30 Day Writing Challenge, Day 13
Your Daily Commute to and from Work
At first I thought this prompt would be uninspiring and banal. The very word ‘commute’ seems to encapsulate these adjectives. But the more I thought about it, the more this topic made me realise how lucky I am. Because I don’t have a commute. I don’t have an office job, or a 9-5. My work hours are sporadic and insanely flexible. And the best part? I mostly work from home. And when I do have to go out, it’s to do the job I enjoy the most.
Job 1 – At some stage at drama school they revealed to us that as an actor, your main job is auditioning. The number of auditions you attend will far outweigh the number of actual gigs you get. The auditions can be gruelling, intense, and just plain weird (In an hour I will be pretending to give birth while a casting director, director, and producer look on. My friend told me of an audition she had last week where the director made them run in circles for 15 minutes just to see if they were dedicated and fit enough.) Auditions are make-or-break moments, and as such are probably the most stressful part of being an actor. So, when I’m not filming a self-test (i.e. an audition you film yourself), I have to commute to the casting office; aka ‘the battle of the butterflies.’
I wake up, exercise (boxing is THE best way for my to feel awesome first thing in the morning), go home, shower (unless the character is sweaty and dishevelled), eat breakfast (something light, healthy, usually fruit and yoghurt) and drink coffee (gotta get that energy up for several potential takes). I go over the script at least three times, in various different ways – jumping around, soft and serious, different accents. Then I get my things together (waterbottle, snacks, phone, wallet, sunglasses) and head off. I always walk, because a) public transport to the places tends to be shite, and b) I can go over the script and talk to myself (headphones are great for making it look like you’re just on the phone). I take this time to breathe and tell myself that everything is going to be ok. This is definitely the hardest part of the morning, and if there’s big money or directors involved, the hardship increases 1000%. The trick is convincing yourself you don’t care. The majority of the commute to an audition is telling yourself to CALM THE F*CK DOWN! IT’S NOTHING! YOU GOT THIS! And only half listening to yourself.
Then you arrive at the office, sit down, fill in the form, smile awkwardly at the people who are going for the same job as you and who either look absolutely nothing like you or your long-lost twin. Then breathe some more. Depending on the script, I go over it in my head.
The way back is then spent convincing myself I didn’t do as badly as I think, or even sometimes, if I’m really lucky, telling myself that I probably didn’t do as well as I think and to not get my hopes up too much. I tend to go home via a cafe to reward myself, no matter how arduous the audition was.
I made myself nervous just writing that. Argh.
Job 2 – This is when I work from home, aka my ‘day job’. I do subtitles for shows and movies, and while there is an office, I have everything I need to work from home. So my commute to this job is wake up, exercise, have a shower, have breakfast (let’s face it, I only ever eat fruit and yoghurt at home), get dressed (yes, if you work from home the only way to feel productive and like a real person is to GET DRESSED INTO REAL PERSON CLOTHES), take my coffee to my desk in my room, sit down at the computer, check emails, do my 30 day writing challenge (yes, I’m plugging my blog on my blog), then start working. The commute ‘from’ work, as it were, is basically the same but in reverse, and with dinner foods instead of yoghurt.
So that’s me. I’ve been struggling lately with the feeling that to not have a 9-5 (also known as ‘proper job’) is in someway a failure. But now I look back on this and I realise it’s pretty awesome. I’m living with the flexibility I want and need, and I may not me making a tonne of money, but I’m making enough. Enough to sustain the major things I want to pursue, and enough for the minor things that colour the day-to-day.
Thank you, 30 day writing challenge, for making me more grateful for what I have going for me.
The Petunias and the Whale 