growing pains

went through my first two days of subbing and now i have the weekend off quite unexpectedly. yesterday i finished a book, so i consider that day well spent. today i will be meeting some friends so that too is not a wasted day.

what can i say about subbing thus far? well, if my job were a game, reporting would be like treasure hunting. you gotta go out and find the things in your list. it can be exciting, frustrating but for the most part interesting. every treasure hunt is different and therefore tests your skills in many different areas. sometimes you would be good and sometimes not.

subbing is like a jigsaw puzzle. you have to fit all the pieces together. every day you get a different jigsaw puzzle but essentially you use the same skills to solve the puzzle unless the element of the game has changed.

you could also say reporting is like shopping for ingredients while subbing is preparing the meal in the kitchen. when you shop for ingredients you might finish buying all the things in your list quick or take longer than you expect. you will also have to go to many places far and wide to get a specific ingredient. when you prepare the meal in the kitchen, there is only so much time left after the shopping. if there is an ingredient missing, you have to make do with what you have or improvise.

between treasure hunting and jigsaw puzzling i suppose the treasure hunt sounds more fun. it is, no question about it. i much rather shop than slave away in the kitchen myself.

so does that mean i don’t like subbing? i won’t say that. i am just not used to it at the moment. i am not familiar with the software used to sub so it has been a real struggle at the moment.

i am missing reporting because right now, that routine is more familiar to me than subbing. reporting has its fair share of dud assignments, but the beauty of it is that it is only sucky for the day. then tomorrow there’s a chance that i get a better assignment. but i have to admit i do not miss having to call up the office the night before to get my assignment. i much rather find out before i leave the office or have it e-mailed to me.

doing the jigsaw puzzle is hard for me right now, but i will reserve my feelings about it until i have mastered the basic rules of the game. then i would have a better idea if i prefer to go on a treasure hunt or to do a jigsaw puzzle.