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EmmaMaree.com

Scottish Writer of Fantasy & Sci-Fi

'Real' Work

The Day The Alarm Didn’t Stop

Early this morning, there was a problem in the office where I work.

Initially, I wasn’t too fussed. I had mechanisms in place to deal with distracting office noise.

But then it continued for over an hour. 

 

And continued.

…and continued…

Until, four hours later:

And hours later, the memory remains.

Though there were some highlights to lessen the headaches.

 

After all that, I’m glad to me home with a cup of Chai tea and my trusty TARDIS dressing gown. It’s just a shame I can still hear the ringing.

Little Bit of Optimism

Hey all,

Sorry for the lack of posts – life has been busy, and fantastic.

The Blog has a new theme, it’s a temp one until I can redo the site to something more lightweight.

It used to be I would post about anything important – and, as things go, the important things would often be the worst. Unfortunately, when I post negative or awful things, having to go back over them later just makes me regret ever writing it…

So today, have a post about the good things.

– I got to work with my fiance, and the transition between lovers and mates is a flawless as its ever been. Treating him as a colleague just works and it’s so nice to have such a close friend.

– On IM he made some lame joke and posted ‘It was worth it, it made you smile”. Long after the joke was forgotten, seeing it still made me smile.

– My friends caught wind of some issues we were having with a tenant and we talked (well, ranted, in part) about it over e-mail. Seeing them there for me when I’m stressed or low never stops being unbelievable.

– They helped me get a present for someone very special to me! (Hint: It’s not Dave. This time.)

– Dave and my friends conspired together to bring home a tub of Ben&Jerry’s Cookie Dough ice cream. I’m undersleeping and overstressing so thinking of me like that makes me squee.

– Just e-mailed my agent and stated something I’ve only just realised: I am happy with my writing right now. Sure, I edit and re-edit and angst about my style and prose; I never get enough writing done to satisfy me… but I’m very confident in the direction my work is going, and the way this series is going to turn out.

To summarize: Everything is awesome.

Hope you can say the same.

Love,

E.Maree
xoxo

I'm back…

…and it’s been a while.

As I documented earlier in a few posts, I started working a ‘real job’, and quickly discovered I don’t have the strength to write as much as before when I’m working so hard.

This lead to a lot of angst, but work also lead to something more – after slowly starting to pick up books, I found the time between getting buses in and waiting to get them home was perfect for reading. I hadn’t enjoyed reading in more than a year – a side-effect of my depression that I never expected.

With the combination of great webcomics (Zombie Hunters) leading me to great podcasts (Writing Excuses), and getting addicted to the crack-like guilty pleasure that is Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series…. I’m writing The Network again.

Properly. Professionally. With redrafting and editing and hopefully, with the help of some forumers, beta readers.

I missed this.
Expect more blog entries, soon – with anything from random acts from the rewrite to book and movie reviews.

It’s good to be here again. =]

E.Maree

xoxo

Well, it's nice to actually GET paid

Just got my first paycheck today. =D

It’s not much – £90 for just under a week’s worth of work, I’m gonna say around 3 full days – but it gets me out of the messy situation of being unable to pay the hosting bills for my site. Without my sites, Emma is a sad kitten. >: Plus, the site’s form an important, if grossly underestimated, part of my livelihood – publicising my work and giving me an outlet to sell it.

I’m working in Vue Cinemas right now, and it was a slight culture shock to begin with… I’ve never held a ‘real’ job before, and being stuck in the arse-end of the employment, otherwise known as retail, probably wasn’t a nice soft welcome. I had trouble not being able to work at full-potential and help out when I was getting trained up, I am easily wounded by customer abuse, and my ever-mysteriously frail health state meant that after enough hours with movie times and short staffing preventing me from taking a break, I’d be on my last legs and unable to keep standing unless I was concentrating on till-work. This triggered a return of my old mate depression, which didn’t help.

Buuuttttt I’m doing okay now. The hours are long and the pay is next to nothing, but I can do it fairly well and enjoy it. =] With luck and enough saving, myself and my boyfriend will be able to save up and get an apartment of our own and move out of our temporary carvan accomodation. xD But the current housing crisis makes that tricky.

Work is… an interesting experience, and one that’s drastically cutting into my time spent writing and drawing. But it’s contributing – to society, to the relationship, to a future. It’s also being part of the loathed rat-race and being penned in by minimum wage and the restrictions of my age, but it’s doing my best to make my own living. And that’s nice.

SUMMER BLOCKBUSTER SEASON NAO. OSHI- =P

E.Maree

xoxo

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