Most people grow up. So few mature. Surely you've noticed by now?
I'm off from work until Friday. Not a good thing, financially speaking, but I am engaging in at least a few productive tasks in the interim, the proverbial hay-making.
I'm editing chapter three for a book that a friend is writing. It's fun, slow work, requiring the sustained use of my brain in ways that I don't often do - good practice. I'll also be going to a local employment office in the coming days, sit down and talk with somebody who can possibly help me find a career that will be more financially rewarding. It will be a sad day when I leave the store for the last time, but I can no longer ignore the negative impact that a low-paying retail job where I'm constantly on my feet is having on both my wallet and overall health. I've done the office thing before, everything from receptionist to administrative assistant, so I am hopeful that there is something out there. If I do find something, the transition time from one job to the next might make for some budgetary strains, but in the end it should be worth it.
I'm also finding myself getting the itch to write. Music, mostly, but lately, I'm even feeling brave and bold enough to try my hand at poetry, with the final goal being throwing myself up on a stage, just to see if I can. The crowd at the Monday night poetry slams chez Deux Soleils are incredibly supportive, so why not give it a try? As I mentioned to somebody there last night, when I'm on my deathbed, looking back on my life, am I really going to say "I'm glad I didn't try"? There are so many things in my life that I regret not doing, so why add to the pile?
Also, I might look into doing some video recording of me singing, as well as getting one or two other original compositions recorded, put them up on YouTube, see what happens. It makes me wish that there were such things as music slams here - open mics, sure, there's at least one every night of the week around here - then again, what's stopping me from trying to put one on? Or maybe they do exist, and I haven't yet discovered them.
And in the end, I did decline the opera role. I might have burned my bridges there, but it's by no means the only opportunity around here for me to perform. I'm becoming increasingly aware of all the doors of potential that surround me, just waiting for me to reach out, open them and step through. I love to sing, to see an audience open up and enjoy what I have to offer them, and it doesn't matter how large or small, or even what the song is, because while you have them in the palm of your hand, every moment matters, and if not now, when?