Crazy Sexy Life

Ok, I admit it: I have basically the best job in the entire world. Some people dig ditches; I get to go to an all-vegan office where our daily toil involves interviewing the world’s most interesting people, testing the world’s yummiest recipes, and promoting the daylights out of the vegan lifestyle. Do I have bruises from pinching myself? Yes. Does that mean that I’m totally content and never wonder about what else to do with my life? Far from it.

Like everybody else, I’m constantly concerned that I should have gone to medical school, joined the Peace Corps, founded about a half dozen non-profits, or spent all day every day mucking out stalls at a farm-animal sanctuary. Or, better yet, all of the above, while still doing my current job and also squeezing in working out, eating, sleeping, showering, watching more Battlestar Galactica than is likely advisable, and eating again—yes, eating is important enough to be on this list twice. Putting together a pretty (and pretty kick-ass, if I dare say) magazine is endlessly fun, but is it enough? When your profession is also your passion, should you ever really stop working?

Answer one: of course! I mean, you can’t really make the case that sitting on your duff while getting your BSG fix—or whatever your non-nerdy fix may be—somehow helps make more people go vegan. Trust me, I’ve tried. But, in order to be effective when you are technically on the clock, taking some time off and shutting down your non-positronic brain is a must. Whether it’s indulging your nerdishness, getting a massage, or simply sleeping, downtime does wonders for refreshing both body and mind.

Answer two: of course not! So, remembering to take time for yourself is great and all, but, you know, we have work to do. Since animals’ sentience, a-freakin-dorableness, and wide range of emotional expression doesn’t somehow seem to be able to stop people from eating them, it’s not time to clock out until the world goes vegan. Maybe that sounds like a little too much, and maybe it is. But if we were able to rationalize away the fact that it’s up to us to help animals, chances are we wouldn’t have jobs that centered on that very task. Thankfully, the idea of “work” becomes a little bit more fluid when pretty much every aspect of your life revolves around it. Hosting SF Vegan Drinks, where I get to meet awesome vegans, relax, and possibly even enjoy a tipple-type treat? Work. Checking out vegan restaurants in any city I happen to visit? Yeah, it’s my professional duty to hit up Sticky Fingers when I’m in DC. Hanging out with amazing activists and continually being inspired to keep working? Yep, also work. Working all the time—all the time that I’m not literally unconscious—doesn’t seem quite overwhelming when you consider what “working” actually entails.

So, find what it is that you love doing, and do it. All the time. Does that sound overwhelming? Just remember that to be an animal activist, leaving them off your plate every day counts. So what if your day job is a bank teller? Even if you can’t be a baker/sanctuary owner/guidance counselor/pilot/full-time volunteer, doing a good job for animals can take almost as many forms as you’d like it to. Oh, and about going to med school? Adopting a vegan diet means that you, you personally, save the lives of roughly 100 animals per year. Go ahead, call me Dr. Castoria.

Of course, if you want to make working for animals your full-time gig, go for it! Finding a fulfilling, interesting, job—aka, winning the gainful-employment lottery—is pretty much a two-step process. Step one: figure out what cause you’re passionate about. If you talk your friends’ ears off about how much you love animals, chances are that working in animal advocacy will hardly seem like work at all. Step two: apply your skills, liberally. Maybe you’re really, really good a striking up a conversation with strangers—get ye into outreach. If you’re a natural-born numbers-cruncher, find an organization that can use your super-human powers over spreadsheets, and crunch away. Doing something at which you naturally excel will not only make your work seem easier, it will make those you work with think of you as a super genius. Finding a job that fits your skills and personality might mean starting off at your dream organization as a volunteer, then slowly becoming absolutely indispensable. Even if you have to transition from your day job to your dream job over a period of time, the exhilaration of finally landing a position that marries your skills and passions—and offers you a paycheck and bennys—is well worth the time investment up front. Just make sure to keep ice at the ready for the pinch-induced bruising.

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