Confessions of a watermelon

I quit my job in a huff last March and what an odd experience it's been. I expected it to be like when I was last self-employed (yes, this is my second time around) but it certainly isn't. A boy's gotten smarter of course; I can easily smell a bad deal and walk away rather than get involved then rant and rave later on. What's really different is my lack of...oomph.

Somehow my great love for I.T. waned, even though I was steeped in it for 3 years. If only I didn't read and fantasize so much. Perhaps that's what has me always seeing greener grass careers across the fence. Actually, that's a terrible thing to say. I would be a boring, ignorant nobody if I didn't read.

So now I'm an interesting, enlightened somebody who's in a very wierd part of his life. Self-employed yet not relishing his work any more. Not too long ago I really fancied being a super-geek with static crackling around my head because of my braininess (and being around electronics all the time) but now that just doesn't seem like a fulfilling way to live. You see, to be a true geek you have to be somewhat of a loner. Your closest companions are your pc/laptop, servers, routers and the like. Those don't talk, they give feedback like "Update successful." or "ERROR 1146 (42S02): Table 'xyz_1' doesn't exist". Even if you have colleagues in the same field and office they too are mostly glued to their screens typing code, scanning log files for strange errors or monitoring backups.

A book I've been reading and re-reading talks of people who work at careers they are competent in but don't love. Journalists masquerading as doctors. A nurse who secretly yearns to be a sculptor. That's how I've been feeling since the end of last year when I finally decided I was going to quit my job.

So I've been a hypocrite of sorts, drinking water while drooling for wine. But it's not all bad in the hood. Read on.

A month or so ago I was watching telly and somehow got glued on K24. It's quite a different station from the rest; there's something raw and fresh about it. My opinion. Another (less appealing) thing about it is awful scripts. Uuui! One particular story I watched was about Muthurwa busstop and the way it is a failure despite what people imagine. It was an enlightening piece but the copy was way below standard. The more stories I watched the more frustrated I got. Is there no one to go through the reporters' copy and at least do a grammar check? Rant rant rant, etc. Then it hit me...

Hey! That's an opportunity right there! Why not find a way to get to K24 and somehow convince them that they need me? Hmm, easier said than done. So I ruminated on that idea for a while and in the meantime I came across a book called Wishcraft. What . a . fantastic . book! A more detailed review later. Basically it talks of how to turn your cherished fantasies into reality in a practical, step-by-step way. One of the ways to do this is by utilizing your human network and getting them to help you accomplish your dream instead of trying to do it all yourself. So I rang up my brother who's an actor and asked him if he knows anyone at K24. Of course he does, in fact the guy he knows is in charge of content. Bingo!

We rang the chap up, booked an appointment pronto and before I knew it I was in one of K24's meeting rooms showing Mr. Content Manager an article I did for the Standard a couple of years ago. I turns out they are currently on the hunt for a script writer/editor (fancy that!) so the man whipped the article out of my hand and went to show it to his boss. Long story short, I was given the boss' email address and asked to forward him my resume and hold tight. Which is what I'm doing now. It's been a couple of days and no response yet but I'm keeping my hopes up. Think I'll give Mr. Content Manager a buzz and ask whether the boss got my email.

Let's see where my audacity lands me. But whether I get the job or not, I ain't giving up just yet.