The Work Front

I’ll admit, my career isn’t nearly as interesting as that of other people on MySpace and AliveNotDead. Like I’ve told you, I’m working to break into screenwriting, but I’m still doing freelance articles.  And I feel blessed to have the work—when I gave up my “day job” shortly before the second baby’s birth, I didn’t know how we’d make ends meet.

To the outside world, I look like a stay-at-home mom, frequenting the local park at 10 A.M. with my two kids. Yet I work every day—usually inside my house, on my PC, my older son either napping or at day care. So what am I? Like a lot of identity issues, who I am is contingent on how I define myself.  I don’t put in a 40-hour week most of the time, yet I’m very serious about my career. I enjoy more time at home than most working moms, but much of that time is spent working in spurts, in between taking care of the kids. Here’s a window on what’s happening:

Articles in CityBeat

I have two articles in this week’s CityBeat. They’re up on the website permanently. At Jaine’s request, here are links to my articles on Democratic congressional candidate Victoria Wulsin:

http://citybeat.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A144884

And reducing the premature birth rate:

http://citybeat.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A144886

You know what’d be really great? Getting my first letter to the editor! I’ve already gotten a call from the president of Healthy Moms and Babes, thanking me for the exposure.

Best of Cincinnati

The Best of Cincinnati Guide will not be available online. It’s a big, glossy mag highlighting the best restaurants, shops, and services in the city. Some of the other writers have backed out or flaked out, so I’ve become their “go-to” girl. At last count, I’ve done 23 short articles for this edition. They just asked me to profile the history of Cincinnati dining in a huge multi-page spread—fattening Skyline Chili, rich Montgomery Inn barbecue, and the Maisonette, our 5-star French restaurant which sadly closed before I could dine there.

Screenplay

I’m pretty secretive about my screenplays. But the one piece of news I can share is this: I’m closing in. I’m closing in on my first draft. It’s the stage where my “witching rod” is pulling up the last few dregs of magic water, and everything is coming together. I want to work on it all the time. But I’ll settle for what level of creative excitement I can get.

Thanks for reading, my friends! Just a day in the life of another American mama going after her dreams.