Is there Room for Grace in an 80 hour Work Week?

Where does my faith fit into my work-dominated life?

In many ways, the Lord has crafted me for this sort of work environment. Being in consulting is a high-intensity, intellectually challenging, fast-paced, continuously changing calling. All of which I craved coming out of undergrad.

I truly enjoy what I do. But more and more, I wonder how, in a job that requires a high degree of aggression, competition, and sacrifice, I am supposed to embody the grace, humility, and meekness God asks of His followers.

After a non-stop month of constant sleep deprivation, working all weekend, dealing with terrible coworker drama llama, blowing off my family and friends because I have a lifetime supply of excel sheets to sift through, completely blowing my diet out of the water and living on diet coke, sandwiches, energy drinks, and thai food...I'm exhausted.

oh...and I've completely turned into this kind of jackwagon:

Not by choice, mind you. I hate interrupting conversations and interactions with work calls, but, candidly, when your boss calls you about something last minute, what are you supposed to do??

I'm in a very confusing place right now. God has given me this personality and work ethic and drive that make me a good fit for consulting. And I don't think being a blunt, ambitious person is inherently wrong. I truly believe that God has put me here, and these parts of my personality that might strike some as abrasive have served me well in this environment.

But what I don't know is how to do these things with the grace of a woman of God. How do you turn the other cheek while still protecting yourself against a manipulative coworker who is attempting to undermine you? I've actually had a few people suggest that negotiating raises and salaries is greedy, but I believe there's something to be said for defending your worth as an employee. But where is that balance? And how do you make intentional time for friends, family, and, most importantly, the Lord, when you pound back energy drinks just to stay awake? How do I find the stamina to glorify God through my work when quite frankly I can't even get to all of it? Where does a healthy and necessary dose of ambition and aggression meet grace and humility?

And I think what worries me the most is that I don't have any godly examples around me. It's no secret that consulting can be a very secular, worldly career, and though I'm fortunate to be in a firm that is a far cry from House of Lies, consultants that openly identify themselves as a Christ-followers are few and far between (not non-existent, mind you, but certainly scarce). I don't think these intense, competitive professional careers are inherently antagonistic to a godly way of life, but why do I feel so alone in this? And how....do I do it?

In a world full of wolves, how am I supposed to be as shrewd as a serpent and innocent as a dove? It seems like a juggling act that I haven't quite grasped.

Here lies a post without resolution. I just don't know.

-bRob

n00bs: How to Spot a Freshman

InterWebs, long ago, way back when, here, actually, I promised I would write a post on spotting freshmen from miles away. And now is the time, Webs. I'm seizing the day and carpe diem-ing it up and writing this post about those little ole n00bs [<-- that's right, I keep it real with the nerd lingo] that seem to infiltrate every college campus year after year after year. Seriously, we've called pest control, but the kidz just keep coming back...and back...hah.
    Anyways - freshmen are so full of promise and hope. They all dream so so big, probably because they haven't been in college long enough to get that swift reality kick, Chuck Norris style, to the head. How CAN you spot a freshman from miles away? Oh, believe me, it isn't very hard. But after reading these four key steps, you'll be a freshman spotting expert. Truthfully, I don't know to what end you would want to make a tally of all the freshmen you see....but you should read anyways. For me? Thanks, InterWebs.

And thus we begin:

How to Spot A Freshman from Miles Away

1. They Live a Life of Extremes

Have you ever noticed that there is no middle ground with freshies? It's absolutely all or nothing with the youngins. They either come to class in their pajamas, slippers, and some cray cray hair, or they come in dressed to the nines [what a legit saying], complete with heels or shiny loafers, and occasionally a fedora, or a briefcase. Freshmen either run to class to get there on time and sit on the front row or fall asleep/never come to class [I was the former. Obvs.].They either spend every night in the library, dividing their time between sleeping in the bean bags, skyping with their friends in the commons, ordering triple-shot Bookstack Mochas, and pretending to do their Webassigns, or, it is not uncommon to hear freshmen claim they have to have 12 hours of sleep to function. So instead they spend their time playing video games, taking mental health days, and sleeping an unreal number of hours.I think the steady-state does not occur until halfway into junior year, honestly.

2. MEAL PLANS

Freshmen, I envy you SO much. I have no desire to cook, nor have I ever had a desire to cook (you can read further about my domestic shortcomings in #2 of this post.) But, since I don't have a MEAL PLAN, it's either do or die. And mostly, that means starving myself of essential nutrients and living on a bagel and a can of tuna per day. Are you guys even aware of how much food lies at the tips of your fingers? Do you KNOW how sweet it is to just walk up and grab whatever food you want from the dining hall? They have CAPTAIN CRUNCH in there! Were you aware of this?? And you can get unlimited amounts of soft serve yogurt, and you can even put peanut butter in it [try it...it's delicious]. The worst is when I have to watch you guys at the on-campus coffee shop. I dig deep into my pockets and weed through all the lint for dimes simply so I can I can afford my coffee. And then I watch a freshman come up and order approximately 10 orange juices, one cookie, a whole wheat bran muffin [yep, that'll spare you, like, 10 calories], and "uh, what else can I fit on my meal plan?" I used to work at that coffee shop, and every day these n00bs with excessive amounts of meal plans would just buy a bajillion cookies to use 'em up. Mostly, I'm just jealous because I want excessive amounts of cookies too.

3. They Have a Facebook Album Succinctly Titled 'College'

Because they will only ever have one album's worth of pictures in their entire university career. Obviously.

4. [My favorite] Freshmen Know Exactly When They'll Graduate and What They'll Be Doing

No, really. I think every single freshman I've ever met ever in the history of ever knows precisely what he/she wants to do post-graduation. No one else seems to know, but somehow, as a young ambitious freshman, he/she's got the key. I've actually had a freshman come up to me and tell me why his major was better than mine, then he proceeded to tell me that there wasn't a whole lot one could do with my major [really? engineering?]. Bless his little heart, I kind of wanted to kick him in the shin. But lest I judge - I used to be that kid. I was originally going to graduate in 3 years (hah. hah. HAH) and go change the world doing something. I forget what. But seriously - go ask any freshman what he wants to do when he graduates - and with a twinkle in his eye, he'll give you his surefire 5 step plan to success. Adorable. I'm in my [first] senior year, and I have no idea what I'm doing or where I'm going. How funny would it be to get a freshman to mentor me to the path of success? They're all so confident that they have it.

I think that's the thing about freshmen. They crazy confident. They're away from home - no more rules, no more mamasitas telling them to brush their teeth, no more chores, lots of independence, unlimited computer access, soft serve yogurt, and pajama Fridays [can we make that a "thing"?]. Oh little freshman, the world is YOUR oyster. Like Dr. Suess said, go climb that big mountain or whatever. 

  Pictures of little freshman bRob.  So awkward.