Lately, amid the mix of boring-but-lucrative contracts and pretty tolerable, regiular work, I was given an assignment that was, well, fun. The task? To interview six artists/instructors that work for the two arts centres run by the City.
Now this is the kind of writing I’m starting to like. I’m discovering that I really enjoy meeting these people, sitting down with my digital recorder in a noisy coffeeshop or a quiet living room, and hearing about what makes them tick. It’s, well, interesting.
In the grand scheme of things, it’s a small assignment, sure. Little profiles aren’t the most exciting thing to write. I’m not likely to win a Pulitzer for any of them. It’s possible that most people won’t even see them. But that’s okay, because every one of these people has been fascinating. (And no, I’m not just saying that in case one of them is reading this – also highly unlikely. I truly mean it.)
I’m still working on it. Right now, as a matter of fact, I should be carefully crafting profiles five and six, for May and June of 2007. I am instead stuck on three and four. I can’t explain why I’m stuck, except that maybe I’m tired, and my brain keeps jumping ahead to All the Stuff I Have To Do Tomorrow, including some SEO copywriting.
For the uninitiated, when you think about writing Web copy for search engine optimization (SEO), think about that episode of Seinfeld, “The Opposite.” You know, when George does the opposite of every impulse he has, and he’s up, Elaine’s down, and Jerry’s even-steven. SEO copywriting would be The Opposite of fun writing, the same way chicken is the opposite of tuna. Now, maybe someone somewhere finds it fun, or a challenge, or kind of like a word game. I’m not that person. To do it properly, I have to pretend I’m dead inside lest I actually become dead inside.
It puts food in the fridge, though, so I can’t argue with that. And I guess it could be worse. I could be cleaning out stables, or sitting outside in the cold somewhere, or even working retail during the Christmas season.
Still, I guess I should be enjoying this fun stuff, and actually getting it done. Logic would tell me I could then get the SEO done faster, and maybe another fun assignment will land in my lap.
And then, my friends, I will be even-steven.
I am glad you got some fun stuff to balance off the boring stuff. I don’t have any boring stuff on my plate right now — just fun stuff — but then again, I also am not making any money, so…
I hate that boring = money a lot of the time. Or even worse: boring + stress = money. I hate that one. I need to find a job where fun + casual = money. That’s utopia, man.