Thanks to Netflix, I've been watching season 1 of "Mad Men." Despite all of the male characters being complete assholes, it's an addicting show with a relatively high degree of accuracy in displaying the professional and personal relationships between men and women in the sixties. The main character is Don Draper, an ad executive with one of the biggest marketing firms in New York (and the world). Don and his sweet and beautiful wife Betty have the iconic American Dream: he's an executive, she's a homemaker, they have two kids and a dog, they live in a big house, and he has two girlfriends on the side.
Wait, what?
I've got to hand it to the directors for making arguably the biggest sleezeball on the show be the most likable character. The guy has a devoted wife who tells him about how she can't wait for him to come home so they can have sex and he's turning her down (and onto the washing machine) because he spent lunch with one of his two girlfriends.
Anyway, my point is how the American Dream involves a white collar job. People put up with your blue collar job as long as you aspire to be a lawyer or doctor. A real job requires suits and heels and a desk in an air conditioned office. I wasn't too happy with my "real job." I hated heels, froze in the summer, and stared at a computer screen for 8 hours a day. I'm happy being a worker; I like being active and interacting with people; I loved working in a photo lab, driving buses, stocking organic groceries, and now driving the photo caravan. I will wear my horrible tans with pride this summer as I once again realize that happiness in work and life is worth just as much as (if not more than) a fat paycheck. I love loving my job.
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