"Dear (Supervisor): I'm not coming back in today, tomorrow, or ever again. Life is too short."
With that short e-mail, I changed my life for the better. Even though my bank account doesn't seem to think things are better, my Stage 1 hypertension, previously treated with prescription medication, is gone. I haven't had a BP reading above 120/80 in weeks. The persistent scabs on my forehead from digging my nails into my skull have all healed. Maybe this is just wishful thinking, but I could swear my hairline has stopped receding and may even be marshaling its forces for an advance. Somehow, even with the stress of attempting to launch a new career, of wondering when we're going to be able to buy toilet paper next, I am psychologically and physically healthier now than I was before I sent that e-mail to the supervisor at my former job, doing phone tech support at a call center for various ISP providers.
To anyone who hasn't worked in phone tech support, it might not seem that difficult. And I suppose it's not. But it is completely soul sucking. I'd describe it, but Cracked writer Ian Fortey describes it quite well here and here. Looking back on it, I wonder how I lasted as long as I did--or rather, how my body didn't spontaneously combust.
Really, it was my wife who finally gave me the push I needed to get out of there. She's said that the only times she's ever seen me truly angry were after particularly bad nights at work. By the time I left, I was like that almost every night.
However, as I said before, my bank account really doesn't like this new situation. My wife and I are working full steam ahead on a nonpartisan (yes, really!) political philosophy book, which I'll post more about before the October 23rd publication date (we're self-publishing through Amazon). Mrs. Geiiga is a student, so while she goes to class and studies, I've been attempting to launch my voice acting career. I've got a great sound studio set up in our second bedroom, and I did submit a few auditions to a site that posts voice acting jobs, but to no avail yet.
So my question here: Does anyone have advice for me? I'll talk some more about what I've got set up already after the fold.
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