dual wielding

Yes, I mean that as a reference to weapons — diablo 2 got remastered and I couldn’t resist reintroducing the world to Red Pants the badass assassin — but also to attacking life/career from two different lanes right now.

You see, I’ve been semi-employed for nearly two years now. I was laid off in mid-2024 and spent over a year searching/freelancing. Then I got a temporary role that was meant to last six months. About halfway through, I was assured that it would, in fact, become permanent.

It did not become permanent.

So I’ve been looking again for about two months.

Given that recent history, finances are not looking great right now, and you would think that I would be a nervous wreck. But here’s the thing, I’ve been writing while I’ve been job hunting.

And somehow, the double-track is making both tracks feels smoother. In February, I wasn’t getting anywhere with the job search, but I was working on my memoir proposal and writing and outlining. The work on my book was a real accomplishment that I was proud of, and that made the job search silence easier to take.

Now, I’m querying agents with the memoir material and I’m not hearing anything (it’s early still, but I’d like a fight over me). I also had a great interview for a role I’d knock out of the park yesterday, though. I have another interview tomorrow. So instead of feeling anxious about agents (I mean, MORE anxious), I’m feeling hopeful and good about the job search.

And before my interview tomorrow, I’m going to get to work on a short story or two. So if there’s silence on BOTH fronts next week, I’ll be able to focus on and feel proud of the work on that story and its potential for contests.

This trick will work even better when I’m just writing full time (knock on wood), but it’s helping me stay positive and keep working through the waiting and the hoping.