Flexible Me

Man, for all of those net surfers who put "flexible" in their search boxes in hopes of finding contortionist porn, this post is going to be awfully disappointing, don't you think?

I can still touch my toes but I creak when I do it. I can't touch my hands behind my back very well and the days of sitting on the ground and reaching my toes have passed me by. However, that is NOT the kind of flexibility I am talking about.

I mean work flexibility.

Recently, a good friend of mine was helping my ego a bit by telling me she thinks I am rather remarkable (and you know who you are!). It got me thinking a bit about this job I have. On the perk sides, I can make my own hours, I don't have to leave the house to work, I haven't worn a pair of pantyhouse in years, I don't have to dress up (or get dressed at all!), I learn something new all the time, I move from project to project so I never really get bored--it's a long list of perks.

The down side, however, is shorter but also weightier. I never know how much money I will make each week/month. That makes it a BEAR to budget. Some months I get quite a few checks and I relax and hit bookstores and chill out . . . . and then, after making sure I am in a peaceful lull, everything changes. Suddenly, my income plummets. An invoice is mislaid so unpaid. The accountant for the company is on vacation. Yadda, yadda, yadda. Or the assignments simply slow down because all businesses tend to slow down during the year. I love the extra time but I hate the loss of income.

In addition to having to be flexible in dealing with how much work I have to do each day (sometimes I only work an hour or two but some I put in 10-12-or more) and how much money I will make (it all depends on what comes in the mail--I am sure my mailman thinks I wanna have an affair or something because I am so often standing next to the mailbox when he comes by--he doesn't realize I am there for the BUCKS . . . not for . . . you fill in the blank), I have to be mighty flexible in what I write. Today, for example, I wrote a poem, did some source notes for a book, revised a manuscript, queried three companies for jobs, learned a few facts about how to create an online course, talked to two former editors, got photo credits for a picture for an article I wrote, printed out three tests to review and came up with four new ideas for another editor who needed some new concepts. This is not unusual--this was actually a lighter day. Topics covered today included: Apollo (the god, not the spaceships), Franklin Pierce, peer pressure, choose your own adventures, liver disease, American literature, iran and nuclear weapons, young people's self-esteem issues and poetry topics. Is it any wonder my head is tired by bedtime?

Yea, I have to be flexible but as good as I am and as much experience as my job gives me on a regular basis, I still can't do the splits.