Careful what you wish for…

There 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.