Filling in the Gaps

I fell into the Bridgerton rabbit hole this summer. It was a welcome respite from the insanity of politics, elder crises, and family members moving and getting new jobs. 

As part of my deep dive, I discovered the Archive of Our Own (AO3) which is a repository of fan fiction. I wish it existed 30 years ago when I was in my Star Trek fandom. Oh well, those stories are long lost. 

I ended up writing a novella, called Filling in the Gaps, almost by accident, since the words flowed out of me. I was hoping a few people might find it, but today, one week after I released it, I've got far more views (3,676), kudos (179) and comments (30) that I thought possible. I am grateful for every one of them. 

It was nice to do creative writing again. It's been a really long time since I've even tried. Not sure where this takes me, but it's also nice to have new doors open. 

Wow the landscape has shifted

My headline means two things to me today. First, the social media landscape. This was my post on Facebook this week. 

Social media is a mess right now. The new Facebook interface is convinced I want to be one of the groups I support all day long (and not myself) which completely confused a friend this morning. Twitter keeps changing its interface and asking me to give them money (no way, you should be grateful I'm still logging in and seeing any of the ads on the site). Instagram keeps sending me videos of strangers describing knitting hacks in languages I don't understand (and I'm not entirely sure why except for the one "how to crochet a penguin video" I did watch once about six months ago). I'm not job hunting so LinkedIn is not a destination and I prefer to read instead of watching videos so YouTube is not the best place for me either. 

But, I do like to know what you're all doing. Going to try to keep hanging in here to see the people I love doing the things that they love and chuckling about LOTR memes and Mariah Carey on her way.

It's getting worse. And now I see people going to Mastodon, Tumblr, Reddit and Discord. I'm in a few of those places, but I'm not sure that this business needs to reinvent itself again in social. I'll keep this blog going and I'll stay active on LinkedIn, but I think I'll be closing my Twitter account after I get my data. I don't use it enough and he doesn't get to count it. 

And now my second point.

The freelance world has changed since the pandemic. I used to see dozens of options available to connect with potential clients for reasonable rates and now FIVERR is advertising on TV, PhDs are taking editing jobs, and more people have jumped into the remote world. Many of the places where I used to find gig work at night (EST) are already finished by the time I can log in. I'm happy for the companies but sad my routine is broken. I will be honest I was hoping that my business model would last another 20 years, but the world changes constantly. 

I am fortunate to not be desperate enough to write for pennies. I am also fortunate that I am not homebound and can flex in different ways to support myself and my family. After a few months of frustration, I am moving forward again with a new part-time gig and it's exactly the bridge I needed. When it's time for me to leave my full-time job, I'll be able to focus more on Off Peak again.

How are you navigating this changing landscape? 

Memories

Had a pipe burst in my basement.

Didn't realize it was dripping for a few weeks/months ?!? before it went completely.  When we stopped the water and moved stuff out of the space, everything on the top shelf was moldy. Things got better the farther down the damage went, but  I lost two garbage cans full of stuff right off the bat. Luckily really dear items were in plastic totes and are totally fine, but I had some files and archives in cardboard boxes that got damp. 

I'm now sorting through all of those boxes to see if I can salvage things and if I really need to keep them. 

It's been a wild memory trip. 

I've forgotten so many things I did as a student and professional. I worked for many companies who have closed (Ampersand Graphics, BANCO, Metro Community News, Oncology News International, Advance (Radiology News), and Sibley's). I've left some places (JWU, RPCI, Cambridge Proofreading, WordVice, and JCPenney) but I'm still connected to many people from them. 

I wrote a lot. 

I worked a lot.

I am still working hard, but I really did not remember just how much hustling I was doing when my kids were small. So many clippings that I have to throw away. It's OK, my kids were really never going to read all of that and I don't need that kind of portfolio anymore, but I HAVE A LOT OF CLIPS. 

The scary thing is that I know I've gone through these boxes in the past. So, while these items bring back memories it makes me wonder what else am I forgetting? What will I never remember again because I've lost these? Is this why the elderly hoard things?  

I had a horrendous time cleaning out my parent's home. So, I really do know that this experience is for the best. It's better for me to spend some this time remembering and paying homage to my past. I can probably save a few triggers for myself that my kids will love to find someday. And they are more likely to see them if I can clear away the excess junk that made me feel productive. 

Writing this post as a nod to my future self for when I'm no longer capable of moving the boxes around.

Hello 2022

Blogging is not my thing. I have discovered over the last few years that I am a reactor to situations and that I love to help other people create, but I'm too busy to generate new and personal things right now.   

Hence, my last post was in March 2021. Because pandemic. 

I'm still going to keep this blog. It really is a great place for me to put tips and tricks I use with my clients and shortcuts that help me work smarter. So, here's my annual post to stay active :) and stay well. 

I'd like this pandemic to reach the endemic stage to launch the next phase of my career. 

#WearAMask #ProtectYourBubble #GetVaccinated

Flexibility in the work space

One of the hardest lessons to learn as a freelancer is how to juggle the ebb and flow of available work. This dynamic sometimes pushes freelancers to seek more work during a quiet time than they can handle during the busy times.

It is also hard to tell when a freelance gig has reached its end-of-life. Sometimes I've pulled the plug and other times the client pulled the plug, but the nature of contract work is that it will end. And no matter how much you like the work, the project is over. 

This is why continuously updating your skills and staying connected helps you in the marketplace. How do you keep expanding your freelance circle? 

Alignable

 It's a new year and there is a new app for businesses.  I was recently invited to Alignable (see my profile) and I've spent a few hours looking around.  It seems to be a more personal LinkedIn experience geared to smaller businesses.

Have you joined it? What are your thoughts?

A custom coat

For Christmas, my aunt gifted me wool she inherited. The clearing out of closets is a whole series of posts for a future time, but suffice it to say, my relatives have been strongly encouraged to go into drawers that have been ignored for a while. She found several pieces of beautiful fabric and wanted at least one converted into something new. So, we set out to find a tailor. Most people told me to leave Buffalo and head to Toronto or New York City to have a coat made, but we went to Chayban's instead. He took one look at the fabric, agreed it was beautiful, quoted me $600 and took my measurements. One fitting later (only needed to adjust shoulders and determine the final length) and I'll have a custom coat in one month.

I admit that I was surprised when he quoted me that figure. But, now that I've gone through the fitting process I realize that I got a great deal. His experience was worth every penny for something I'll have for the rest of my life.

When you decide you need something done, and you go find the right person to do the work, pay them what they are worth.

Snow days!

It's the snowiest I can remember in years but this means that I get a chance to catch up on correspondence, freelance work and other piles around my house.  It also gives me a chance to look for new opportunities.  If you're looking for a freelance editor or writer to help with some projects down the road please feel free to connect. I'd love to hear from you catherine_donnelly AT yahoo DOT com.  Stay safe and warm!

Still not a towing company

But the phone calls are lessening and the need to get my name erased is getting better. My guess now is that a description from the Off Peak Towing company in Hawaii got merged with my business somehow. I think I've managed to scrub most references, but there are old cached sites that still have the wrong info. This is proof that anything posted to the internet never goes away. Even when it is wrong.

Wow.

Today is a wow day. It's a weird snow day in Buffalo where half the city is being blanketed and the other half has nothing.

Seriously.

This is a view down Genessee street in Cheektowaga. To the left is the storm, to the right is sun.

Tomorrow the snow band might move north, but we'll never get as much snow as the southtowns.

Also WoW, how long since I last blogged. I guess I'm not very dedicated to it. I tend to blog more when I have free time and there is very little of that in my life at this moment.   I've been blessed to be very busy lately and that is the important thing.  I have managed to read 50 books though, only two more for the goal this year. Glad I got ahead of that when I did!

Wishing for all to stay safe and warm and dry.

Books and Work and NCAA

Update on the reading (three more done). Am tracking all of them on this Pinterest board cause I'm lousy at the running count ! It says 21 so far, so I'm well ahead of the goal. I am sure real life will stop me at some point LOL.

• 700 Sundays by Billy Crystal
• The Blessing by John Trent
• League of Denial: The NFL, Concussions and the Battle for Truth by ESPN reporters

I tried to read a Rex Stout mystery but just could not bring myself to sort through the old-fashioned language and sexist attitudes. I know that noir literature is like that but I just was not in the mood.

So, next I'm going to read the Divergent series. We have a rule in my house that you are not supposed to see a movie until you have read the book. As Maggie points out regularly, I have not held Matthew to that standard all the time. But he was a baby when we started reading Harry Potter and I wasn't going to stop him from enjoying those movies. However, I am enforcing that rule with the Hunger Games, Enders Game and Divergent. So, now I have to read those books!

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Off Peak Update
I am in the process of launching some new initiatives for the Tri-State Consortium including surveys to help with their research, an experts roster and expanded LinkedIn options. I'm excited to work on their materials because it is such a great way for me to connect all of my marketing and highered experience.  Plus, it helps me to start new projects because it keeps me current. I find sometimes that we just let things ride until we are forced to change. By continuing to expand my skills, I can bring new ideas to work and vice versa. Grateful for these opportunities. 

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Just a note about the NCAA.  Boy, the brackets are broken. I don't recall any other tourney where there have been so many upsets. But the basketball has been amazing to watch. I love March Madness !

Reading in 2014

My life flies. Totally on full speed in this phase of my life between working, kids, family needs and sports.  But, at the same time, I can always have a book tucked in my purse for five minutes of downtime. I'm going to keep track of the books I read this year in this blog. Perhaps it will get me to blog more often :)

Since January 1, I have read:

World War Z by Max Brooks
2 b r 0 2 b (short story by Kurt Vonnegut)
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein
What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures by Malcolm Gladwell
War Wives by Helen Bryan

Am currently reading:
Kenobi by John Miller
Necromancer by William Gibson

On deck:
The River of Doubt (Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey) by Candice Miller
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell

And as long as I was reviewing my Kindle to check out the author names, I took at look back at 2013. I think the Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis was one of my favorite books last year. Freakonomics was also pretty interesting. And I'm pretty happy I'm on track for at least one book a week in 2014.

Resolutions

So every year on December 31 I sit down and create a list of resolutions for the new year that I then fold up and put into my checkbook. This is a 25+ year tradition for me and last year I was remarkably successful with my 11 goals for the year. Three were completed, four were started (and were in good order by December) and two were changed for good reasons. There was only one item that really didn't get touched and it had to do with my writing, but as I came up with a good idea for a story I think it wasn't a complete loss.

Most of the time my goals are financial. I'm a Capricorn and that rings very true for me. Many of my money goals feel like pipe dreams when I put them on the paper but I think that was part of my happiness on Tuesday.... for the first time I actually crossed off the majority of those goals in a calendar year. Either I'm getting more realistic as I age or I'm honestly doing better tightening my belt.

I'm not prepared to share my list of 12 goals for 2014, they are pretty detailed and personal, but Rachel Reuben shared some of her goals today (http://rachelreuben.com/things-ill-be-working-on-in-2014/) and she gave a shout-out to Chris Brogan's technique of three words (http://www.chrisbrogan.com/my-3-words-2014/) which I will try.

Here goes: Create ~ Nurture ~ Support

Create: I want to be more crafty, I want to write, I want to garden, I want to find news ways to make things last so I can be more thrifty. At work I want to generate new content and make more people connect.  I think this word is a strong action word (with many meanings) for my personal and professional goals.

Nurture: I want to be able to nurture relationships to celebrate good things and for when things get tough. I also want to figure out how to keep nurturing our financial life. I need to keep nurturing myself so that I have resources when things get tough.

Support: I need to learn how to lean on others for support as well as determine how to best balance the fact that I am the major support for several people. I want to strengthen old and new friendships so that the online network I've developed can become more "in real life."  I am consistently amazed at the new ideas I learn each day and I have to be better at migrating those ideas into real sustainable supports for myself and my family.

Permission to write

So, I have an idea for a book. And I've toyed with it. Tried to write last November during NaNoMoWrite and just didn't have enough time or enough of the idea. That book failed completely.

But one of my characters keeps popping up in my head. So, I've been debating plotting her story but I keep thinking it's not good enough or interesting enough etc.

Last night I read something by Anna Quinden in her book "Being Perfect." She said "Once you've read Anna Karenina, Bleak House, The Sound and the Fury, To Kill A Mockingbird, and A Wrinkle in Time, you understand that there is really no reason to ever write another novel. Except that each writer brings to the table, if she will let herself, something that no one else in this history of time ever has. That is her own personality, her own voice....she may well be giving readers a new and wonderful gift. Giving it to herself, too."

So, I'm going to try again. But this time I'm going to try to outline something before November. Maybe if I have a path I can finally finish a story.

Loving my Kindle

I received a Kindle Fire as a birthday gift last year. And I've enjoyed using it. But it has really come in handy with library books. I finally figured out how to get them and I'm finally working my way through the waiting lists. Reading stuff I might not have found otherwise too. For instance Game of Thrones. Those books were too expensive for me right now but I'm able to read on the device.

But last night I had a revelation. I was reading what turned out to be a really short book. Really short. But I downloaded it from the library and returned it today.  No muss, no fuss and no gas wasted.

I think I'm going to be reading more than ever now.

Mission

This week I've had the privilege of helping co-chair the Mission experience at St. Gregory the Great Church in Buffalo. I can't tell you about it, only people who have participated in the program knows what happens each night, but I can tell you that it changed my life.

The beauty of the program is how each participant gets what they need from it. I am amazed every year at how differently people experience the events of the week. How I see them or how I feel can be completely different than the person across the aisle.

This retreat is also different in that it is 7 consecutive nights. By Friday we'll all be exhausted together, but I think that adds to the experience. It is part of the sharing. Next summer my husband and I will be the leaders of the retreat. It will interesting and humbling to hold that position. I hope next year goes as well as this one is doing.

HigherEd Web

Looking forward to this trip and the October conference. I had the chance to go to Austin last year and it was an amazing experience. Learned so much, I actually came back with about 20 take-aways and tried them all. Implemented about half into my day to day job. Hoping to do the same and possibly figure out a presentation for when it comes to BUFFALO.

My fav photos from Austin:







My movie about the bats at the Congress Bridge:

Roswell Thoughts

Another Ride for Roswell is over. It is always my anniversary weekend and I've been involved I think in all 17 of the events. I used to work for the Alliance Foundation as a freelancer (started late 1993) and joined the Institute as a medical writer in 1998. Stayed for almost 11 years before heading over to UB. Since UB hosts the event, I still help out the event creating social media updates and telling stories. It is a major part of my life and maybe someday I'll actually get on a bike and ride!



This photo sums up a lot for me. Everyone involved has a story to tell. My story, aside from having been a member of the team, is that my Mom was a nurse at Roswell Park, my son volunteered there and my mother-in-law died of breast cancer. We are all touched by cancer and need to remember that every day is precious.

Happy December

Time to accept that the resolutions for the year are probably not happening and that is time to simply get ready for another new start in January. All in all, 2011 went pretty well and this month feels like it is going to be a good one too.

Reflections on 2011 (I know I'm early, but I think I need to do this so I can get back to focusing on other stuff!)

• My oldest got into college, got decent money from said college and now attends that college. Was hard to let him go but I think it was the right choice. Still cannot believe I am old enough to have a child in college.
  
• My middle is a sophomore in high school and thinking about college. I'm excited to go through that process with her and having fun watching her be busy in school. For a kid who says she prefers to stay out of the public eye, she is now working two jobs and managing the school play (assistant stage manager) while staying an A student. Not quite "A's" across the board, but not bad overall.
  
• My youngest has totally started to grow up on me... not only are we almost eye to eye, but he's playing the games I love to play, he's busy with stuff I like to watch and he makes me laugh all the time.
  
• Work has been great... lots of projects, lots of new people to meet. Moving into a cubicle was an adjustment (and still adjusting) but overall the move was far more positive than negative. And no more headaches. I never realized how changing light affected me. Being in a controlled environment really has improved my overall health and functionality.
• My husband has a new job, has started a new masters degree and has started several projects around the house. I'll have to get into those projects now if they are ever going to get finished, but overall the year was a good one. We managed to make all the changes with the kids and fix several issues around the house that are making it much nicer to live here.
  
• My family survived the year. My mom and uncle are still here... wasn't sure last Thanksgiving that would be the case. I don't think we'll have both at the table next year, but that will be an issue for 2012... I think 2011 will see us all together for Christmas.
• I'm not sure I really finished any of my goals for the year... but everything moved in the right direction. We did get the oldest into a good school, we are still paying all the bills on time, we did fix up the house and we did have fun this year (two more ballparks off the list!). I didn't get to 50,000 words in NaNoWriMo but I did start a story... and did get almost to 15,000 words before life intervened and I couldn't take the time to write anymore. I will finish it though... I have enough of the ideas on paper that it seems more cohesive than any previous attempt.
• Holidays are on track... at this point I have a complete list and it is almost done. I have the cards started and cookies planned. Tree will be in a week or so. I am now wondering what I forget to do :)

Any thoughts for next year?

Sadness

I am just sad about all the news that is coming out of Penn State.

I don't know the details and I don't want to know the details. What I have heard makes me sick. I hope that somehow the boys who were harmed have managed to get help and break the cycle of abuse. I am sure that they will be found and the media will keep feeding on this story. But I am not sure that tearing down people and rioting and putting good people in danger is going to help improve this situation. I think that those boys/men need to be supported and helped and they deserve no blame for what happened and continues to happen.

The verse from Romans (12:21) keeps popping into my head today "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

There are really good people at Penn State – good employees (I've met some), good alumni, good parents and good students. Their story has to be told. They should not feel tarnished by this. The only people who are tarnished are the ones who knew and did nothing. But today, the good people feel the shame and the sting of the abuse. It is because they are good that they suffer.

I really hope that sanity comes back to Penn State. That the University figures out how to teach through this moment. That joy can return to Happy Valley. That the people who need help get it and those who did evil accept their responsibility. And that everyone learns how to be a force for good in this world.