Pancreatitis no more.
Today’s the day I quit my daytime bar job.
Here’s a list of things I’ve seen and people I’ve met and stuff I’ve endured in the last six months:
- The upper class, out of work event producer who hides her alcoholism by slumming it with us. Occasionally she gets the DT’s so bad that she has to drink her first beer through a straw. But, she’s always wearing pearls so …
- The creepy guy who’s a cross between Mr. Burns and Mr. Mackey, who smells like he lives in the Atlanta Airport smoking lounge and who insists on bringing me homemade food on a regular basis.
- The young bartender cum assistant manager who regales us all with tales of cocaine and trashy girls in the office after hours. He tempers these stories with comments like, “I just can’t tell you how much my girlfriend means to me.”
- The surly, 40-something Mexican guy who has worked for years, and continues to work, as a bar back. He displays his displeasure by shoving bartenders as he passes with buckets of ice.
- The unbelievably low offer of $100 to “mess around” with the Gucci Loafer guy.
- The regular, Mr. Cellophane, who after being missing for a couple of weeks, returned to the bar. When he came in, he stopped me from pouring his usual Vodka & Pepsi (heavy on the vodka with a splash of water to cut the Pepsi) saying that he had just been released from the hospital for alcohol-induced pancreatitis. “I’ll just have wine.” And wine he had … four huge glasses, all consumed with a straw for maximum impact. Two weeks after that he showed up at noon announcing that he spent the prior night sleeping in the park on the East River after an alcohol-induced fight with his equally alcoholic wife who threw vodka in his face.
- The number one regular who drinks with me EVERY day, very heavily and then drives himself home to New Jersey. Yesterday, he drank three beers, at least four shots of Jagermeister, and one shot of Jameson before announcing that he needed to leave early to pick up his 12 year-old son to go to a baseball game.
So, why am I leaving all of that glamour behind me? Because I’m a Writer. Capital W. Why capital W? Because, I am being paid. That’s right. I am being PAID to write. Since last August or so I’ve been working as a virtual assistant. A virtual assistant is basically a personal assistant, but online. My title? Copywriter/editor. How amazing is that? I am being PAID TO WRITE! People, I am living the dream and as of yesterday, I have enough work coming in that I am ready to commit to writing full-time.
Now, it’s freelance work and nothing in the freelance world is guaranteed. However, these past few months I’ve built confidence in my abilities, I’ve learned a wealth of information about online marketing and sales, as well as being introduced to a whole bevvy of online software programs that are essential for online businesses. I’ve become a tech-geek with mad writing skills and that’s exactly what my clients need. Thus far I have worked for:
- The holistic nutritionist who strives to make everyone she encounters healthier.
- The life coach who wants to empower women to be everything they were meant to be.
- The life coach who is teaching her clients how to run their own online businesses.
- The kinesiologist who has made a business out of helping people manage or even eliminate chronic pain.
- The reiki master who heals you … and your pets! … via the transference of energy.
- The mother who turned her quest for a private school education for her children into a business that helps other parents achieve the same goal.
No more being an active participant in people’s self-destruction. No more waiting anxiously for the drunk driver to arrive so that I know he didn’t kill himself or others on his ride back to Jersey the night before. From here on out, it’s me and the do-gooders and I couldn’t be more excited.
Today I break the news to the bar and the drunks. Wish me luck!
April 17th, 2010 at 2:10 pm
Exciting News!!!!
April 19th, 2010 at 1:43 pm
Super-duper congratulations! I’m thrilled for you.
April 21st, 2010 at 10:56 am
Thanks guys! I’m really super excited … and freaked out. You know, I only made the, “I want to be a writer” decision back in August. Eight months later … Boom. Done. I can’t wait to decide what my next decision is going to be!