Working Nine To Five (well, sometimes)

I’m working!

I have been back in the capital a while now, and a couple of weeks ago decided I’d aim for a three day working week, just as I had been doing a few months ago in Campbeltown. 

Some think it’s lame, lazy even, but if I’m to try and hold onto what little is left of my sabbatical, it seems worth a try - at least whilst there is still some folding in the bank.

Last week, my three days in the office were spent setting up my machine and getting it to run right. It’s slightly older than the laptop I’ve been using so I had to retune my head a little. I also spent some time putting feelers out, contacting old colleagues, and generally looking for work.

LinkedIn, for the unaccustomed, is a fabulous website rather like Facebook but for professional contacts. You can hunt down old work contacts and see where they work these days, as well as target new ones who might be able to help you in some way. In return, you too become targeted by individuals who might be looking for your particular skill-set, or to make contact with someone you know. I think they call it ‘networking’. 

References from various key working relationships help sell your offer, both those that you hold, along with those that you write for others.

A combination of other sites and blogs as well as keeping my own up to date, have helped get my ball rolling, and very quickly at that.

By the end of the week, it seemed I’d had a spot of luck.

Firstly, out of the blue, an email from a magazine looking for someone to undertake a rolling illustration commission for a new publication - 13 issues a year.

The money isn’t great, but the work is - exactly the calibre I’ve been gearing myself towards with my personal illustration work! It seems all that hard work could be paying off, and I’ve yet to find out how they discovered me. I’ve been so busy in fact that I’m currently not really paying attention to the hunt for more work - the biggest error in business. 

That’ll come in time though.

The other interesting potential project around the corner is one for a couple of entrepreneurs who need help building their brand - the other calibre of work that is right up my street - mainly because I’m well practiced in this line of work. I approached them after seeing a call for input, and they seem interested in speaking to me.

It’s of huge personal interest too, so fingers crossed, the planned meeting in a few days turns it into something more solid.

So this week has been spent basically working on the commission to agree direction, and pulling a presentation together for the other guys. 

For the latter, I spent the best part of yesterday at the all new Canada Water Library, a fantastic resource that is well used by the community. 

Not only is the architecture amazingly cool, but the facilities inside are cutting edge!

I sat up in the gods of the building, overlooking Twinkle and Rhettstar in the toddler group far below, working away with a great coffee and slice of chocolate fudge-cake at a workstation with wifi and a power outlet along with some trendy student types.

I don’t have to stress about setting the alarm, I can avoid the rush hour, I’ve yet to work late (although I do work through lunch often to balance the time out), I can choose to work around the corner or go into the office, or indeed just take the day off without having to sign a form or beg to the boss (although technically, I guess I do beg the real boss - Twinkle)

I'm not entirely sure I can claim to be 'on sabbatical' any more, but if I can continue to pull this gig off, I think I might have found the perfect work / life balance!

London Calling

Finally, I'm in London again.

I've been away for five years. There is a fantastic vibe here I'd forgotten all about, but more than this, London is now new and improved!

It's been quite a year in London during my absence. The Queen (gawd bless her) has had her Diamond Jubilee, and the London Olympics have only just finished too.

And whilst I sadly missed the celebrations, there is still an air of happiness on the streets. People smile now, and god forbid, even the staff on the London Underground walk and talk with a new found spark of liveliness.

It's a London I like!

The coffee is good (so long as I remember to ask for a 'single shot Latte') as is the food and because of a lack of panic to get to work, the Underground now seems actually quite bearable in the mornings. My Oyster Card, framed in 2007 and underscored with the letters 'R.I.P.' has been reinstated as my ticket to ride (now with a funky Buckingham Palace illustration!), and I'm renting a desk 4 stops from home, in Waterloo, just a stones throw from Big Ben, London Bridge, and of course, the River Thames.

Working once again in a real office, with real people wasn't in the plan. Well, certainly not yet, but needs must, and our tiny flat here means there is no room for any form of setup at home now that we have a toddler. But the office is very close, and it does start to separate the two things - work and home - meaning I can start to treat my illustration work as 'work' and not simply play.

I feel like a grown up again - but not one who has returned to his old working life in London - a more mature adult who is starting out for the first time on a new mission. It's all fresh again. No one is telling me off for not working fast enough, no one is feeding me bullshit about why I can't have a better pay deal. I'm finally my own boss.

It's all on my shoulders now. No one to blame for it failing but myself.

Shit. What on Gods earth am I doing? I have mouths to feed! I'm too old to be pissing the family money up the wall on this daft sabbatical aren't I?

Well, you know what, life is too short. I learnt that lesson many years ago, and have recently been reminded of that fact again. So the party must continue, at least for now. The fear of money alone will keep me kicking like an enraged bull at a rodeo.

Yesterday, I started drawing again, catching up on last weeks Illustration Friday, and I now have in my possession what we shipped 9 months ago from Australia - including my iMac, and most importantly, my toaster desk tidy to house what now seems like a huge collection of pens and pencils.

London, I think we'll stay a while.


*If you too want pictures of London's iconic landscape without the presence of thousands of tourists ruining your shots, arrive before 6am. London is at it's best at sunrise.

Pause, Play.

When I began this sabbatical, I never thought for one second it would take the route it has over the past 9 months. And the latest saga only added to the madness endured since leaving our very standard life back in Sydney.

Here’s a quick recap of the situation so far:

Italy for 5 days. Terrible weather forced us to abandon ship.

Europe for 3 weeks, waiting for divine intervention. A fabulous holiday, but hardly a sabbatical.

Mull of Kintyre for 3 months. Some success with family time and creative projects, but utter remoteness soon ground us down. An issue with our own property came to light, and we decided to return to London.

Feral Tenants refuse to leave our home, rendering us homeless, jobless, and without any clue how to fix the problem (sending in the heavies was sadly not an option).

Following our latest dilemma, I did the only thing I could think of, and appealed on Facebook to anyone who might have an empty property that our family could move into immediately. It was a huge ask.

But sometimes the planets really do align. 

Our savior came in the form of an ex-colleague from several years previous. Her mum had sadly passed away up in Edinburgh, leaving the family home of 35 years to be tied up by three exhausted siblings. There would be lots of sorting of items, and lots of re-decoration to undertake, and in return unlimited use of the house for the foreseeable future. It seemed like a completely logical solution for two very different situations, and whilst initially it felt like it might be quite an uncomfortable experience, all involved seemed to think it might work.

My sabbatical took a pause whilst we were up in Edinburgh, to allow full dedication to the challenge, but the new skills I learnt during this period have proved just as worthy as the creative ones I thought I’d be learning. 

For a few short weeks, a truly beautiful house in the very charming district of Morningside, Edinburgh became home to us, as we forged close relationships with the family involved. In what went on to become a personal and humbling experience, I'm so honored to have been able to help the three of them - we'll forever be grateful they allowed us into their very private world.

But news soon came through that the feral tenants had been served papers from the courts, and they quickly moved out of our own property. We gave the order to immediately change the locks to ensure they could not return, and three weeks later, we endured the long drive south again, returning to London to collect our new keys.

What we found inside was a filthy pigsty, uncleaned (ironic, given that our tenants were actually professional cleaners), and uncared for during their stay. After putting in a claim for their entire deposit, we set about turning the hovel back into a home, leaving no stone unturned along the way. Whilst we still have much to do, normal life can finally begin to start. 

And so, what of my sabbatical? 

Our return to London after all these months has not put a stop to my creative adventures. Whilst it will be much harder here in London, my intention is still very much to break into illustration, rather than return to full time employment. Sure, I’m bound to undertake some freelance work to pay the bills and mortgage, but as the old saying goes,  it’s not over until the fat lady sings, and she’s yet to get up on stage. 

It's time to play again.