Moving...

Since I'm new at this blog thing, I've decided to rechristen and change directions.

Yes, it's early in the game, but I think it needs it. I launched into blogging because I felt like I needed to do so. That's what happens when you jump into a decision without thinking it all the way through (kind of like buying a dress that looks like it might fit when it's on the hanger, but doesn't quite zip when it gets home). Also, I needed to rethink a few features...like the name, focus, etc. So, for now, "Whittier Girl's Next Chapter" will be "in storage" for awhile. My "new" blog will be:

"A Woman of Words" at http://msro-awomanofwords.blogspot.com/

I hope to see you there.

Ms Ro

Devising a Plan

Planning one's day when unemployed can be tricky.

How many hours a day should be set aside to cull through the offerings on Career Builders, QuintCareers, and Indeed.com (not to mention browse the numerous HR sites of every corporation that comes to mind)? How many resumes are honestly sent out? How many cover letters tweaked to fit the receiver? How many old colleagues and working friends can be contacted for leads and freelance work? After that, how much time can be devoted--guilt free--to personal projects and activities, like writing, reading, house stuff, and yoga?

These are the current questions in my life.

However much I'd really like to sit back and enjoy this gift of time off I've given myself, but I'm finding it difficult to do so. I keep mulling over my recent decision to walk away from my job and the effects it has had on my household. A good Episcopalian, I try counting my many obvious blessings (a lovely husband, great family and friends, a beautiful dog, a cool house at the beach, reasonably good health, and enough to eat). Then, the positives of leaving a job that was, essentially, killing me, which include sleeping through the night (and, yes, sleeping in past 5 am); not ever again having to control my nausea when listening to the grating, tobacco-raspy voice of my tyrannical publisher; seeing my blood pressure drop from 200/100 to 110/60, not to mention getting more much-needed exercise, regularly preparing dinner for my husband, and providing constant companionship for the dog. Also, I have the freedom to work on all my writing projects that have been shelved over the last decade due to lack of time and end-of-the-day energy.

However, I cannot seem to suppress the negative Blue Meanies, which include no money coming in (I never really realized how much I made--and how freely I spent it); wondering whether I'm a crazy-assed loser for walking away from a well-paying job in the worst economy since the Great Depression; and feeling older, somewhat physically challenged by fibromyalgia and back problems, and simply too tired to deal with the pettiness and idiocy of corporate terrorists.

Whittier Girl needs to make a plan. 

Making a Living

Finding one's self as a writer is often in direct conflict with finding one's self a somewhat fulfilling way to make a living (DWP and Verizon bills need to be paid and the husband and the dog must be fed). Hours are spent at the computer, searching and researching an acceptable-looking place of employment, then there's the frustration of sending out seemingly dozens of resumes, and then there is the eternal wait...for no answer. It seems that the drill is the same every day--working full time to just find a position, then, being too tired to write. The ultimate goal is to make a decent living as a full-time writer. I must find a solution to this dilemma, but now, it's time for a nap.

Rainy Day Ruminations

Another chilly day at the beach. Days like this used to be an invitation to stay inside, with a hot drink, a good book, and a snoring dog not far away. Today, however, I am hard at work trying to find new work. Somehow, it doesn't really seem fair.

A Bit About Me

From the time I was a little girl it was my dream to write stories, for my own amusement, as well as the amusement of others. I scribbled out little tales of witches good and evil, princesses, invisible dogs, aliens, and comedy bits a la Steve Allen (yep, I was a weird kid), and then animatedly presented them to the graciously captive audiences of my parents, grandparents, relative who would listen, and my dog (who was NOT invisible). Although, outside of my little family enclave I was a painfully shy kid, writing and telling stories and accounts of my little life gave me an outlet to interact with folks other than my patiently appreciative (or extremely tolerant) family members. By the time I was 10 year old, I was encouraged by my fifth grade teacher, Miss Robin, to write little articles for the mimeographed pages of the weekly "News Sheet" was distributed to the fifth and sixth grade classes at Valley View Elementary in Whittier. I later wrote for my high school and college papers, and the local Whittier Daily News. It was was the beginning of a lifelong career as a writer and editor for a variety of publications operating within the greater Los Angeles area. Not a celebrated journalist's life, but a quietly rewarding life. Until recently...

The industry, at least the business niche into which I had fallen, had become unrecognizable from the one I had idealized for lo, these many years. Change is natural, and with a little patience, one can always adapt. However, when combined with contrary, high-ranking decision-makers, my little niche of publishing had become too much to tolerate, and remain sane. So, I decided to call it a day. After 11 years as an editor for a medical publishing company that had become a brain-draining, energy-sapping, spirit-killing sweat shop, I submitted my two weeks notice. Not an easy decision in this uncertain economy, but with the support of my wonderful husband, and equally wonderful family and friends, I'm determined to return to my "roots" and, once again, pursue my dream of writing stories. Hopefully, not for just the amusement of my dog and I....

And So It Begins

Welcome to my first blog. Yes, I know I'm a little late to the party, but there's no time like the present.

Why now? Since most blogs seem to be created by writers (okay, and non writers) in transition, and I have recently joined that group of individuals, I thought this might be an ideal time for me, a woman of a certain age, to keep an online journal about the experience of  chiseling out a new path in life's second half. It is possible this will be written for my own amusement, but I invite family, friends, and anyone else who might be interested in this Whittier Girl's next chapter, to come along and share the journey. Who knows where it could lead.