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Cats, the blahs, and Gondoliers.
*sniffle* I think I've developed an allergy to cats, of all things. Or at least I seem to have a mild reaction to something here where I'm housesitting, and the cats certainly seem to be the most likely suspect. Which is too bad, because I like cats. Emily (a somewhat skittish calico, who's also my local alarm clock) decided my lap was an ok place to be for a while earlier, which was very cozy but left me sniffly. Robert is a black "tuxedo cat" (he has a little white patch on his chest) who has been very distrustful of me ever since a previous housesitting visit during which I had to chase him all over the house to free him from a plastic shopping bag in which he'd entangled himself. However, he too seems to have decided that I'm more or less okay now. Daisy is the third cat; she's a big old lump of tabby cat love. She's just a sweetie.
And I have one serious case of the blahs. I'm not jittery-anxious anymore like I was a couple of days ago, but I'm just blah. Depressed, unenergetic, seemingly incapable of doing much of anything. I did go back to my old office for a couple hours today -- they needed me to collect the sources used for various charts and graphs. So that was good; saw erstwhile coworkers and got out of the house(s), at least. But I sure haven't accomplished much of anything else.
Would I make a good freelancer? I just don't know. I'm worried that I don't have the discipline, given my seeming inability to even look for work right now. I like the idea of the variety, though. Was reading some of the stuff on togetunstuck.com, which was recommended to me by a friend who's also unemployed. The description there of the "Renaissance soul" rings very true to me. I have a lot of trouble identifying what I want to do with my life because there isn't just one answer. I can't see myself doing any one thing all the time. But being a freelancer takes a lot of discipline and organization, two things that I'm less than stellar at sometimes.
I suppose some of the blahs is post-show letdown. Gondoliers was such a good show. I was so proud of it. And I learned some things, too:
And I have one serious case of the blahs. I'm not jittery-anxious anymore like I was a couple of days ago, but I'm just blah. Depressed, unenergetic, seemingly incapable of doing much of anything. I did go back to my old office for a couple hours today -- they needed me to collect the sources used for various charts and graphs. So that was good; saw erstwhile coworkers and got out of the house(s), at least. But I sure haven't accomplished much of anything else.
Would I make a good freelancer? I just don't know. I'm worried that I don't have the discipline, given my seeming inability to even look for work right now. I like the idea of the variety, though. Was reading some of the stuff on togetunstuck.com, which was recommended to me by a friend who's also unemployed. The description there of the "Renaissance soul" rings very true to me. I have a lot of trouble identifying what I want to do with my life because there isn't just one answer. I can't see myself doing any one thing all the time. But being a freelancer takes a lot of discipline and organization, two things that I'm less than stellar at sometimes.
I suppose some of the blahs is post-show letdown. Gondoliers was such a good show. I was so proud of it. And I learned some things, too:
- I've always said that I could never be a teacher because I don't have the patience. But if I can teach music, something that's so natural to me it's hard to step back from it and be patient with people, maybe I could teach something after all.
- I really enjoyed helping some young singers improve. The work is all theirs, but I think some things I said maybe helped. That's satisfying.
- There's a lot I don't know about singing yet.
- Kind words and encouragement can work wonders.
- Most problems untrained singers have can be helped (not fixed necessarily, but helped) with additional confidence.
- Being willing to laugh and relax is a good thing.
- Never assume that you know all about someone. They'll surprise you.
- Push people too hard, and they burn out. Push them too little and they don't learn. Push them just enough (with ample doses of the aforementioned kind words and encouragement), and they'll blossom.
- Finding that balance between pushing and encouragement is tough.
- I quote my voice teacher a lot when I'm talking about singing!
- Don't wear sandals to set strike. (Witness the lovely purple areas on my feet caused by falling masonite...)
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That cat is Moonlight's exact twin. Even the patch is exactly the same. It was eerie when I first met him.
But being a freelancer takes a lot of discipline and organization, two things that I'm less than stellar at sometimes.
You and I are a lot alike ... if I can do it, you certainly can. I'm not saying you definitely should go the freelance route - there are a lot of disadvantages. But I know without a doubt that you could do it if you decide it is your best option.
Personally, I think you should become a crossword hustler. Go from town to town, swindling rubes out of their money by beating them at the puzzle. Every town, no matter how small, has a puzzle hall. You go there, and you let them beat you at the local paper's puzzle, and then you meekly offer to do the Times for big stakes. And you smoke them, and you head for the next town, chuckling.