I need to get out of the house. This is what I decided last month – because I work from home, I’m inclined to not get out nearly as often as I should. I started thinking about ways to get myself out of my chair and into the world. What could I do that would give me some accountability? I decided to find a place to volunteer a few hours a week where I could learn something that I wouldn’t be learning otherwise.
I’ve always been interested in newspapers, but I’ve never worked on one. It has so many elements that I find intriguing and that, on a good day, I’m quite good at – writing, editing, physical layout (well, I don’t know yet if I’m good at that last one, but I’m betting I will be!)
A guy that I went to high school with is the editor of the paper a few towns over, so in December I contacted him and asked what I know was an unusual question – if I came in to volunteer for a few hours a week, could you find a place to put me?
His first joking response was that I could have his job if I wanted it…and his second response was, “Yes, of course!” With the intervening holidays, we scheduled an appointment far out in the future, which ended up being today.
I walked into that meeting thinking that a few hours a week would be a great way to get my feet wet. If all went well, perhaps someday they’d offer me a paid position and I could finally fulfill that long-held fantasy of being a real newspaperwoman. You know – the ones from the old movies in black and white with the pencil skirt and the perfectly coiffed hair?
We had our meeting today and I walked in expecting to volunteer and walked out with an offer to work there part time. I guess I’d better get my pencil skirt and my hairdo ready. How to show up in black and white still has me puzzled though…
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