Open Book

A few weeks ago, I decided to take the plunge and really pursue a career in copywriting. Well, I'm still working on it. Studying and trying to get to the point where I can put myself out there and not have a fear of rejection. I know people do it all the time. I see people in various stages of life going out there and doing things and now it is my turn.
I was stuck for a while. I was standing on the edge of this pool and I was just so scared. Scared that I'll drown. Oh, well, there's no going back now. I said it so I'll do it.
The past week has been one of those major growth ones. I realize that I'm 35 years old, but I feel a major shift in who I am as a person. I'm not getting super cosmic or anything, just waking up and being more aware of what I'm doing. What am I doing tonight? Well, after I get Catherine ready for bed and tuck her in, I'll sit down at my computer and do some work. I'll work on my copywriting course, do some homework for a math class I'm taking, and then work on writing out some goals. I'm wild and crazy tonight.

Stuck in a Time Warp

I am so living in the eighties. Right now on this Wednesday morning in 2006, I'm listening to Madonna sing "Get Into the Groove." My friend Tom and I used to joke about how one day we'd be singing "Like a Virgin" to our kids instead of songs like "Puff the Magic Dragon." We laughed back then sitting outside of Franklin Middle School in Columbus, Ohio, but I'll be damned if I didn't sing "Get Into the Groove" to Catherine just the other day. Will I move beyond this or will I forever be stuck in the heydays of the 80s? The 80s sucked for me and I don't even know why I even think of them. I was this fat, miserable kid with a love for French fries, sitting on my butt and daydreaming about what was to come without any action plan.
All right. I'm into action now. The only problem is that there are only a few hours in the day to do everything that I want to do. I sit here in this cubicle and my mind goes to thoughts of what I'd rather be doing instead of going over tests written by teachers and if I should have another Diet Coke.
I'm going to spend a few minutes working on my copywriting course this afternoon. I'm loving the process and feel so drawn to this type of writing. All right. Back to looking at another test.
JC

Sitting on the Fence

I have been working since I was 14 years old. My first job was at the Ohio State Fair. I sold toys at this little booth. From nearly Sun up until closing time, I flogged toys to people with money they wanted to throw away on cheap bits of plastic manufactured in China. I could give them a smile, allow them to play with the toy themselves and persuade them that their lives wouldn't be complete unless they had a cute penguin-going-up-the-stairs toy. The money I earned that summer was used to buy school clothes and other necessities. That was 21 years ago. Since then I've paid my own way in the world save for a brief two month period of collecting unemployment after leaving the phone sex company I worked at while in college. That period of time was more for the ability to say that I'm "on unemployment" than for anything else. Jobs have always been easy to come by. The work that I do now is very satisfying, but I'm sick to death of living my life based on a time clock. Tired of it. Hate it. Wanting out so bad that I can taste it. My job has been very good to me since it has provided me with money to live, a lot of experience and a group of people I like working with, but I hate working in a cubicle.
So, what am I going to do about it? Shall I go postal? Shall I walk out and hit the panic button on life? None of the above. I've decided that the time has come to put my "cock on the block" and start living the life I want versus just existing in one that doesn't fully satisfy me in terms of a career. I love my job, coworkers and boss, but I want to see what else I'm capable of. It feels like I have this BMW, but I've been driving at a Chevy Chevette speed.
I had business cards made up that actually say that I'm a writer on them. This is a first for me because it really implies that I have a career and a calling. Oh, it may not be noble or along the same lines as a priest or nun, but it is my calling. Hooking up words to form thoughts is the only thing that I enjoy doing. That pleasure of watching words put together to make a picture.
I signed up for a copywriting course some time ago. I did the reading and exercises and now I'm about to submit my first assignment. It's fun and rather exciting to try my hand at this. To be honest, I feel as if this is what I've been preparing to do forever. I write articles at an English teaching magazine now, but copywriting combines my love of selling (penguin toy or no penguin toy) with words. Being a freelance copywriter will also give me the chance to have more time to do the other writing that I love for magazines. I feel as if finally it is all coming together. It sure as heck took forever for me to figure it out but well worth the wait. Off to write some tests.
J