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Thursday, August 8, 2013

escape from new york


the biggest complaint of the artist? dun dun dun... 

the Day Job. 

now i'm not talking Job. lots of people have Job and are very happy with it. i'm talking the Job you're forced to work, because you can't yet survive on your art aka Day Job. 

it is a well know fact that Day Job has little to do with your true artistic passion and is notorious for stealing your creative hours and energy, if not your soul. (oh i'm so sorry the champagne is not chilled to your liking let me correct that, douche.) worst of all, slogging through Day Job is the biggest drag on your conviction that you can pursue/thrive at/survive on the artistic pursuit that try hard as you might you can't get out of your system, whether you can make money at it or not, have no choice in the matter, are actually meant to do.

but there is one great thing about Day Job. (okay, in all actuality there are tons of great things about Day Job. think of the different, interesting, fun jobs/people/skills you can learn and have the freedom to choose between when you're relieved of having a career in the field considering some day soon you will sell the next great american young adult novel. ahem. but i parenthetically digress and for purposes of this blog post...) there is one great thing about Day Job. 

they're easy to quit.

(okay, okay, or to be perfectly honest, in my case, they're still extremely difficult, weeks if not months never mind years of indecision, frickin' super hard to quit. after all, a girl's gotta get by and if it's not managing this nightclub with it's aggressive personalities and horrible hours, won't it just be something else?) 

but once you get the hang of it, shedding one Day Job for another is a little like being in school, except this time you get paid to learn and study what interests you and "classes" end in everyone going out for drinks and snacks and, this time, you're flattered when they card you.   

so maybe, no, i can't yet support myself on writing. but i can unstuck myself whenever i like from the daily grind. and the best thing about being an artist - other than the high you get from producing your craft - is that when you opt for change and shed a Day Job to learn/improve/try in another field, a perfect little window of freedom opens up for you to see the world, take a break and, shockingly, focus entirely on what you really love to do. (i realize in other areas of the world, this concept is referred to as vacation).

so hello from the magical mountains of Colorado where i am on sabbatical from Day Jobs, holed up on my best friend's family's hippy commune being who and what i am at heart and will be regardless of the oddly, awesome Day Jobs i've been drawn to/forced to work. today and for the next few weeks my only job - day and night - is to be a writer. 

stay tuned. the next great american young adult novel to follow.  




these are my same mountains,
just a few hours after the first picture was taken.


and a few hours later.

and again.

2 comments:

  1. Ah, that looks AWESOME, corrie! Here's to the day there are no day jobs and only art.

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  2. Thanks Lee!! Though I bet you're looking at some scenery yourself right now. And yes, I'll raise a glass to that toast.

    ReplyDelete