Today was a crazy day. Started with class. I am beginning to like teaching. This is strange, because I never thought I'd pick up my father's profession or even dabble in it, as I am doing now.
I am teaching writing courses at a private university college. The staff are nice, kind and very efficient. The students are eager and spirited.
I hate talking all the time, so it was a nice surprise that some of these kids interrupt and interject at some points of my lecture. These first two weeks, I tried afew different things and the way I see it, these kids learn best when they are actually doing something.
Having me read the slides is not enough. Next week, I'll be preparing a lot more writing activities and tutorials, as well as critique on their work.
I turned down a major TV show because I have already signed onto teach and these kids - though not of the inner-city ghetto kind - need a constant.
I can't give my 100% to both as the projects take too much time and concentration as well as high levels of commitment. It would be unfair to everyone involved - the kids, the projects and even myself if I were to spread myself too thin.
Last night, I battled with a flu, which reminded me that I am not immortal. Tonight, the flu resurfaced but I beat it with sheer force of will. That, and Clarinase. Pseudoepinephrine.
Tomorrow, I will also see a contract I have been ding-donging with a studio. If the terms are as I requested, I will be on it as well. Next week will also reveal the fate of another project that has steadily made progress over recent weeks after a few months of zero news.
I have done all this before. I quit my job in 2006 without savings or an offer to any other job. The only difference is that now, I am doing it while cultivating patience and timing.
I know exactly what I can and cannot do, and I have learned that listening is a skill that is more valuable than talking. Writing trumps all, of course, and a lot of that is actually listening FIRST.
I have said no to some projects simply because I know that I cannot do things halfway. That NEVER works. Not for me, not for anything.
However, I am really, really thankful and grateful for all the support thrown my way - some from surprising sources and people who simply walk into my life with a little bit of sunshine or great big chunks of the dark crystal.
Honestly, I am now sitting in front of my PC, drenched with perspiration and typing on a patched up computer, feeling very calm and collected to face the days ahead.
I am a man with just a little bit of talent in writing. I have read and met and worked with others who were blessed with copious amounts of the right stuff.
The only thing I know I have to watch out for, in order to keep pace with the best, is simply to be aware of how much I am writing versus how much I am talking.
I'm a writer. I write. Talking is for talkers.
