Just in time.

So this "work" thing seems to be working out all right for me. The one major difference that I have come to appreciate the most when compared to all the other jobs I've had in the past is the whole flexibility of scheduling in your day. Meal times are not mandated, breaks are not limited to a specific time, so if I want to run and grab a quick snack or something like that, I have a bit more freedom. I just have memories in the past of needing to get off my feet in some job but not being able to go because someone else was on a break, or being told when I "had" to take a ten minute break by supervisors. Best of all for me, with no clocking in or out, there isn't someone to gripe at me if I show up at 9:03 instead of 9:00. I have always been the type of person who is willing to put in a whole day's work regardless. If I show up late, I'm willing to stay late; if I can't get something done in a day's work, I'm more than willing to show up early or stay late until the job is done.

Yes, a little structure is great, but a little freedom is better. The big thing is, I think it's sad that tight schedule regulations have become a necessity at some jobs. I'm not even going to say that it has anything to do with the supervisors -- that is my personal issue, I don't sweat details like that, so a minute or two isn't a big deal to me. Could be why I had issues as a teacher. Still, I think it's sad that our new generation of workers take advantage of freedoms like that. If you have "half an hour to an hour" for lunch, it's wrong to take an hour every day. If you are supposed to be at work at 9:00, don't expect to be there at 9:15 "just because you can." Remember, gentle readers, we are given wiggle room out of convenience, not "at your convenience" - just try working in a career where your work day starts and ends (theoretically) at the ring of a bell. Also, don't forget that look on your old high school teacher's face when you sauntered in two minutes after the bell and they had to change the "A for absent" into a "T for tardy" in their roll books. Simply put, there is a reason we used to sprint to class back in the day. When did that all change?