MattOnFire

Starting my little company is working to my advantage so far. I’m getting work done on MY time at MY pace. I wear pajama pants while doing it. Trouble is, I can’t count on a paycheck every two weeks.

I haven’t talked about my job search for some time now, mostly because I’ve been spending most of my energy trying to CREATE work instead of tying to FIND work. And as much as I truly enjoy working at my own pace, I do miss the social interaction of a workplace.

I was reflecting on my 8 years at the TV station the other day. I don’t miss directing. Honestly, I probably couldn’t even remember what buttons did what and how to make a double box over the shoulder roll cue stinger VO zoom super pan GODDAMMIT CAMERA 2! I SAID TILT UP!

Okay, maybe I would remember. But the point is that I don’t miss the work. I miss the time in between work. I miss hangin’ in the newsroom and talkin’ smack with the producers and editors. I miss talking about obscure hockey statistics and factoids (did you know Rod Langway was born in Taiwan?) with the photogs and secretly taking a generous portion of the anchor’s coffee creamer when he wasn’t looking. I miss doing pull-ups and ab-wheels with the meteorologist. I miss having Mr. Sub across the street. Ham & Cheese. Toasted. All the way.

I don’t miss 3am alarm clocks. I don’t miss WORKING. I miss BEING at work. But only at the TV station. Being at the other job was sometimes tortuous. But still – the socializing. That’s what I miss.

Oh, and the paycheck. I miss that.

Working from home has it’s benefits, and my wish is that I can keep this up for a very, very long time and make it profitable. But on my down time, I’d like to come to your place of employment and hang out with you. We can shoot spitballs at the smelly girl in accounting and hide behind your cubicle wall when she turns to look. We can put tuna in the microwave for a few minutes so it stinks up the entire office, then burn some popcorn. We can borrow each other’s staplers and forget to give them back. We can bitch about the boss and say distasteful things about the fat lady who always eats 4 packs of Cheeseburger Macaroni Lean Cuisine for lunch.

Sometimes, while working in my home office, I take a break and try to sneak up on the dog or cat while they are sleeping.

Hey! What’cha doin? Wanna hang out?

No. Sleeping. Go away.

Wanna play fetch or something?

No. Shouldn’t you be working?

Did you know Herb Cain led the NHL in scoring during the 1943-44 season?

Impressive. Now go write an article or something.