Who stole my month?
The last time I managed to get in here, was October 16. That can’t be possible. It simply can’t. It was last week I tell you, last week. It has to be last week because if it wasn’t…well that means I haven’t done any writing in a month. Yikes.
I am relieved to say, however, that I have been working hard at interviewing and reading. And preparing to launch a new website – but we’ll talk more about that tomorrow. Yes we will, I will be back tomorrow dear reader: I promise.
So what have I been up to for the past month? Well for a start I’ve been turning into a city worker. A what, I hear you ask. A city worker. How do you know you’re a city worker? Oh come on you know you want to know. When I first started working in the city I was - well not shy, more like reserved (they are not the same thing at all….). If the crossing light flicked to green while I was still half way down the block, I just shrugged and waited for the next one. I had the right change for the bus and got a ticket each trip. My phone was tucked neatly away at the bottom of my tote bag with my book and crossword collection, raincoat, and spare cardigan – not to be confused with my handbag which was for carrying things like wallets and spare lipstick. NOW , I carry a handbag in which you easily fit the contents of a small shipping container. In my case it contains notebooks, my Kobo, a mini netbook, an umbrella, my makeup case, roughly a thousand pens (none of which I can find when I need them), business cards, a reusable take out coffee cup. The totebag is gone – replaced by my laptop bag . And of course my iPhone - which I’m usually checking, answering or updating while I’m racing for the crossing despite the light flashing only 17 seconds left. It’s amazing how fast you can run in heels – but I digress. The quiet “one to Ponsonby” as I drop the change in the bowl has been replaced with a frantic swipe of my HOP card as I swing on the bus as it begins to pull away from the stop. I can smack the “THIS STOP” button with ease and confidence, negotiate the rush hour traffic while sipping hot trim white from Esquires and plan the family outing while sidestepping pavement cafe diners. City worker.
Some mornings its exhilarating and fun. Those are usually the mornings when my caffeine intake is through the roof before even leaving the house. Most mornings I get to the office seriously questioning my sanity and wondering when I exchanged any thoughts of personal safety for the thrill of beating the bus door.
All of that said, this is the second night in a row I’ve actually managed to get home and do some personal writing – so could it be….dare I say it….I’m getting the hang of things? That I am actually going to be able to hold down a job AND advance my writing career? Little disorganised me?
Who knew?
Careful what you wish for…
T
here was a time – not so long ago – when I would say “when I grow up I want to be Carrie Bradshaw.” I loved the idea (especially since losing so much weight) of teetering around the city in designer heels, writing best sellers, attending book launches, and sipping lattes and Cosmopolitans with the girls.
Let me tell you, it’s a damned sight harder than it looks on TV and there are precious few Cosmopolitan’s involved. You see, I’ve gone back to work.
“Wait,” I hear you mutter,”weren’t you working before? Didn’t you give it up to write The Great Kiwi Novel…”
Well yes, and thank you for not mentioning my non fiction project, but then I came to the conclusion that starving before the novel was finished let alone published probably wasn’t a great look. Actually it was the realisation that Miss 11 really needs a new summer uniform for school and the chances of getting that manuscript published in time to buy one were looking pretty slim. Okay impossible. Clothing my kids seemed like one of those things I should prioritise – know what I mean?
Which is why, four days a week, I take the 7am ferry from Pine Harbour into Auckland City, teeter over the road in my six inch heels to grab coffee at Esquires, then take the bus up to Ponsonby where I have returned to corporate life as editor for Tech Day’s IT Brief. Four days a week, I play Carrie – albeit a slightly more techno minded, much less glamorous version of Carrie. My second week in and I’ve found my favourite cafe, know the ferry and bus drivers by sight if not by name, and the fiction work is screaming from the shelf it has been relegated to.
Now don’t get me wrong – I am not really complaining(okay maybe a little). I’m enjoying the job – hey good cafes and lots of geeky gadgets, what’s not to like? – and I’m sure enjoying the knowledge that I’ll be able to buy my daughter a new uniform. I’m just having a little trouble getting the routine down and fitting the novel in – and I’m seriously tired. And those shoes Carrie teeters around in? They should come with a built in insurance policy – I’ve already caught them in two ferry ramps, tripped down the stairs and permanently disfigured my toes…..
So if you see a slightly frazzled looking writer, glamour heels kicked off, huddled over a laptop on a ferry heading in to Auckland – say hi: it’s probably me.