This Writing Life 18 – Holi-Whats?

(Note: Wow did I lie to myself about how long it would take to finish editing True Magics. But it's done! And now, a blog post!)

It’s the time when income slows down to a trickle and expenses are blooming like dandelions in a Kentucky Bluegrass lawn in spring and you wonder how in the world you’re going to survive until January when everyone realizes that there’s a ton to do before year end and wonders who is going to write their annual report (hint: me) or whatever.

So as I sit here in my kitchen at 4:30 a.m., regretting my movie night snack choices over a cup of mint and ginger tea, I thought it would be a great time to talk about holidays. Or, as I like to think of them…

Selective Unemployment

Because let’s face it, if you’re freelancing, you don’t get vacation pay, you don’t get retirement pay, and you don’t get health insurance.  You get work, you get a pay cheque, and with a little luck you get by, at least for the first few years. Who has time for a holidays?

You do.

You Need a Holiday

If you’re a writer, your world can become very small. Mine consists of a kitchen and a computer, most days. Even if you love your job (and I really, really love my job), you need some time away from it.

Holidays allow us to see beyond ourselves. They refresh body and spirit, and expand horizons and let us see some of the world and our fellow humans. All of this feeds you creatively, recharges you and becomes grist for the mill.

The nice thing is that holidays don’t have to be expensive. You don’t always need to fly off to a foreign, exotic destination (pauses to imagine…. OK, back now). Going hiking or touring your own city’s tourist spots or visiting the relatives you like can all be just as nice.

But no matter how little or much you spend, holidays do mean taking a break from your routine, which means not earning money.

So Plan for It

The space between Christmas and New Year is a great time to sit down and say, “what do I want to do next year?”

I’m not talking namby-pamby “resolutions,” here.  Those are for people who don't want to commit.

I’m talking hard-core, project-management-style planning, with a white board and sticky notes and a spreadsheet and whatever other tools you need to get where you want to go.

Five steps:

1. Figure out what you want to do and how much it’s going to cost
2. Figure out what you need to spend to survive (food, shelter, bills, debts, taxes, retirement savings, education funds, insurance, whatever)
3. Figure out the difference between the two.
4. Develop a S.M.A.R.T.* plan to either:
1. save the difference or 
2. earn the difference.
5. Commit to saving/earning that money and stick to it.

Yeah, I know that last one is the hard part. But it’s worth it.

Be Realistic

Sorry to be a downer here but yes, you need to put some realism in your planning. If your take home is only exceeding your expenses by few cents a day, now is not the time to drop $100,000 on a week on a private island.  Plan for something you can afford, or something you can reasonably work toward affording without selling organs or your children.

(Seriously, don’t sell your kids. I know it can be tempting sometimes but the market is down and you’ll never get back what they cost. Also, what sort of a bad person are you?)

That’s it until the New Year. Happy Holidays, whichever ones you celebrate, and I’ll blog at you again in January.

Next Time… I have no clue. So come back in January to find out!

*S.M.A.R.T.: Specific, Measureable, Actionable, Realistic, Time-Specific

Been on Holidays

And still am.

Look for more blogging in the new year.

And where the heck was I that missing week, anyway?

We got the chance to take a week at a cottage. We took it. Here's the view from the porch:



It was a great week. Here's our daughter, Maggie, discovering the water:



...And after playing in the water:



And visiting a friend on the way home:



And we got home just in time for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows madness back home in Toronto:



Got my copy that night, thanks to my friend Kat, who managed to get a wristband (yes, you needed a wristband) so she could line up for the book at midnight.

A good week it was.

Now that was a weekend!

My wife and I have just returned from Stratford, Ontario, where we spent Friday and Saturday staying in a very posh hotel, eating very good food, shopping and seeing the preview performances of A Comedy of Errors and King Lear at the Stratford Festival.

And to make the weekend perfect, we left the little one behind in the tender care first of a very good friend of mine then of my wife's mother. Both are excellent caregivers and knowing that they were looking after our child enabled us to relax and enjoy the weekend.

And because I'm in the mood for it, here's a quick review of everything we did:

The Hotel
We stayed in the Annex Inn, which was very posh indeed. The price was high, but the room had a king-sized bed, fireplace, whirlpool tub, and a comfortable sitting area for post-show chats and reading. It was definitely worth the price and we may well be staying there again when we go next year, if we can swing it.

The Food
Bentley's: Good food and nice folks. I stuck to pub grub, Sara had the pasta. Both were excellent. And they make a nice Bruschetta.
Fellini's: Our favourite place to eat in Stratford. We have never had a bad meal there and this time was no exception. Their pasta is some of the best I've tasted, and their lunch special was exactly the right size. My wife had the mussels, which were equally good. And they give you wonderful bread.
The Church: Food as art. Dinner there cost as much as the first night at the hotel. I will probably not spend that much money on a meal again in the next five years. A beautiful restaurant, gourmet food, excellent service. Try the scallops in linear and cubist forms.
Foster's Inn: Both breakfasts. Had the Eggs Benedict both times. Nothing beats a home-made hollandaise sauce.
Let Them Eat Cake: We stopped there for scones to start our morning (we're both early risers, and wanted nibbles to tide us over until breakfast. Excellent scones.

The Plays
A Comedy of Errors: A good production of what is arguably one of Shakespeare's funniest plays. It is a farce, and was played as such. Director Richard Monette chose to set his play in classical Syracuse, then completely ignored the period to very good effect. This play was his Shakespearean swan song (he is leaving his position of Artistic Director this year) and was filled with enough festival in-jokes to keep the regulars rolling in the aisles. Those of us who aren't festival regulars still enjoyed it. If there was one complaint about this show, it is that Monette allowed the glitz and the tricks to overwhelm the text, to the detriment of the production (I should mention that many consider that to be his trademark).

King Lear: Directed by Brian Bedford, this is an instance where trusting the text led to a magnificent production. The production was stark, simple, and brilliant. The acting was supurb for the most part, though I found both Edmund and Cordelia to be slightly one-note (they were good notes, but still...). Bedford was supposed to be playing Lear, which I was greatly anticipating. Instead, we had his understudy, John Innes (and we think Bedford was playing one of the serving men, the sneaky so and so). John Innes acquitted himself brilliantly and deserved the standing ovation he received.

All in all it was a great weekend, a great way to recharge, and on Monday, it is back to work. I'm looking forward to it.

And speaking of work, time to do some writing.

Geek Link!

Solar wind may owe its speed to helium: study

And so folks know, I'm on vacation this week. Sleep (if I can convince my body to do it), time to exercise, time to watch a movie, and househunting.

I'll be blogging still, but look for the posts to be much more relaxed.