Dreaded Day Job
Well, every wannabe author's albatross is the dreaded day job. I'm no exception here, as my day job has set back my writing future almost as much as my lack of brilliance in turning the pen, er key.
My current dreaded day job is better than the past two. I can actually focus enough during off hours to attempt to complete Runners 2, my WIP started in 1991, only 15 years out.
Taking from that great movie classic, "You get what you settle for," I'm not setting well right now. Even if I am old and decrepit, I still have enough gas in the tank for another shot at doing something important, thus I'm trying to climb the corporate ladder again. One would think after six sawed off limbs, I wouldn't go out on another, but...
At my ten-year high school reunion, about mumble mumble years ago, some of my classmates were sitting around reminiscing about their high school career. It was a tough one to hear, as I wanted to know where they were going, not where they'd been.
The good ol' days are just that, probably much better relived than originally lived. But what about the good new days, the ones around the corner?
My mom and step-father-in-law are in their eighties, and are living the good new days in their assisted living center. They don't reminisce about the past (probably can't remember), they plan the future, sometimes two or three hours ahead of time. Despite being oldies, they still have that focus.
So, taking a page from their book, I'm focusing on the future. And starting with the effort to put a little less dread in the dreaded day job. Who knows what I am still capable of screwing up out there.
My current dreaded day job is better than the past two. I can actually focus enough during off hours to attempt to complete Runners 2, my WIP started in 1991, only 15 years out.
Taking from that great movie classic, "You get what you settle for," I'm not setting well right now. Even if I am old and decrepit, I still have enough gas in the tank for another shot at doing something important, thus I'm trying to climb the corporate ladder again. One would think after six sawed off limbs, I wouldn't go out on another, but...
At my ten-year high school reunion, about mumble mumble years ago, some of my classmates were sitting around reminiscing about their high school career. It was a tough one to hear, as I wanted to know where they were going, not where they'd been.
The good ol' days are just that, probably much better relived than originally lived. But what about the good new days, the ones around the corner?
My mom and step-father-in-law are in their eighties, and are living the good new days in their assisted living center. They don't reminisce about the past (probably can't remember), they plan the future, sometimes two or three hours ahead of time. Despite being oldies, they still have that focus.
So, taking a page from their book, I'm focusing on the future. And starting with the effort to put a little less dread in the dreaded day job. Who knows what I am still capable of screwing up out there.
posted by John | 7:28 AM
3 Comments:
Sigh. My problem is thinking TOO far forward and forgetting to live today.
"...they plan the future, sometimes two or three hours ahead of time"
lol, so funny!
Hope the writing is going well.
It is rather frustrating how we allow the "dreaded day job" to suck the life out of our evenings and weekends... Maybe the secret is to not worry about climbing the ladder. To rearrange the thought-process to thinking the night job of writing is the important one, and the time spent in the day is 9 hours plus commute spent just to get to the time of the evening job...
The times when I was most productive writing was when I left the day job on time (or as close to as possible), and came home to my second job where I had a boss who was a taskmaster those two-three hours in the evening...and watched over my shoulder every second of every minute...
It's all in the mind-set...maybe...
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