Where has the time gone?
Grandad May 26th, 2008
Things are getting out of hand here.
When I left full time work, I had ideas of lazing around and doing a bit of work when the mood took my fancy. Hazy lazy days.
It didn’t work out like that.
My little business that I started up to keep me out of mischief was supposed to be a little business, but it became a big business.
Now I’m trying to make it a little business again, but life isn’t that simple. The buggers keep coming at me.
On top of that, the garden is getting out of hand, and I haven’t time to do anything about it.
And then there is The Book.
There have been a lot of developments on The Book, but I haven’t mentioned them, because you’d probably find it boring.
The bottom line is that the book I have been working on has been put off. It won’t be published for a couple of years, if ever. It’s not that the publishers aren’t happy with it - it’s because I’m not happy with it. They say it needs a bit of polishing - I say it needs rewriting from scratch. The curse of being a perfectionist!
So, in the meantime, I have a contract to fulfil and I have to provide them with something else.
So I wrote a second book. That’s nearly finished, and I hope to be sending them the first draft in the next few days. I sent them a rough draft a few weeks ago, and they are very happy with it. They are even talking about another one before I finish the rewrite of the original one.
This is getting complicated.
Not only is it complicated, but it is all very time consuming.
I’m expecting a client to arrive for a meeting in an hour or so. That means more work.
I have another meeting scheduled for tomorrow. More time gone.
And I have just had an email from another client reminding me about a project that had slipped my mind altogether.
It has reached the stage where I’m thinking of quitting and getting myself a nine to five job.
It would mean less work.
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If you did, sure you would have nothing to complain about except… well mabye… but then maybe not!
You need an employee. Of course that would require management time and delegation on your part. Have you considered cloning yourself?
Considering joining you on the 9-5 thingie…
LOLOLOL!! I know what you mean - I feel like my 9 to 5 pays for me to do my other more energy and time consuming job.
However be worse if you were bored - who knows what you’d get up to??
not happy with the first book so you went and wrote another? you’re my hero.
You’ll soon have to hire an assistant to brush the crumbs out of your beard.
..btw I’m busy, so don’t ask.
I need an assistant now to reply to all the comments.
Grannymar - I will always find something to complain about.
Thrifty - Cloning isn’t a bad idea? Two Grandads for the price of one? Or maybe a whole crowd of us??
Darragh - Do you have space in your office for Richard and myself?
Rosie - I can only re-write the first book if the second one is a success. That’s according to Herself. She’s bitching again.
RhodesTer - Beards are there to catch crumbs. I haven’t had a crumb go down my shirt-front in ages.
Submit your CV and a sample of (a) your coffee making skills, (b) your taste in loud music and (c) your openness to leaving work early on a sunny afternoon to go sit in a beer garden and I’ll see what i can do
Darragh -
a) Good, but tea making is brilliant.
b) Queen
c) First out the door.
?
Done deal!
D’ye reckon Richard is trustworthy enough not to be nicking me paperclips?
Great stuff!!
Now the important stuff - What annual leave am I entitled to? What is my salary? And I suppose I’d better ask - what am I supposed to be doing?
I’m sure Richard is as trustworthy as myself…..
Annual leave: You leave me alone, I’ll leave you alone, we’ll meet in the pub and settle major business decisions by the time honoured business management method of flipping a coin. Oh and the cleaning we’ll leave to Richard.
Salary: Depends on what you’re supposed to be doing. Erm. I’ll have to come back to you on that one.
So you’re saying the not one of the three of us in this office will be trustworthy? It’s bound to be a success
Darragh - We’ll be in the Top Ten Rich List by the end of the year
aaaah, Grandad, but the big question is, are you having fun?
Ashley: I don’t know. I haven’t the time to work that out……
Ah but you love it though, truly.
Do I? Do I really? Would I not prefer to be working with Darragh?
Well now Darragh is a terribly nice chap. Just ask Grannymar!
It’s like walking in on a scene from the ‘Blogging Waltons’
Darragh - So am I. Just ask Grannymar!
Good night John-Xbox4NappyRash-Boy
Grandad,
Working one day a week as I do, I’m always grateful that there are people around to fill the remainder of my time. Were you working nine to five, I could not ask you at 7.30 in the evening about what programme I can use on my Eee to write my blog - it runs on Linux.
But could you handle all that worry about the paperclips…
Don’t burn yourself out Grandad. Have a few fuses in stock in case your’s blows. Fuse rum and coke or something. Whisky and soda, praps.
Hello again. Good to see you are still here. Sounds like you are thriving…
Reckon you need to retire AGAIN Grandad!
Here is my (yet again!) elegant solution to your problems. You see, ghost writers are all the rage these days for authors too busy to actually write anything themselves. However, not only will I tell you this, but I shall also let you know about the father of an international best-selling author who has recently become unemployed and who has been known to tell a tall tale or two himself! I’m sure he would love the chance to do a bit of work to help keep him in Bass and Dubs tickets.
Ian - A simple answer to your problem - Vi [*hahahaha*]. So it turned up then?
Richard - You’re in charge of the paperclips. Can you handle that?
Sam - My fuse blew years ago. I stuck one of Richard’s paperclips between my terminals.
Hey! Welcome back Omani
You haven’t been around in ages!
Paddy - No thanks. I tried that, and have to do it again in a few months time.
Longman - That’s a good idea, but surely a ghost writer has to be dead? And what happens if I don’t believe in ghosts? Are they paid in cash or in spirit?
What’s the second book about?
I’ve just realised that’s a horrible question and one that I hate finding an answer to when someone asks me! I’ll settle for a genre if it’s easier…
JA - The original idea was for a novel. The publisher liked it [though it needed a lot of rewriting!], but I didn’t. We decided on a complete rewrite, with a new [less cliched] central plot, and in the meantime, I am working on an anthology.
Looking forward to seeing the fruits of your labour and re: work etc. isn’t it better to be busy. I won’t dig up the stats that show the life expectancy of men after they retire, but the ones that stay active like you are live a lot longer. So embrace it all while it’s there.
Le Craic - At this rate I’ll be around until I’m 250. *sigh*
I must admit, I’d rather have too much to do than too little. The thought of sitting staring out the window waiting for my time to come is not a pleasant one