cellini's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And here I am, a journalist and shit Something funny happened while I've been waiting for F00d F1ghts to start production. Suddenly, I seem to have a bustling career as a journalist. Since the second week of January I have been drowning in work. None of it is really high-paying, but there is a lot of it. And I'm suddenly at the point where people I bump into are volunteering the observation, 'holy shit dude, you are cranking out work!' Sm1ths0nian put me on the masthead in a mark of confidence and has upped their assignments, handing me work doing book reviews and travel section stuff in addition to the history, art and science I've been doing. And the local weekly that I've been doing light work for suddenly has me writing literally almost half the newspaper. Cover stories, 800 word news pieces, art openings, food and beer. And suddenly I realized that it has been months since I had to eat off of the dollar menu. I am making enough money as a freelance journalist to pay the bills and do a bit more than just survive. I think that it is enough for me to change my living situation when I get back from Panama at the end of the month. I think I can move into a decent 1 bedroom cottage or something near downtown. I'll stay there half the week and out at my parents' place when the kids are with me, so they can have their own bedrooms. Trying to take my craft more seriously, I bought myself a serious bag a few weeks ago. The feeling of that is incredible. This everyday object that I use constantly -- indulging in something nice and new like that for myself is something I've almost never done before. I was using this shitty, ragged, second-hand bag that didn't protect my gear properly or even have enough room for it. This one cushions my laptop in a sleeve and has room for notepads, a DSLR camera, several books and various other items. I am trying to improve my camera situation for work. My cameras suck. Someone gave me a 12 year old Canon Digital Rebel, and I was thrilled to own my first Canon, with an actual mirror, but there aren't enough megapixels to zoom in and crop like I need to for actual publication. I'm owed $700 and change for a speaking gig last week and my plan is to put $500 of it into a decent camera, probably a nicer used Canon Rebel. I have lenses for those. And here I am, making an actual living at it. 10:14 p.m. - 2017-02-16 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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