It has been exactly a week since my last update and while my last update was made easier by virtue of finishing work early this week’s edition finds me during a day off due to another organisational issue at the office.
In all honesty I thought I’d messed up; reach my target of fifty blog posts before the year is up (actually reached before December 1st) then fail to post anything for weeks and weeks. But as it has only been seven days, seven busy days that included Penny’s birthday and putting the Christmas decorations up I might add, I shan’t be too hard on oneself.
As with my previous post I don’t want to dwell on work too much. I’ll just say that the shit show has definitely continued to snowball at a tremendous rate. I’m not going to blame all my professional issues on others as I have definitely found myself winding down as we approach the Christmas break. I’m not working as hard nor as long and I’m finding problems and excuses where before maybe there were none. My heart just isn’t in it. Knowing I’m leaving in the new year surely plays a part too.
I can’t say that I’m particularly looking forward to my new job (or old job if you want to be pedantic as I am returning to a company I previously worked for, albeit with much better wages and benefits). It’s a means to an end. I’ll be doing the same work I’m doing now but for more money and having an electrical apprentice with me he’ll be doing roughly half the work I currently do, and arguably the more rubbish jobs that I don’t like doing – namely crawling around lofts running cable.
I’ve mentioned it multiple times but I want to make it officially my new year’s resolution to get out of traditional work and work for myself. It might be a grand and vague resolution but there are a lot of variables and just being on the right path will be a great success for me. If, by this time next year, I’m no longer having to go out everyday to do the same electrical work I’ve been doing for the majority of this year I’ll be a happy man.
I’ve booked a room in Yorkshire for the work Christmas party and have until midnight tonight to cancel it if I decide I’m not going. The party is on Friday and we’re having to pay for the room ourselves then claim it back as an expense (which in the past has proven to be a pain in the backside). I’m back in work tomorrow starting a two day install in Swindon. So Friday will consist of getting up around 5:30am, putting a bag packed with clothes for the party and the next day in the van, driving half hour north to get my colleague, driving two and a half hours south to Swindon (passing my home on route) and ‘working’ (I use the term lightly) for two to three hours before packing up and driving over four hours north (directly passing the motorway junction minutes from my home) for the work party. Though in fairness I think I’d have a great time, it would loosen me up and it’s always nice to have a long uninterrupted sleep in a hotel room. I probably will go, hope it’s a free bar.
While I haven’t spent much time playing the game I bought just over a week ago I have found myself spending a huge chunk of my free time playing a simple little ‘idle’ game on my phone. I actually have it on right next to me as I type. I should really try to do something about that. It’s not all doom and gloom though; I’ve written a fair bit on the story I’ve mentioned on previous posts regarding people with ‘abilities’. I don’t really want to call it a superhero story, I need to come up with a working title to make my life easier. For now I’ll call it ‘Blood Lined’, or BL for short. Not sure why, it just popped in to my head.
In addition to notes made for BL I have also written down the entire outline for what I thought was a short story but has grown in to something slightly larger. I got my idea while sleepily driving home from work and catching the eye of a creep pedestrian waiting at a bus stop. Working title Froze in Fear (FiF). Now I just have to sit and write it up.
There are a lot of quotes by authors and writing motivation out there that loosely advocate the same thing; just write. Sit at the desk and bleed, to paraphrase one such quote. I’ve been listening to Stephen King’s ‘On Writing’ recently and two pieces of his advice have stuck with me:
- Find a space that you are comfortable with that is free from distraction (music is fine but no TV)
- Write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open
I have taken the latter both literally and metaphorically. Right now my door is closed and also I understand the importance of just getting that first draft done without getting bogged down by imperfections or plot holes. Once the lump of clay has been moulded in to a rough shape we can work away at it to create what we ultimately desire. As Mr King so gracefully puts it “To write is human, to edit is divine”.
My plan now is to follow the advice of many writers that have come before me. To simply sit, and write. Until next time.