So, the big news for this month is that I've quit my job. And not to go to another job either. I'm going to be freelancing full-time for the next year, taking a sabbatical as it were, writing my next book and so on. So far though, it doesn't feel like much of a sabbatical as I foresee I will be working much MUCH harder at holding a freelance career together than I ever have with just one job. I have three columns in three newspapers and a part-time job teaching with an NGO, which I'm really REALLY looking forward to.
But the nice thing is I wake up every morning feeling happy and joyful and less with a cold knot of dread in my stomach. I was done with working for someone else, I guess and it's nice to know that I am my own boss. (Of course *ahem* if this blog post is to catch anyone looking for a freelance writer's eye then you know where the email address is. What? Have blog, will pimp self!)
Anyway, I'm off to Delhi on Thursday for two whole weeks, making it the longest vacation I have taken for, oh about two years now. And then when I return, I'm going on a training programme with the same NGO, again out of town, so I'm not likely to be in Bombay for most of May. That's another thing I'm looking forward to. I'm getting my usual summer/city ennui and itchy feet and I need to be out of familiarity. I love having a home base and yes, I will want to come home by the end of it all and cuddle my cat and sit at my desk and go to Zenzi and stop living out of a suitcase and so on, but it WILL be nice to get away.
And before I go, I thought I'd address issues raised in the last post comments. Why don't I write about sex I'm having anymore? Well, a) I don't think I wrote THAT much about sex I was having in the first place and b) at 26, I don't know, it feels a little dated to be talking constantly of my conquests. Feelings will be hurt also, because a lot of people I know read this blog. I'm sorry, but if that's what you've come here expecting then you might have to go elsewhere. But if you're sticking around to follow me to this new, very challenging stage in my life, then welcome. I will have many new stories for you.
Hey, I quit my job too. The temptation to say that and be the first commenter was too much. All the best with the freelancing :D
ReplyDeleteEm, I quit my job too. Before I go to my next job, I am taking a two week break and traveling to South India alone. I am looking forward to this intensely. I wish you the best for all future endeavours. :)
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAll the VERY best to you. :)
ReplyDeleteOne day I'll also have a job and quit it.
ReplyDeleteHehe I think a lot of people do/did come here for your sexploits. Apart from the brawls in the commentspace, that is!
kudos, on the teaching gig, yay, em gives back!
ReplyDeleteRe the people's feelings being hurt, I think Scout's 'Why not to do/date a blogger' post was spot on...
ReplyDeleteone day, i am also goin to quit, but without any advertisement
ReplyDeleteAll the very best for the new phase of freelancing and the new set of activities you plan to do :)
ReplyDeleteAnd since the party does not come to you, you go to the party(ies)!! On an unrelated aside, whoooopeeee for taking the jump! Now that's a good reason to party.
ReplyDeleteYou'll miss the deadlines, I'm tellin' ya ;P
ReplyDeletethe unemployed period is the loveliest i can think of!
ReplyDeleteI feel like quitting my job, taking a whole month and be off to the Himalayas!
ReplyDeleteAnd I will in August, but until then..*sigh*
eM, all the best with your future plans. :)
seems you are just following the natural course of things. good luck
ReplyDeleteGood Luck on your new endeavours!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your decision to quit and go freelance. This takes the kind of courage that few people have. No matter how the year goes, you will certainly learn a lot about yourself.
ReplyDeleteWe wish you the best of luck in your new adventure!
- Your friends at Best Dog Videos
a more mundane concern: who's going to look after your cat when you are away?
ReplyDeletesee, this is why i am a freelancer who has yet to take off on that backpacking trip -- my TWO furry beasties!
@ Shenanigans: I thought of that too... cat, car, what to doo...
ReplyDeletefear not, for tc or the gaddi, my lovely and talented flatmates are happy to babysit both. :)
ReplyDeletebesides to him, we're all just giant legs who provide food, anyway. :)
me too turned 26 few weeks ago .. its that stage of life .. stuck between parents who wish u get settled .. job n marraige .. while u start missing the carefree life of past .. when u never needed vodka to get u a high .. all the fun and excitement
ReplyDeleteLast line of your blog .. Appreciate your resolve .. way 2 go
wow!! I quit my job six months ago to write that book and what not .... i'll still trying ... all i say is ... it's unbelievable to be ur own boss ....
ReplyDeleteI spent a whole year trying to do Draft 2 of several screenplays and one novel. I have four chapters and several unfinished NEW screenplays. So I'm going back to work next month or so. Just as soon as I can find someone in Bombay to hire a writer.
ReplyDeleteI had also added one or two contributions to ur comments section earlier. But now I must say that this was the most satisfying read for me(not saying that this is ur best post). You don't have to entertain perverts as well as these moral policemen. We are expecting great things from the daughter of N.S.Madhavan(comparisons r obvious for we mallus,u'll understand ) and there lies a long time in front of you. You are not a person who needs to be categorized in the level of sex writers. U have such a great humor sense(loved that OOYA concept in ur last post) and also the ability to thrust ur thoughts to others mind.
ReplyDeleteAll the best.
I think the point is that writing about your sex life was shallow and entertaining when you were 21, and its shallow and entertaining now. If you're too intimidated by the fact that you're not even close to anonymous anymore, then that just means you'll be afraid to make any kind of a statement (about anything), And who wants to read a blog about nothing? Either find a way to deal with celebrity without becoming tame and boringly safe, or risk losing all the readers that come to your blog simply to be entertained. And there are a lot of us!
ReplyDeleteNoelyn
Way to go! I think it's awesome you took this stpe - very scary but I'm sure it'll be an incredible experience.
ReplyDeleteWill be there with you for the ride...
All the best :)
Good for you!
ReplyDeleteAlways wish i could do it too,
the money is good
but life sucks
wishin people would stop existing!!!
know its gonna happen sometime soon
either ways.
About what you say in the end
people grow up
and, how you react changes too
i'm just as old as you(but, i'm a guy and i know there is a difference)
either you grow up
or, you are just forced to
not very excited about things that made life so good a couple of years ago!
do your thing
people who like your writing shall always come back.
cheers,
S
Wow, there's no feeling like quitting your job! Sadly, I haven't been on a sabbatical ever since I started working 6 years ago. And even though I have been my own boss for 1 year now, there aren't any off days at all! I get up every morning dreaming of a holiday but can't see one in the near future :( So what you're doing is great.
ReplyDeleteAnd I love these non-sex type posts as well, just for the record.
Em
ReplyDeleteother day read about you in 'Vanitha'and here iam reading your blog.....may be the initial reason to your blog ..yes you guessed..but i spent quite a time reading.....
and the news of penguin going to publish your work at this age....'higuita's creator will be very proud of his other creation ....
more than the blog and everything heart felt appreciation to make your parents proud about you that too in their own field.....which ordinary guy like me could'nt do....
keep it up em..all the best
DA
eM, that's great. Although I have no frame of reference, I guess it must be both exciting and a little scary to walk away from the safety of a regular job. Good luck. Will be waiting for more adventures of the newly-liberated eM!
ReplyDeleteAnd the title of this post. How very true.
It feels good to be on your own and not slogging and making money for someone else, when the paycheck at the month end makes you ask why am I doing this?
ReplyDeleteI am sure you feel liberated.
Wish you all the best in all your new endeavors.
Cheers!
huzzah! congratualtions(?) and we sure will be tuned in for the new stories.
ReplyDeleteall the best for the new venture..happy journey and an intersting post indeed..keep your spirit going..
ReplyDeletei quit too, to study :)
ReplyDeleteheyyy.. I have visited ur blog before, but guess this is the first time m leaving a comment... U have a refreshing blog!Keep writing!
ReplyDeleteyour post is so serendipitous. very recently i had been to kerala and in a railway bookstall i picked up a glossy mathrubhumi travel mag with sreesanth on cover. (they have two other cover options -- mammootty and mohanlanlal). :-) my main reason to spend 50rs on this unlikely purchase was a story also announced the cover.
ReplyDeletei sobbed after reading it, hiding myself in lalu's modern rail toilet. it is more or less about what you are doing and what i want to do when i am 37. it, 'kesar' is the name, ended with the legendary singer kesarbai kerkar saying, "mentors, from now on kesar will go on singinging." she was 54 ('dried up womb and drying up throat'). she waited till the musical giant and her guru, alladia khan to die so that she can sing in public.
kudos. not good at one fingertyping. i'm sure you can get the whole story out from the writer himself. :-)
freelanc is goon for u. try to make a river like LANTHANBATHERIYILE LUTYINIKAL. u can
ReplyDeleteGood decision…
ReplyDeleteJob mostly destroy time for creative people…….lot time…….which never come back again.
happy to knw that u quitted ur jobb
ReplyDeletegr8 dude......
people do jobs not for fun but to fill their bellies,...don't fucking forget that......
have a nice day
quit your job?? interesting... good luck with whatever yer gonna do/are doing...
ReplyDeletebleh.
Well,That was really a nice decision .. not to write about sex anymore..i dun think u r going to do that .. but its better to write about anything else for sometime ... nd y the hell ppl think ur blog has become boring? .. i find it interesting these days.!waah!! goodgoing eM(must say)
ReplyDeleteAnd ya even m thinking about running away from this place .. its juzt so f*** to live here anymore.!Have a nice time ahead :)
way to go!! being ur own boss is a dream for me righte now..
ReplyDeletei guess being a techie has its disadvantages... i too wud luv to tread into those waters soemday.. till then i'll watch you!!
May we all have the courage to quit our jobs some day.
ReplyDeleteamen.
the beauty of freelancing is that it frees up your time and lets you choose what you want to do. i am completely seduced by it. i cant imagine a full time job and a bitch of a boss standing on my head anymore!
ReplyDeletecongrats on the decision.