A Hobby I’ll Never Turn Into Work

I just realised writing “Today’s craving” at the end of every post makes me sound like a young pregnant woman. Which I’m not.

I am young, I’m just not pregnant. I just derive pure bliss from food. It’s constantly on my mind. I feel like if there is one thing that indiscriminately makes me happy, that’s food.

Food is always on my mind. I am never not in the mood for food. Not to say I’m always eating or ready to eat, but there is always some element of food going on in my mind. It could be the prospect of eating food in the near future, preparing said food, the history of food, making a fusion, the alternative, perhaps the healthy alternative.

That’s something I’m really passionate about, I just don’t know how to take that passion forward. Because I’m not a chef, or a baker, or a food scientist. tbh I don’t think it would be very easy to make a name for yourself in these professions, and the second something you love turns into a chore, it stops being appealing.

I would hate to do that to food.

So I’ll accept that this is a hobby, this is my passion and leave it at that. I don’t need to mix work and pleasure. I disagree with the saying that you need to enjoy or be in love with your work. You just need to be good at it and ensure that it is not taking 100% of your time, so you actually have time for your passions.

You need to have something to look forward to post work. Your work should earn you money to pursue your interests. That’s all. If you love it, well and good. Just don’t let that make you an unassuming manager that thinks everyone else also loves their work and would love to stay back and finish that pitch deck.

No. You’re the exception. For everyone else, it’s the former - means to an end.

Do people who derive pleasure from their work really think everyone else is enjoying it equally as much? Maybe because I have worked outside India for a fair bit, it’s difficult for me to digest when people feel the need to stay in office past their official working hours just because their manager is still in office.

And how others would give you the side eye and sly comments when you leave work on time. On time, not early mind you.

It’s this unnecessary show of being busy that bothers me. If I am done with my work, what’s the point of keeping me till late?

I mean, I don’t mind being frustrated by my work. In fact, I welcome it — that would mean I actually care about what I am working on. It’s the frustration of putting on a show just for the heck of it. Nobody is really deriving any real value out of it.

Instead, you are losing out on value. Because this would add to resentment on the days when you really do need to stay till late.

Just my 2 cents. I don’t dislike my job. It gives me immense freedom, I am grateful for it. These are just observations that I have made, that I can’t really share with anyone. At least not anyone who can actually change things for the better.

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Today’s craving – Onam sadhya