Update
Though seemingly uneventful, this week has been long, tiring, inspirational, and delightfully successful. In addition to my regular blog posts for by.dana.sitar and SevenPonds, I wrote my first guest post for another blog, and I composed a sample column to submit to the 3rd Annual Column Contest by McSweeney’s.
On top of writing, I worked about ten hours each day Sunday through Thursday as a helper for a woman recovering from a chemotherapy treatment. It was simple work — wash dishes, fold laundry, feed and walk the dog, prepare meals — but unlike anything I’ve ever been paid to do. I’m always more nervous than I should be about doing things I’ve never done before, even the most mundane tasks — this week, I walked my first dog, and made my first soup from scratch. I don’t like not knowing what to expect, and just accepting this job was a step out of my comfort zone. But, I’ve finally found the voice inside of me that says, “You can’t say no. You can definitely do this,” whenever I am tempted to turn back toward my rut.
My biggest firsts this week, to which I’ll have to dedicate future posts, were 1) Working full-time since I’ve started writing “full-time” and 2) Witnessing the toll of a terminal illness.
I put in something like 18-hour days this week, which I haven’t experienced since my last full semester of classes. It’s certainly tiring and unsustainable, but I do like some things about weeks like this. I love knowing that I have been working hard and not wasting time. I love the feeling of accomplishment that comes from getting all of my work done when the amount of time allotted made it seem impossible. I love sucking the most out of the available hours in the day, so that I don’t miss anything because I was sleeping.
But, now, I am officially on vacation. For three weeks! We landed in Wisconsin yesterday; Stefan went to Madison for comedy. I have come to Appleton for my sister’s bacchelorette party tonight, and I’ll head to Madison tomorrow. We’ll be here all month, with nothing to do but comedy, write, and soak up time with friends and family that we haven’t seen in three months.
Published this Week
Remembering 9/11 Together | SevenPonds Blog
Nationwide Events to Commemorate 9/11 | SevenPonds Blog
A Book About Death: The Ties That Bind | SevenPonds Blog
Recommended Reading
Ernest Hemmingway’s Top 5 Tips for Writing Well | Copyblogger
Back to (the wrong) School | Seth Godin’s Blog
