Monday, June 19, 2006
My "Real" Job
Last month, on a plane to Orlando, the man wearing the cowboy hat and boots sitting next to me struck up a conversation.
"Are you traveling for business or pleasure?" he asked with a real twang. (I'm starting to understand this cowboy/uniform fascination – but that's a different blog entry.)
I paused. I wasn’t traveling for my day job but ...
"Business," I finally said.
"What do you do?"
Another pause. Which answer should I give him? I chose the easy one. That is, the one that would result in fewer questions. "I'm a business consultant but I also write so I'm meeting a group of writers for a writing retreat."
"What do you write?"
"Romance," I said. Since he seemed genuinely interested, I launched into a passionate monologue about what I write, when my first book came out, and future pub dates.
After I'd run out of air, he nodded and said, "So writing is your real job."
My mouth dropped open. Then I grinned. "Yeah. It is."
I could have kissed him. When's the last time a stranger's concluded that writing is your "real" job?
"Are you traveling for business or pleasure?" he asked with a real twang. (I'm starting to understand this cowboy/uniform fascination – but that's a different blog entry.)
I paused. I wasn’t traveling for my day job but ...
"Business," I finally said.
"What do you do?"
Another pause. Which answer should I give him? I chose the easy one. That is, the one that would result in fewer questions. "I'm a business consultant but I also write so I'm meeting a group of writers for a writing retreat."
"What do you write?"
"Romance," I said. Since he seemed genuinely interested, I launched into a passionate monologue about what I write, when my first book came out, and future pub dates.
After I'd run out of air, he nodded and said, "So writing is your real job."
My mouth dropped open. Then I grinned. "Yeah. It is."
I could have kissed him. When's the last time a stranger's concluded that writing is your "real" job?
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Wow...what a wonderful thing to hear! Gives me chills reading it, but so true--where your passion lies, that IS your real job. The rest just helps you get by until you're making enough money at what you love to walk away from the SDJ! I bet you absolutely walked on air after that!
Kate, I will admit that I could not stop grinning. He said it so matter-of-factly.
Was it Jami who wrote recently about cowboys? I think I'm in love ... LOL
Thanks, Jasmine and Bella. :-)
Was it Jami who wrote recently about cowboys? I think I'm in love ... LOL
Thanks, Jasmine and Bella. :-)
My current day job is mommy, so I suppose I have 2 "real" jobs. But my hackles always raise a little when someone says, "how's that writing thing going?" Like it's a silly little hobby I dabble in. No one ever says, "how's that parenting thing going?"
I hear you, Jami. Which is exactly why I was so touched when the stranger took my writing seriously, unprompted. I can't believe the number of people who have asked, once I tell them I write, "How much do you make writing?" My response is ... I smile sweetly and ask, "How much do you make as a (insert occupation here)?"
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