Binge Blogging

Currently Listening To :: They :: Jem

The next few days will see a proliforation of writing/rambling from me. Partially because I'm in Port Macquaire/Taree for work. Well, actually, that's entirely it.

So I’m here at the domestic terminal, waiting for my flight to Port Maquarie to board. The thought of 6 (!!!!) days away from Sydney has filled me with equal measures of dread and anticipation.

I’ve always been a city boy; it takes a certain mood for me to want to venture out of the world’s metropoli. When I travel, more often then not I’m heading to a new city in search of cosmopolitan delights or ancient architecture. Then again, more often then not, I’m travelling by choice.

Fast forward to Sunday night, and I’ve caught the propeller plane flight, driven my hired RAV-4 to the hotel, and was ready to eat dinner then waste the night away watching the remainder of Season 4 of the West Wing and surfing the net.

Learning #1: Corporate card holders everywhere, beware. Subway does not take AMEX. I repeat, Subway does NOT take AMEX.

Alas, the mantra "always be prepared" was nowhere to be seen on Friday afternoon as I sunk back my second beer at work. Instead of talking to IT on whether the DVD player actually had a decoder installed or whether the dial-up connection was working, my attention was elsewhere. And so I’m paying for it now, being forced to watch Ben Lee on Music Max. Which isn’t all that bad if you like that sort of thing, but when you think of what I could have been doing the Sunday of a long weekend…well.

You’re right. I probably wouldn’t have been doing that much anyway.

I haven’t stayed up late and written like this in years. People often used to ask my why I never kept working as a writer of sorts. But writing for money was something I don’t think I could ever have done. Even if they had offered to make me a journalist, in hindsight, I’m glad that they didn’t. Being able to always write on my own terms is something that I have never wanted to give up, even to an editor like the one I had. And she was fantastic, making my thoughts really sing, challenging me to give my words an edge that I was sometimes just too afraid to voice.

Speaking to my marketing manager on Thursday, she sat me down and told me not only was she happy with the way I'd been voicing my opinions, but she wants me on her team. Now I'm not normally the cheshire cat, but all those late nights at work, making sure to play the game enough but not too much; it was all paying off. And not in a monetary way, because at my level 4% post tax adds up to about an extra drink during happy hour at the bar every Friday night.

For a change, it wasn’t about the money. It was about respect. People seeing that you have what it takes. Words of recognition. Now that’s priceless.

Also priceless. Learning #2: Always check the date on milk products before you buy them. Always. Preservatives can leave your tastebuds deceived. Your stomach won't be.