A STOLEN post (well, actually it's already MINE, so I dunno what the legalities may be)

I wasn't intending to blog this early in the day - I usually like to have a "day" and then blog about what happened or what I felt.  I like to offer you a "daily recap" rather than the "weekly recap" that other, more seasoned bloggers offer.  I've still only been blogging since December of last year, and while I feel pretty comfortable on my "sea legs," I wouldn't say that I've made any blogging "patterns" for myself that you, as a reader, can rely on.  Besides, once I get home and working again, this may all go out the window (hope not, but we'll see what we see).

So ennyhoo, I was reading my "friend" Kelly's blog (and I only put "friend" in quotes because we live a hemisphere apart and have only ever communicated online, and while I feel like she would be my great friend if I knew her, and vice-versa, we have not ever met).  She's a much more seasoned blogger, and you know she loves what she does, so her post today is actually, I dunno, ironic? because she doesn't seem to recognize that in herself? but it totally speaks to me.  She asked a question, and my "comment" follows:

I am so grateful, DAILY, that I get to go back to work in the industry that fulfills me… even as I trudge through the DAILY effort of packing, selling, downsizing, calling landlords, booking a shipping container, buying more packing materials, throwing away more and more items that at one time had meaning for me, AND just making the bed and meals and cleaning!

• Will the entertainment industry pay me well for 8-hour days, five days a week? NO. 
• Will it pay me well for a couple of 12-hour days each week, interspersed with longer (3 to 6 week) gigs? YES. 
• Will I end up working long hours in exchange for less money than I’m worth? ABSOLUTELY. 
• Will I be overwhelmingly happy to do so? YOU BETCHA.

And when I’m not spending a day on set, I’ll be setting up my new household; lovin’ on the cats; blogging; preparing meals; reconnecting with old friends; enjoying the company of my also-happier husband.

I’ll be 48 on Tuesday, and I probably reached this level of “Zen” about ten years ago (coincidentally, when I started working in film and television). It IS possible to do what you love and make your living doing it, as long as your expectations of what qualifies as a “living” aren’t too high (monetarily). I have a LIFE doing what I love – and that is what makes a LIVING.