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jon_chaisson It's been a couple of busy weeks here, juggling the ever-changing day job schedule and digging my way through a rather important but weakly written sequence for Theadia. The blogs kind of fell by the wayside a bit (obviously) as did some of the other creative things I wanted to do, but so it goes.
But it's not all bad, really. As I've said before, I've rediscovered that I actually enjoy IRL contact with the outside world. I meet all sorts of interesting locals at the day job...some of them love to talk, some can't be arsed to say a thing and leave before the receipt prints. Several have told me how much they appreciate the shop being there. I might be old enough to be the parent of half the kids I work with (one was shocked to hear I was her mom's age) but we all get along well. I get to people-watch and learn the similarities (the uptip of the chin when I call out for the next person in line) and differences (the old Russian lady that tries to haggle the prices). Picking up on different things I wouldn't have seen in the bank universe. Things that could make my characters that much more vibrant.
I've also relearned to live day to day, week to week again. Every Thursday night next week's schedule goes up, and we both get to plan out what's going on: when I'm home for lunch or dinner, when I'll have time (morning or evening) to write, when I'll need to do the laundry or do the grocery shopping, and so on. It's definitely different from the remote days for the FDJ or even the unemployed pandemic days when I had a lot more flexibility (and, let's be honest, squandered a considerable amount of it fucking around online). I don't really mind it all that much, because it forces me not to think about long-term deadlines. Each day is a "get at least this much done" compartmentalizing that works so much better on my brain.
I mean, I'd done this back in my old retail days, and weirdly enough I'd completely forgotten how compatible this process is for me. It's not the biggest paycheck, and I don't get to listen to KEXP nearly as much as I used to, but it's a hell of a lot better than my bank days, that's for sure.
But it's not all bad, really. As I've said before, I've rediscovered that I actually enjoy IRL contact with the outside world. I meet all sorts of interesting locals at the day job...some of them love to talk, some can't be arsed to say a thing and leave before the receipt prints. Several have told me how much they appreciate the shop being there. I might be old enough to be the parent of half the kids I work with (one was shocked to hear I was her mom's age) but we all get along well. I get to people-watch and learn the similarities (the uptip of the chin when I call out for the next person in line) and differences (the old Russian lady that tries to haggle the prices). Picking up on different things I wouldn't have seen in the bank universe. Things that could make my characters that much more vibrant.
I've also relearned to live day to day, week to week again. Every Thursday night next week's schedule goes up, and we both get to plan out what's going on: when I'm home for lunch or dinner, when I'll have time (morning or evening) to write, when I'll need to do the laundry or do the grocery shopping, and so on. It's definitely different from the remote days for the FDJ or even the unemployed pandemic days when I had a lot more flexibility (and, let's be honest, squandered a considerable amount of it fucking around online). I don't really mind it all that much, because it forces me not to think about long-term deadlines. Each day is a "get at least this much done" compartmentalizing that works so much better on my brain.
I mean, I'd done this back in my old retail days, and weirdly enough I'd completely forgotten how compatible this process is for me. It's not the biggest paycheck, and I don't get to listen to KEXP nearly as much as I used to, but it's a hell of a lot better than my bank days, that's for sure.
