Working Student

Getting home at 8:52 PM, I have realized what my problem is. I am a working student. To the naked eye, I am working full-time at a senior-ish job which requires two hours of driving a day. I am also a writer in all of the hours I can spend away from said job. Plus, I am taking all manner of classes. Although I am sure I do not need to point this out to anyone, this is difficult, not only because of the required split focus but because of the width of that split. The isolation and addiction of writing are a far cry from the demands of corporate work.

Also,

– I am taking a knitting class. I am no trendy sportsknitter but I like the women – a clutch of wealthy, funny Twin Peaksers – whom I never see otherwise. It is some consolation to my potentially bruised (wo)machismo that I suck at it. Mostly.

– I am taking flying trapeze twice a week.

– I am taking a killer circus conditioning class to get better at the trapeze faster. There is no clown make-up involved.

– I am trying to work with a personal trainer who is verging on officially old but who does still, because I am pathetically out of shape, kick my ass a little bit.

– I am, in theory, trying to find a different job. To all appearances, this is not actually true, as I have only submitted about three applications in nine months, but it’s on my mind, and I have had reasons for not taking it by the horns, namely a fiction class (just finished) and graduate school applications.

– I am trying to keep up with Lost and Desperate Housewives and catch The Daily Show for my news. All this while trying not to watch TV, which is impossible. I’ll get back to you on how that all works out.

– I am trying to avoid distressing headlines in my daily email from the Times and stupid Dailycandy emails about yet another pretty, young jeweler who has started her own chandelier earring business.

– I am living with my boyfriend, which is in itself an activity, as anyone in any relationship (child or partner) knows. He is a stellar and patient man with whom I have founded very bad eating habits and irregular hours, which we are trying to correct.

There is really no way to get through all this without a rigid schedule. The job can be difficult because it takes up so much of the schedule, but it pays for the rest of the list, so it stays. (If I were truly a struggling student, I would not be pulling down my still-surprising salary and instead would be slaving at 31 Flavors for minimum wage.) Having been unemployed (sometimes) and without 401K (always), I am familiar with the uneasy feeling those things leave and don’t want it back. When I get worn down by the schedule, I wedge myself back into a good mood by thinking about this. I’ll be a millionaire one of these days, one way or another, perhaps on the champioinship knitting circuit… In the meantime, I’m a working student.