See this old blurry cell phone photo of me and two of my cats?
One is Midnight, who is going under anesthesia this morning for dental work (good thoughts, please) and the other is Hope, who is having a carefree and happy life in Morris, and I can't wait to see her again!
So this photo was taken of me on January 7, 2014, at my oldest son's former apartment in Channahon, where I often worked when we lost our home when I and my three youngest adult kids were staying with my mother.
January 7 is Old Calendar, or Julian Calendar, Christmas. It's the day our immediate family celebrates Christmas as an immediate family.
It was less than one week before I became an employee of Shaw Media, who had just bought (at that time) The Herald-News in Joliet.
I had built a freelance career as a single parent, starting in 1998. But by 2014, my husband had dementia, we had lost our home, the pay for freelance writing was decreasing, and a new company now owned the publication where three-fourths of my freelance earnings came.
My youngest two kids were at Joliet Junior College. My oldest had just graduated and was working part time, the most he could do, because he and I (mostly he) had the most flexible time to break down a house with eighty years of living packed inside it (my husband's parents had built that house; we moved into it fall of 1999).
The money writing was on the wall. I needed to find a full-time job somewhere. The writing career, as a full-time career, was done, although I hoped to juggle a few assignments a week to keep my skills sharp.
I had just wanted to get past Christmas before I started looking in earnest. And I wanted to give myself some time and space to say good-bye to that chapter in my life.
But after January 7, an amazing whirlwind of events transpired.
I was asked to come into The Herald-News to interview for the features editor position.
I was told to keep working on assignments because the company still wanted me to freelance even if I wasn't hired.
Two days after the interview, I received a call and a job offer, which I, of course, accepted.
I continued working as a freelancer for The Herald-News until my start date of January 15.
On the start date, I was completely overwhelmed (I didn't realize until the end of the day I was sick). At the end of the day, I went to the managing editor's office and quit.
She told me to stay.
I did.
And I muddled through those first blurry days of learning new procedures and technology sick. I was sick three times in the first eight weeks.
However, I have not, yet to this day (although that can't possibly last forever), taken a sick day.
Why is this important today?
Because I'm just coming off the first bit of unregulated time since before my junior year in high school.
It was hard-earned time, and I made good use of it.
But you will not hear me moan - not ever - about "having" to come back to work.
Watching the journalism industry change all those years of freelancing (fifteen in all), I never dreamed I would work as an actual employee. I didn't even aspire to it. So have that all change "in the blink of an eye" was life-changing.
I am blessed, and I do mean blessed, to be working in that industry as an employee today. Sure, I have days where I'm mentally done by the end of it. Sure, I have days where I'd rather chase a rabbit trail than get to task. Who doesn't?
But I'm not only grateful to have a job I can not only work from home, but where I'm told to work from home, during a pandemic, I'm grateful to have THIS job, and I am happy for to work this job for as long as this position is available to me.
So today I return to work. And I am happy and grateful to be here.
So below were my goals for last week.
If it looks like a lot, you're right. But it feels good to be done with them, too.
Again, I'm very happy to be back to work.
All the even chapters of The Phoenix or fifteen chapters. DONE.
Finish formatting Lycanthropic Summer. Moved to next weekend. Art is about half done. We also have a companion book in the early planning stages to be released with this one. But I'm not sharing details for now.
Finish the last two chapters of Cornell Dyer and the Old Folks Home. DONE. And the next two are in "talks." The goal is three a year. Hopefully I'll be busy writing them this fall.
Finish formatting WriteOn Joliet's fourth anthology. DONE
Get the content Rebekah needs for a new website. DONE-ish. Struggling with some phrasing. Working with her on it.
Get Rebekah the photos she needs for the new Bertrand the Mouse book. DONE. We should have three books ready in time for holiday gift buying.
MISCELLANEOUS GOALS:
Go through boxes with Rebekah: We broke down all but three. Most of them contain various memorabilia with place to put those items right now. We moved them from the downstairs closet to my bedroom closet.
Exercise: I made or came pretty close to my step/calorie burn per day (20,000 to 23,000 steps and eight to ten miles). Yoga and weights declined drastically. One day of weights, one of yoga.
Three letters to write and mail: Two DONE. Hoping the last one goes today..
More than 1,000 pieces of email that piled up this week. More than half was work email. I've made a small dent there this morning. I hadn't anticipated some training on Sunday afternoon (see below).
Made a Monday list for work and one phone call: DONE.
Cleaned my room: DONE
Finished residual edits for a client: DONE
Looked through a manuscript for a potential client: DONE
Pandemic short story: More on this later. On my list for a LONG time. NEARLY DONE. More done than I thought I'd get it.
One Note/OneDrive Training: DONE-ish. It will take more than one training for me to get it right.
One is Midnight, who is going under anesthesia this morning for dental work (good thoughts, please) and the other is Hope, who is having a carefree and happy life in Morris, and I can't wait to see her again!
So this photo was taken of me on January 7, 2014, at my oldest son's former apartment in Channahon, where I often worked when we lost our home when I and my three youngest adult kids were staying with my mother.
January 7 is Old Calendar, or Julian Calendar, Christmas. It's the day our immediate family celebrates Christmas as an immediate family.
It was less than one week before I became an employee of Shaw Media, who had just bought (at that time) The Herald-News in Joliet.
I had built a freelance career as a single parent, starting in 1998. But by 2014, my husband had dementia, we had lost our home, the pay for freelance writing was decreasing, and a new company now owned the publication where three-fourths of my freelance earnings came.
My youngest two kids were at Joliet Junior College. My oldest had just graduated and was working part time, the most he could do, because he and I (mostly he) had the most flexible time to break down a house with eighty years of living packed inside it (my husband's parents had built that house; we moved into it fall of 1999).
The money writing was on the wall. I needed to find a full-time job somewhere. The writing career, as a full-time career, was done, although I hoped to juggle a few assignments a week to keep my skills sharp.
I had just wanted to get past Christmas before I started looking in earnest. And I wanted to give myself some time and space to say good-bye to that chapter in my life.
But after January 7, an amazing whirlwind of events transpired.
I was asked to come into The Herald-News to interview for the features editor position.
I was told to keep working on assignments because the company still wanted me to freelance even if I wasn't hired.
Two days after the interview, I received a call and a job offer, which I, of course, accepted.
I continued working as a freelancer for The Herald-News until my start date of January 15.
On the start date, I was completely overwhelmed (I didn't realize until the end of the day I was sick). At the end of the day, I went to the managing editor's office and quit.
She told me to stay.
I did.
And I muddled through those first blurry days of learning new procedures and technology sick. I was sick three times in the first eight weeks.
However, I have not, yet to this day (although that can't possibly last forever), taken a sick day.
Why is this important today?
Because I'm just coming off the first bit of unregulated time since before my junior year in high school.
It was hard-earned time, and I made good use of it.
But you will not hear me moan - not ever - about "having" to come back to work.
Watching the journalism industry change all those years of freelancing (fifteen in all), I never dreamed I would work as an actual employee. I didn't even aspire to it. So have that all change "in the blink of an eye" was life-changing.
I am blessed, and I do mean blessed, to be working in that industry as an employee today. Sure, I have days where I'm mentally done by the end of it. Sure, I have days where I'd rather chase a rabbit trail than get to task. Who doesn't?
But I'm not only grateful to have a job I can not only work from home, but where I'm told to work from home, during a pandemic, I'm grateful to have THIS job, and I am happy for to work this job for as long as this position is available to me.
So today I return to work. And I am happy and grateful to be here.
So below were my goals for last week.
If it looks like a lot, you're right. But it feels good to be done with them, too.
Again, I'm very happy to be back to work.
All the even chapters of The Phoenix or fifteen chapters. DONE.
Finish formatting Lycanthropic Summer. Moved to next weekend. Art is about half done. We also have a companion book in the early planning stages to be released with this one. But I'm not sharing details for now.
Finish the last two chapters of Cornell Dyer and the Old Folks Home. DONE. And the next two are in "talks." The goal is three a year. Hopefully I'll be busy writing them this fall.
Finish formatting WriteOn Joliet's fourth anthology. DONE
Get the content Rebekah needs for a new website. DONE-ish. Struggling with some phrasing. Working with her on it.
Get Rebekah the photos she needs for the new Bertrand the Mouse book. DONE. We should have three books ready in time for holiday gift buying.
MISCELLANEOUS GOALS:
Go through boxes with Rebekah: We broke down all but three. Most of them contain various memorabilia with place to put those items right now. We moved them from the downstairs closet to my bedroom closet.
Exercise: I made or came pretty close to my step/calorie burn per day (20,000 to 23,000 steps and eight to ten miles). Yoga and weights declined drastically. One day of weights, one of yoga.
Three letters to write and mail: Two DONE. Hoping the last one goes today..
More than 1,000 pieces of email that piled up this week. More than half was work email. I've made a small dent there this morning. I hadn't anticipated some training on Sunday afternoon (see below).
Made a Monday list for work and one phone call: DONE.
Cleaned my room: DONE
Finished residual edits for a client: DONE
Looked through a manuscript for a potential client: DONE
Pandemic short story: More on this later. On my list for a LONG time. NEARLY DONE. More done than I thought I'd get it.
One Note/OneDrive Training: DONE-ish. It will take more than one training for me to get it right.
