this woman’s work

Just temporarily, mind you. My old mouse was busted so Brett got me a new one and I did the whole switch-out before I realized that the new one needs to charage. I use my laptop as a monitor though so I have a mouse — just not a convenient one. Basically my entry title is a big lie. Nevermind.

So yesterday my presentation went (I think) well! At least I had fun and people laughed and afterwards some people stood around to ask some advice and some emailed me to say thanks. Mostly it was FUN even though I sweating bullets up there, lemme tell you. There are some things I would do/say differently next time but this is the first time I’ve given a talk like this and not one that was writing-specific. I’m thinking of maybe putting together a longer workshop where there’d be assignments and stuff.

I’ve been having some career remorse lately because I was wishing that I had gone for that MSW or PsyD or something that would let me work with people and get paid. Although who am I kidding? It’d be awfully hard to make enough as an MSW to pay off my MSW loans.

My friend Alicia, who put together yesterday’s workshop, said that maybe I should be a coach but those coaches — some of them are downright cheesy and when I see a coach-type I always think they don’t know what they’re talking about. I’m judgmental like that.

I’m at a career impasse as far as my money-making career goes. But I think it’s that I’m struggling with a particular problem and I need to just trudge my way through it. (I’ve got some things set up re., trudging but haven’t had the meetings they require yet.) Sorry to be so vague — suffice to say that at every new level of this here full-time freelance gig, I have to revisit said full-time freelance gig. I never really want to give it all up but sometimes I wander around complaining that I do. You really can’t believe me when I do that and you need to hear the cry for help (and chocolate) beneath the whining. You can imagine how fun it is to be married to me.

Anyway! Today is Thursday but for me it’s not quite Thursday because I have work to do and can’t go play with friends. So I’m sending my stand-in (Brett) and then meeting up with everyone afterwards. I’m a little jealous of my stand-in but he deserves joy, too, I suppose. (sigh)

My GCAC workshop is full so that means there are a lot of people who are hoping I have something useful to say. I’m hoping I have something useful to say, too. It so happens that the workshop is coinciding with a small crisis of confidence I’m having in my own career, which makes me a tough sell on my own talk. Ha!

I’m using some of my writer quotes for the powerpoint presentation. I want to have something for people to look at both to keep me focused and because I know some folks in the audience will be visual. (It’s for all types of artists.) I don’t know anything about the practicalities of careers in other practices so I’m keeping things very loose and basic and not planning what I’m going to say too much. Instead I’m going to be pulling from the audience, particularly two friends of mine who will be there and who are very talented visual artists. (Sharon and Melissa) Originally I was going to try to get Sharon to teach this with me because she is doing AMAZING things but I could never get my stuff together enough to organize that so I’m just going to use her a whole heckuva lot.

I’m nervous/excited about it. It’s both better and worse that people I know will be there (Pennie’s Nate’s sister will be there, too — she’s also a visual artist).

Ok, back to work!!