Pilates

As you may have noticed, there's been somewhat of a lapse in my keeping this journal. . . It has something to do with the fact that I, um, got myself an additional part-time job. I have been addicted for the last few years to pilates -- a form of exercise that if you're not careful can bleed your bank account dry faster than you can say "six-pack abs," since it requires having a personal trainer. I decided the only way I could afford to keep doing it was if I became a trainer myself. I would be able to use the equipment for free and suddenly even the clothes I bought to do it were legitimately tax-deductible. Tax-deductible clothes are a very good thing.

So, beginning in October, I took a three-month course -- for which they wanted me to be in the studio, like, 23 whole hours a week. A commitment of that kind from a woman who's had nothing but a perfectly flexible schedule for five years, is a bit dramatic. It took me a few weeks to not feel like my life was completely running away from me, another few weeks to snare myself some free time to maintain my sanity and a few more after that to actually get back to writing again.

I began to think that having a part-time job really sucked.

On the other hand, I was earning money teaching pilates during all of this, so the fact that I wasn't writing wasn't the end of the world financially. Nevertheless, it certainly side-tracked any idea I had of getting that book proposal done tout suite.

Which is ok, actually. I think I'll get to it at some point -- it's a good book idea. But I have another book that I've been talking about writing for about three years now. I've researched it extensively, written an ever-lengthening outline that is now some 30 pages long, and generally lived with it in my head for quite some time.

The problem is . . . it's fiction. It's still based in the history of astronomy, but it's most definitely fiction. There are two problems with fiction. First, it's HARD. Really hard. And really different from writing non-fiction. That's what this online-journal will be about, so you'll hear more on that. Second, unlike non-fiction, you can't sell the book ahead of time. A publisher wants the whole finished thing before deciding to buy it.

And that's where the pilates comes in. I have finally worked it successfully into my schedule so that I am not overwhelmed that I'm spending --ok, only ten -- hours a week working outside the house. It's also a nice extra source of income. All of which means I can afford the time and money right now to focus on this book. After three years of talking about writing this book, I can finally let everything else go, and pay attention solely to it.

Part-time jobs rule.