Come Talk to Me

Today is an interview day. It's one of the weird cycles I've discovered in my writing life. There are days or entire weeks where it seems I do nothing but interviews, to be followed by an entire week where I do nothing but write. In the winter, I had a week where I did nothing but interviews, sometimes 5 a day, and the following week, I had 8 or 9 articles due. I really don't mind having an article due per day. It puts the day into a nice rhythm -- do interviews and other work in the morning, sit down to write in the afternoon.

When I was a kid, I used to love to talk on the phone. But only when I had complete privacy. I wouldn't call my friends if someone was home, as we only had one phone and it was in the kitchen. But the moment I had the house to myself, I was dialing away.

I'm still like that about the privacy. When I worked in an office, I tried to make my phone calls when no one else was around. I like working at home alone because of all the calls I make now. The husband was home sick earlier this week, and I waited until he fell asleep until I made any calls. How weird is that?

One thing that has changed though is I've come to loathe the phone. I make my work calls, do my interviews, but once 5:30 comes and my cell phone shuts off signalling the end of my work day, the last thing I want to do is make or take phone calls. I especially don't want to talk on the phone right after my work day ends. I need the downtime. I've trained my family not to call during the day unless it is an emergency, but a few of my extended family members think calling me at 5 is just fine and dandy because my work day is over.

One of the (few) things I miss about working in an outside job is the commute home. Now, living where I do, it isn't much of a commute. Most of the time, I rode my bike, which would take 10-15 minutes, depending on traffic and my energy. That was still a nice break where I could take a few deep breaths and separate myself. Now what I like to do at the end of my day is watch Pardon the Interruption on ESPN. I get very cranky when the phone rings during that half hour. It's my commute home, if not physically, at least mentally.

Now I'll have a little more coffee, have lunch, and prepare myself for an afternoon of phone calls.