Revival!

Hmmm. The last time I blogged was in 2007.

It's September 13. Of 2008. Ouch!

What's new? Well, I quit my job. Even though it was a long time coming, I secretly hoped things would improve so as to avoid a painful separation. But they didn't.

Do I miss it? Yes and no. The daily deadline was stressful yet challenging, and I do think the years of meet-it-and-beat-it helped improved my writing. However, whatever joy I found in my job went away once we moved to a quota system of providing content. It never bother me that I worked remotely from New York -- the relationships I established in Washington were solid, and I didn't need to be in the office everyday to feel like a member of the team. But as more and more of my colleagues left to work for other companies, my ties to the team became tenuous. The lines of communication with my managers stretched thin, and a seemingly innocent company reshuffling drew a line in the sand. I toed it for as long as I could, but my heart wasn't in it. And at some point my head made the choice to save my heart, despite the importance and necessity of that salary.

So I left, with a part-time job locked in and the promise of another job in the wings. The day-to-day business of writing is behind me.

The trouble is, I can't completely give up writing, even if I don't get paid to do it anymore. You see, I've taken a hopefully-temporary-but-huge salary cut to pursue my master's degree in Secondary English Education. Yes, I want to teach English. And no matter where I end up, I'm pretty sure large parts of the curriculum will include writing. As burned out as I may be, my burnout can only be temporary. I can't get rusty, otherwise, what kind of teacher will I be if I totally forget how to write?

With that in mind, welcome to the revival of The Whirlygirl. I'm a bit more free to speak my mind now that I'm not attached to a corporation and don't have to worry about my co-workers scouring the web to tattle on me. (Not like they would -- well, some of them wouldn't.) I'm free to ramble at will...and I will.

There's so much on my mind, but it will have to wait. My fingers are shaking -- they haven't this much prolonged contact with a keyboard since I quit my job -- and they need to recuperate.

This blog is more for me than for anyone else, but if you're reading now, thank you for taking the time to visit. I 'prreciate it.

XOXO,
The WhirlyGirl