Sunday, July 27, 2008

Surviving Work

I haven't had much of a chance to post lately. Work has kept me busy during the day, and my free time has been spent rewriting The Right Hand of Evil. I'm a lot closer to that goal now, and plan to have the new draft finished by the end of this week. It will be good to have that done.

Work has been all right. Two weeks of it were spent shadowing and being trained by the person I'm replacing - she's on holiday for four weeks, as of last Tuesday. It came as no surprise to learn the job involves more than enough work for two people. Typical corporate attitude, I'm afraid. She handled it by coming in early and working through her lunch break, and occasionally coming in on the weekend to catch up. She wasn't paid extra for any of this - she did it because it was necessary to get everything done.

Now it's my turn. It's been a stressful week, but I made it through. Just three more weeks to go. I try not to let the workload get to me, but sometimes it does. It is hard to stay positive.

I am, however, getting lots of writing done. In addition to the Right Hand rewrite, my new novel Apoca-Lynn is coming along nicely. I used up a notebook last week finishing Chapter 16, and have started Chapter 17 in a new notebook. It's a good feeling, using up a notebook. Makes me feel a great sense of accomplishment.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Off To Work!

I just got back from visiting my parents at a cottage this weekend to find out I have a job. At last! One of my temp agencies finally came through.

It's been a frustrating time. For the last three months I've been offered lots of jobs, only to have them evaporate into the ether before I could start them! Sometimes, it was because the employer changed their mind for some reason. Most of the time, however, it was due to competition. The market for office work has become a lot more competitive lately, with employers asking to see profiles on several temps and then choosing from the pile. Before, an agency would call me and say, a job came in and you're starting tomorrow. Now, they'll say they've put my name forward and wish me luck. A sign of the time, perhaps?

Anyway, now I actually do have something. I'll be working for ING, scanning files for two months, and I start this morning. So I'd better get off the computer and get on a bus! Later, all!