big step forward

I take another big step today: I'm giving notice on my day-job.

I know I speak for Allan, too, when I say these are tough jobs to leave. Not that we love our work so much, but we have the perfect day jobs. We don't expect to see the likes of them in Toronto, at least not for a while.

After making the decision, in the mid-1980s, to pursue writing more seriously, I've held an array of different jobs. I've been a nanny, a proofreader, a teacher, an assistant to a crazy artist, a data-entry operator, a political organizer, and probably a few things I don't even remember - and usually more than one at a time.

Once I gave up nanny-ing (which I did in exchange for rent), I needed something much higher paying. There's a whole culture in New York of writers, actors, musicians and students who "temp," and I heard the money was good.

I didn't even have a computer in those days - very few people did. I had one friend who was cutting edge! I would go to her place while she was at work and teach myself WordPerfect. (I know there are a few wmtc readers old enough to remember DOS-based WordPerfect.) Then I lied about my experience to the temp agencies, and went out and got some real experience. Soon I taught Allan what I learned, which rescued him from his deli-counter job.

Word-processing turned out to be the perfect writer's job. It's skilled enough so that it's not mind-numbingly boring, yet uses no creative energy. And word-processing in a corporate law firm pays better than anything else I've done. (Which is a sad commentary in itself.)

That was 15 years ago. We kept our skills top-notch and I made sure we never got too comfortable. I was always jockeying for a better spot - something that paid more for less hours.

Now we are at the top of the heap. We each work only 24 hours a week (in two days), but are paid the equivalent of a good full-time job. My job is virtually stress-free, and I am often paid very decent money to read the Sunday Times and catch up on all of your blogs. I work alone, which I love - no one bothers me, and I am my own supervisor. Allan's job is slightly more demanding, but hey, it's over in two days. He also gets health benefits (which also cover me).

And now, goodbye. No more jobs.

We have every reason to believe we'll find good work in Toronto. On our first visit to the city, we met with the two biggest legal staffing agencies, and they were practically salivating over our resumes. They assured us that we'll work. But we won't earn nearly what we're earning now - which means we'll have to work more hours.

We've been dreading this.

We will eventually work our way into better spots, with less hours. But not right away. And - she says whiningly - we love our lives the way they are now! Boo.

This is one huge down-side. But so be it. Staying put in order to keep a day-job is ass-backwards. The job is supposed to make your life possible, not the other way around.

I call my supervisor in one hour! Then I send an email to my friends at the firm who don't know anything about this. I'll be expecting a slight upsurge in page-views, along with a lot of questions...