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The Work I Do

Long time, no write, I know. It's just that when you get jobs on contract, the work stretches to fill the time available, and there has been a lot of work lately.

I suppose I should mention what I do. There is the writing, which is sporadic and dependant on demand. There also is the novel, which I place under the 'to be done when I have the time' burner, which means that not much is done as of the moment. Note to self: Make sure burner is on.

Then I also do IT training. In particular, I am certified to train Crystal Reports (version 10), Veritas Netbackup 5.0 and Veritas BackupExec 9.x. If all this is gobbledygook to you, don't worry. It's mostly gobbledygook to me too.

Both these jobs are work-as-you-can. I have no set hours, apart from when I am teaching a class. Somebody said that everyday is a holiday for me. Well, everyday is a working day for me too. In fact, my teaching days are more leisurely than some of my writing days.

How do I write? With intensity. I tell my nearest and dearest that I have work to do, put a bottle of drinking water next to me, close the door, and I don't resurface for eight hours, even for food and drink.

But you know what? I enjoy it. I enjoy the actual work. All of it. I enjoy it when I teach a class and I see the glow of realisation on the students' faces. I enjoy it when I give completely fictional characters life and make them do the most amazing things. I enjoy it when I put words on the page which have the power to inspire.

Doesn't necessarily happen very often, but I enjoy it nonetheless.

Anyway (anyway), the reason why I do this is because I sincerely believe that the person who gets paid for a job that he loves and would do for free anyway is the luckiest person in the world.

Do you work to live? Do you work because you need the money, but wouldn't do it otherwise? Nothing wrong with that, that's how most people live. But if you're lucky enough to have the choice and the chance, and you're lucky enough to have the skills, then... go forth and make the world your own.