Relationships

So I'm curious, having just had a lengthy relationship fall apart in no small part due to my job: How many others has this happened to? I get the sense that it happens a lot in this profession, but I'd like to hear some stories. How can you make it work? How do you move past it?

 

Man, I'm gonna end up reading this thread way more than I should.

 

Don't work so damn much. You put work first and what the hell do you think is going to happen to your personal life?

Oh, and if you by chance work with me ... never mind.

 

I could work less, but then I'd be stuck here for the rest of my life. Maybe I should mention I'm only 23, and I'd like to move to a better paper with less hours one day.

 

She didn't deserve you anyway, then.

Hey, it's tough between the hours and the upredictable schedule. And at least in my day we had females who worked in the composing room who got off at the same time we did.

 

Nurses.

They work crazy hours and make more money than you do.

Find the bars where the nurses hang out...

 

Ever notice how many nurses smoke? What's the deal with that?

 

A few jobs ago we had a new person on the desk and she said to one of the guys, "Geez, how do you balance these hours with having a marriage?"

"I'm the wrong person to ask," he said. "We're getting a divorce."

I never got as far as marriage before meeting my wife 13 years ago. By that time we both were in our mid-30s and liked our alone time. I kind of knew probably 10 years earlier that a smart, independent woman was the way to go, that anyone clingy would never be happy with me. But the thing about smart, independent women is that some of them don't necessarily want a commited relationship, they want to be on their own. This one liked her independence but liked having a longterm relationship, too. And with me she gets to have both.

 

Well, it was a happy coincidence anyway.

 

It's tough being a journalist and having a life. You will go through relationships and cars. You just have to keep stroking and hope that you can find an understanding person to be by your side.