reassess my position in the bigger scheme of things. To see the world through someone's eyes, essentially through my superior's at work, opens up my view to bigger opportunities that I never knew existed.

Important still, this new beginning promises that my writing and talking skills will be honed even more. And given that these two are my core gifts, I can not imagine myself in a much better position. To be paid for using one's gifts while being given the chance to turn it into an even bigger gift, in my view, makes minimum wage exuberant.

This is more than a case of being hired. This is, in every sense, a significant journey.

I have always wondered how it is to be a scholar, to get compensated while being trained to be the best in your field. And at age 54 I get to experience all that.