Transitional

[Pear blossoms and brownstones, Back Bay, Boston; 4/1/12]

I'm still at that stage where I've been cut loose from the dock I was tied to all too long but I'm still trying to regain my sea legs. Of course I'm still in safe harbor. I signed up for unemployment compensation yesterday, and my two-weeks severance pay will come later this week. I spent the last week contacting former freelance clients and following up on other leads, with another call scheduled today and one on Monday. As D says, I have several hooks in the water, so now wait and see what bites. I have more lines to cast, too, but I thought I should take a little breather while I can, gather strength and ready the ship -- or at any rate clean the house.

[Nature Center at Habitat Wildlife Sanctuary, Belmont MA; 4/3/12]

I have such a backlog of things I want to do, things I've given short shrift because of the demands of my job. Besides much needed house cleaning (not just the surface stuff, but tackling piles and boxes of stuff that needs to be sorted and gotten rid of), there's writing, walking, exploring, seeing friends, seeing art, reading, and thinking -- none of which should be rushed or done half-heartedly in a state of exhaustion. I haven't come down to that level yet.

We were busy over the weekend. We walked over to the South End for dinner at a friend's place on Saturday night, which was fun but I wished I was feeling more relaxed and less tired. On Sunday, we met up with Lorianne and J at the JFK Library to see our friend Teju Cole accept the PEN/Hemingway Award for his acclaimed first novel, Open City. (See Lorianne's blog post.) It was a lovely event, with readings by Teju and Yannick Murphy, winner of the PEN/Winship New England award for her novel, The Call, as well as a keynote address by novelist Andre Dubus III. But loveliest of all, as Lorianne says, was the chance to catch up with old friends and bask in the joy of a well-deserved honor for one of them.

[Teju Cole at the PEN/Hemingway Awards event; 4/1/12]

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It occurs to me that I haven't had a vacation in a long time. An occasional long weekend, yes, but not a good long break from work. That might have helped my ability to cope at work! Stupid not to have taken more, I guess, but hard to get the time off. Vacation is not encouraged here in the US. So I'll try to take some now. Starting today, after my noontime business call. It's shaping up to be a sunny, warm day. Time to open the windows.

Comments

[Lorianne]

I love D's fishing metaphor.

When I first entered my own transitional period, my first (compulsive) impulse was to pepper the world with resumes, frenetically network with anyone who would speak with me, and basically keep on DOING things in hyper-drive. I ultimately tapped the brake on that: better to figure out first what one *wants* to do.

Fishing is, after all, a contemplative pursuit: a lovely way to think about it.

[Relatively Retiring]

Yes, such a lovely metaphor, and I do hope you can gain some relaxation and respite from pressure while you're waiting for a bite.

[mm]

Wishing you productive fishing!

Over the years I've spoken to US work colleagues and have been taken aback at how tough - apparently - the American workplace can be. Goodness knows, I found the 5-day week hard going over here, but in the UK paid holiday (4 to 5 weeks per annum on average)is not optional and the employee is expected to take it.

[Leslee]

Lorianne: Yeah, I was in a whirlwind of trying to drum up work, but I had already been doing a lot of that in desperation to get out of my job! But yes, it's a good metaphor - and I've had nibbles, so I know there are fish swimming around out there! Good point about fishing being contemplative. :-)

RR: Thank you, I'm already feeling some respite, which goes along with getting some nibbles and also unemployment compensation.

MM: Thanks! Part of the problem is that while I had 4-5 weeks "paid time off (PTO)," that also included any sick time, time going to the doctor or dentist, etc, which can eat away at that pool of PTO. I understand that in other countries, sick time is in addition to vacation time and can be quite generous.

[mm]

Ah, I see. Yes, over here time off sick, including medical appointments, is not counted with holiday time and can indeed be quite generous - though this depends on the individual employer and employment contract. I've know people who fell sick while on holiday and the days they were ill were not deducted from the holiday entitlement.