Blissfully Hot

I like the heat. No, strike that. I love the heat. I live for the days when it is hot and humid.

When I first started freelancing, I was so excited for the opportunity to work outside on the hot and humid days. Me, my lap top, sunshine on my shoulders . . . I could make phone calls outside. I could write outside. I could live outside. Anything was better than being stuck inside in air conditioning, the bane of society.

Except, I don't get many days outside in the sunshine. My laptop doesn't like it. It's impossible to read the screen if I'm out in the yard, very difficult to do it while sitting on the back porch under the roof (although I will manage that). I learned quickly that it is very difficult to do interviews outside. The wind whistles through the phone. Kids are noiser outside. So are birds and bees and trucks going down the street.

Today was one of those days I wanted to be outside, but I had to spend most of my time inside with phone calls. I have a small break here where I need to do a little research for an interview and could do some marketing, but it isn't worth the hassle to move the laptop outside to bring it back in again 30 minutes later.

Tomorrow, however, my phone calls are early in the day. I have a big editing project to do. The weather is supposed to be even warmer. I'll be able to move the office to the porch.

At least we don't have A/C in the house. There's a nice breeze coming in my office window. The water is cold and refreshing. I can wear weather-appropriate clothes and know I won't freeze when I go inside. It might not be the great outdoors, but it is a hell of a lot better than being in an office controlled by someone else.

All By Myself

I wanna be . . . all by myself . . .

Okay a little variation on the song, but I'm thrilled because I finally have a day with an empty house. Since the daughter moved home, my alone time has been an odd hour or so here and there. After the baby was born and the daughter was forbidden to drive for a week, she went nowhere. Then school ended for the son, and he's been home a lot. And of course, the husband took a week off. If I wanted any breathing room or working room, I had to lock myself in my office. That gets a little claustrophobic.

But today. Oh blessed today! The daughter, the husband, and the baby are out of town, cleaning the daughter's apartment and taking care of final business at her old place. I was supposed to go along but was asked to stay here because there was a possibilty the transport people would arrive to get the daughter's car. (They called to say they would be arriving today, too, so good thing I'm here) The son is working 11-4.

So it's me and the dog. She's returned to her familiar spot next to my desk chair. I'm enjoying the quiet outside my office door. No tv blaring. No cell phone ringing or text message alerts buzzing. No one popping in my office to say "Sorry for interrupting, but . . ." I love my family but I'm the type of person who needs alone time. I think that's why I was always stressed working in an office. After a couple of hours, being around people all day made me uncomfortable. I can't even begin to describe the way I feel right now, but it's like I'm bathing in emptiness. It's wonderful.

Of course, I've done little work. I don't usually start writing until 2 or so. I don't write well early in the day, especially after being up all night with the baby. But I did send out a letter of introduction and did a few writing related things. Working was another reason I was left behind today. They all figured I had work to do. And I do. And I will. I just want to bask in the aloneness for a bit longer.

This and That

Yesterday I turned down an assignment from one of my regular editors. It was a rush assignment -- she wanted it today -- and I had another project on my desk that had to be finished yesterday. It killed me to do it because the money is always good and in general the work is easy. But realistically, I didn't have the time. It's the first I've turned down an assignment like this. Turning down money is painful.

On Monday while I was trying to concentrate, the house phone rang. It was for me. A voice began speaking to me. It took a moment, but just a moment, to realize it was a person from my past. She never said who it was; she just assumed I knew. I did. Part of me wanted to ask her a million questions and part of me wanted her to go away. I was rattled for the rest of the day. Actually, I'm still a little rattled.

I finished a big assignment yesterday. There is still work on my plate but not nearly as stressful or time consuming.

This afternoon I'm going to watch baseball while I work. It's a wonderful benefit of freelancing. Only bad thing is I'll be working in my living room, not at the ball park.