A job, oh baby.....

Two announcements, which may help make sense of forthcoming notebook pieces. I got a new job! I will be the Writer � it actually says that on the business card � for the Faculty of Engineering and the University of Waterloo. I will be writing the major pieces � the annual report, alumni magazines, major press releases, and generally helping engineers talk to, not other engineers, which they can do, but to the public, the government, and corporate partners. I start Monday. It's my first reasonably well-paying job, ever.

I've been writing full-time for three years. Well, not counting the various temp jobs I've held to make ends meet. I'm glad I did this: if I hadn't, I'd never know what it was like, and whether I could do it, and whether it was something that I would want to do. The answer is: yes, it can be done, with hard work, extreme penny-pinching, and lots of good luck. But, no, it doesn't really suit me. I often feel isolated, and in general I'm not motivated or productive enough to justify a forty-hour work week as a writer. I've been writing for about fifteen hours a week, and I hope I can continue to squeeze that in, or mostly. I'm afraid I'm one of those folks who gets more done when I have more to do.

What I'll miss about writing full-time is the flexibility to take advantage of professional opportunities. I have an invite to the lovely Tree Reading Series in Ottawa, for instance � but it's for a Tuesday night in August, and I just don't see that I'll be able to swing that.

The job search � I've been after this for a long time � has delayed the other announcement: I'M PREGNANT. Yup, a baby girl is due on October 29th, which makes me about 5 � months. We call her Small Bow. She is planned and much wanted. James and I are full of joy. Also heat and hormones.

The first trimester was miserable. I was sick and weak with fatigue, and all my writing juice dried up. But I'm feeling better and a bit more juicy. I am working on an edited version of my pregnancy journal to put here, and perhaps will have that next week. Baby pictures, meantime.

Prayers for our new little soul are most welcome.