Saturdays with "Bruce Wayne"

Since arriving in Sydney I have had the intention of finding a job given that I am supporting my entire education from the “infamous student loans”..Considering the first semester was a pretty transitional time, with getting used to being back in school and all! I figured I’d hold off and make sure I was well adjusted before going on the hunt. I guess I didn’t even factor into the equation the possibility of a job finding me.

I actually really lucked out with my job working with "Bruce Wayne". Having befriended some second year masters students after I arrived, I was contacted one day by a girl with an opportunity to work her old job that she was no longer able to. She informed me that it was a pretty easy set up as I would be a companion or “executive personal assistant” (as he likes to call it) to a 40 year old dying man with Motor Neuron Disease aka Lou Gehrig's disease..  A disease I mostly knew about through the obvious famous Steven Hawking, but also from having to read Tuesdays with Morrie exactly three different times from high school to college for a variety of classes.

Motor Neuron Disease is when messages from nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are disrupted, the result being gradual muscle weakening, and wasting away which eventually destroys the cells that control muscle activity for speaking, walking, breathing, and swallowing. Though the prognosis is different for everyone, in "Mr. Wayne’s" case he is in his third and expected final year of the disease. Though I did some reading to understand exactly what was going on, most of my knowledge about the effects of the disease I have to admit came from the New York Times bestseller…

Sometimes I have no choice but to just laugh about different situations I have found my self in over the years.  This job for instance almost forces an “executive assistant” to experience a roller coaster worth of emotions and possible psychological counseling for the not so thick skinned. Though I have learned that I’m capable of handling some pretty crazy stuff, it ceases to amaze me the curve balls we are thrown in life.  What originally started as a job to assist him in lighting cigarettes (yes, really.) has turned into a position where I am doing way more then I ever imagined doing for anyone… From watching Pixar movies, helping with finances, to even writing letters from beyond the grave, I am learning a book full of life lessons: more then I could have ever learned from good old Morrie. 

One of his sketches  

Just another chapter in the book of life, my eyes have once again been opened to the beauty of living to the fullest when you can. Spending 30+ hours a week with a 40 year old dying man will make you appreciate what you have and realize that no matter your problems, they could most certainly always be worse. "Mr. Wayne", a previous creative arts director for numerous magazines and TV shows in Sydney, could quite possibly one of the most eccentric and artistic people I have ever met.  We discuss lots of different matters during my 9 hour, and sometimes 24 hour shifts, but some of the most momentous are when we discuss theories and experiences in life.  For instance he has explained to me a couple times one of the biggest issues he has with his illness is the regret he feels about delaying his dreams of finishing a comic book he started when he was younger.  After having shared with me the book in progress I can understand the disappointment of not finishing and fulfilling a passion you thought was destiny. Constantly reminding me to fulfill dreams, and do what I want now, he can be pretty inspirational considering the circumstances  

 

 

Though obviously the job can be pretty morbid at times, 4 months into it I have realized I have no choice but to be in it for the long haul. As sarcastic and quirky as most of  the character personalities in his sketches, "Bruce Wayne" has become a good friend whose advice and opinion I have sought out more than once. Oddly enough, I am thankful to have such an interesting unconventional boss. Maybe I can be a little overly optimistic at times. But all in all, sometimes I just have to smile when I think about how I found a really good friend in Sydney in one of the most unlikely of places. LIFE most certainly works in mysterious ways…   

 That is all. Have a wonderful day!!!