I’ve mentioned work before. When I’m not playing music, writing music or trying not to tap my foot in a way that might bother people standing next to me on the tube, I work in film production. However, with the economy circling the drain and production companies tightening the reins, this isn’t an easy time to find work. There tend to be a few weeks of sixteen hour shoots and frenzied activity, followed by more weeks of finger tapping and just… waiting around.
I’m not good at waiting around.
It’s not that I don’t like to sit in parks, or take a leisurely walk, or sit outside a cafe and watch the world go by. It’s just that I can only do these things when they’re a natural break between rushing from somewhere and racing to somewhere else. The idea of doing these things for days on end actually makes my head hurt. Holidays have always been problematic. I spend the first three days unconscious, recovering from the sleep deprivation that precedes any time off. There are occasional breaks for large quantities of rich food to sustain me through the hibernation period. Anything longer than that needs a boat, diving, rock climbing or a camping expedition – possibly that results in a trip to the hospital (don’t ask) – for me to consider the holiday a success.
I don’t start the next run of work until late next week and while the most recent period of inactivity has been great for road trips, photography, last minute recording and planning the next video, it has left me feeling pretty much on edge. It made me consider the possibility that I should be pursuing a different career – at least until investors aren’t withdrawing their money from productions like it’s the last scoop of ice-cream on a perfectly cold shelf. So I took some career personality tests.
The results were consistent, almost surprisingly so. Anyone I spoke to said I should be looking to work as one of the following:
Artist
Musician
Novelist
University Professor
Photographer
Vet
Graphic Designer
Online Content Developer
Producer
Managing Director
To avoid explaining my entire career history in one post, it’s probably quickest to say that these are all jobs I’ve either held or already plan to hold in my lifetime. All with the exception of veterinary work. So I went away and looked into colleges and fees and requirements. (What else could I do between 2 and 6am that wouldn’t drive my long-suffering flatmates over the edge) The hunt was interesting and I was within days of taking the search seriously when my cat was killed by a car. You can have all the skill and medical training in the world but most of the time, four tyres traveling at 30mph is no match for four small paws traveling at 1mph. I think the idea of dealing with injured animals and putting down unwanted puppies is something I could probably get used to, but why on earth would I want to try. So I put that idea on hold and went back to look at my list.
This is an awfully long way of getting to the fact that I’m writing again. A good friend of mine is due to submit her thesis on 15th September and – competitive freak that I am – I’ve bet her that I can get a manuscript together before she does. To add fuel to the fire, an equally great and talented friend of hers has come up with this little dream, so I can’t just cobble some sort of ‘once upon a time’ nonsense together and hope no-one will notice.I think, glancing back over this post, my main challenge over the next few months will be avoiding tangents. And maybe finding ways to wrap up the story, rather than everything coming to a sudden and unexpected stop.
- K