Saturday, March 7, 2009 by Julie Cancio Harper.

In Ohio, there will be a time each year, on the cusp of spring, when in the course of one week temperatures are bitterly cold (say, 19 degrees as a daytime high) and shortly, within a few days, downright warm (today it’s 65+ degrees).  It’s happening now, in March, and we natives call this “normal.”  We natives also know that this warm spell will not last and that it is likely we’ll get snow again this year.  Probably at Easter when I’m wearing my new sundress and sandals.

If you’re getting good rest and eating right and your stress isn’t too high, you might squeak by without getting sick during the weather change.  But around these parts well-rested, well-fed, relaxed people are kinda rare.  So you might catch that head cold that’s going around.

Eric did.  By the time I realized that it was not just a passing sniffle brought on by allergies, he had already developed a painful cough to go with the sinus drainage and fuzzyheadedness.  Eric does not get sick often, but he is most likely to catch something after completing some strenuous film production.  Because 1) it’s  stressful work, 2) it’s hard to eat right when you’re focused on a deadline, and 3) you tend to work long hours and have less time for sleep.

Bingo.  Our first warm snap and I’m out the door to stock up on black tea, whisky, honey, and lemon.  Sure, you can take any number of over-the-counter medications to clear your head and chest and block your fever.  But if you’re sick, it may just possibly be true that what you need more than racing around trying to live your normal life is to take the day off, snuggle on the couch, and spend a good twelve hours nursing many rounds of soothing, steamy beverages.

I suggest this hot toddy tea.

Go get your biggest mug.  This is Eric’s — it holds 2 cups of liquid.

Squeeze into the mug the juice from a wedge of lemon.  Toss in the wedge if you like more lemon flavor and don’t mind it floating in there.  Beautiful, uplifting.

Next, select your favorite black tea bag and toss it in with the lemon.  You don’t have to be fancy — Lipton’s is fine.  Then get out your honey bear and squeeze at least a teaspoon into the mug — more if you like.  Honey is a great throat coat.  And delicious.

Now add boiling water, leaving room for the whisky!  Stir until the honey is completely dissolved.

Last, add the whisky, any brand you like, and give it one more stir.  Eric likes Seagram’s V.O.  I start with 2 tablespoons and then check it for taste.  It should be enough to warm your throat but not knock you for a loop with the first mug.

Repeat as necessary.  And, yesterday, necessary was every time the mug got empty.  Stick to the couch and catch up on some fun reading or watch a few movies.  It’s OK to take care of yourself, one steamy cup at a time.

Posted in balance, recipes, youngstown, energy, miracle foods, sleep, film | 1 Comment »

Tuesday, March 25, 2008 by Julie Cancio Harper.

Yesterday I spent nine hours editing Eric’s résumé.

Editing other people’s résumés is a special sort of hell. Because it takes a unique type of energy from me, a nurturing all-seeing eye combining the forces of empathy and sharp arrows. I interview and dig and coach and prod. I intuit, I guess, I try, and sometimes undo. I review and rewrite and reformat, squeeze, squeeze, squeeze.

Perhaps everyone’s résumé needs this kind of deep attention, but many cannot afford to pay what would be a fair price for the effort. And it’s a misery to be underpaid for grueling work. So I only do it for love, never money.

I spent a bit more time tweaking it this afternoon, and I’m at the point where I know it’s not Perfect but it is definitely Very Good. I think I can let it go out into the world.

But there’s always that bit of worry. If it’s not ready, not good enough, then tens of thousands of dollars could be riding on it, opportunities lost because of my choices and advice. Or maybe not. I possibly take it too hard. But I’ve got to treat all the details seriously, rabidly, just in case.

I like to be kept up to date when they go out: Did you get the job? Which one? Did they mention liking the resume? Congratulations! (*breathing out* Thank God it worked — they liked my baby!)

Argh. So you see why I can’t offer this type of skill as part of my for-profit business. It’s too much of an emotional roller coaster. And while being in business by yourself, for yourself (sole proprietor) naturally feels a bit personal at times, I try to keep my work emotions as steady as possible.

Still, it’s difficult to stay in balance all the time when offering services. Interesting opportunities arise and I have to accurately evaluate: Do I want that experience? And also, am I up to the challenge at this moment?

Timing is everything because the gauge on my creative reserves is fluctuating daily. All sorts of variables change how much of me is available for tackling new projects: Am I sleep-deprived? Did I just come off a doozy of an assignment that drained my brain completely? Do I have important appointments or errands this week or can I hunker down in my apartment and commit to working so deeply that I experience time loss?

If something sparkly and new has popped up in front of me, out of optimism I can commit to a project that I don’t have the energy reserves to complete with feelings of power and joy.

No one else knows when this happens to me because for some reason it does not show on the outside. Sometimes my husband cannot tell. I will seem perfectly fine and happy, my work output and performance will be top-notch as always. But I will no longer be having fun. I will not feel satisfied with my work, no matter how good it is. All I will feel is that I can’t wait for the project to be finished so I can run away and recharge before someone notices I am cracking up.

And of course, I know that not all work can be done while I ecstatically resonate energy with feelings of power and joy. But isn’t that a neat goal to shoot for? Isn’t the possibility of striving for happiness and satisfaction one of the big reasons that I face the many challenges of freelancing for a living?

When I catch myself feeling like everything is dire and I’m at the end of the rope holding the last knot with sweaty palms, I use a trick I call “Change Your Mind.”

To change my mind, I think of all the things that are wrong and list them (in my head or on paper). Recently the list looked like this:

• This short film shoot was supposed to be 5 days and we’re on day 14 now, with no set end date.
• The honorary token flat fee for this indie project currently amounts to just over $1 per hour and with each day gets lower still.
• I have to put off or turn away editing gigs until this film is completed and it irks me to be losing so much opportunity for making money.
• I’m worried that my editing clients will notice I’m gone and get gone themselves.
• No one is taking the time to explain to me what they need and why, so I can solve the problem quickly.
• This project is understaffed so we’ve all been sloppy at organizing the equipment which makes it impossible to find what I need.
• I’m afraid my work performance on this shoot is suffering because conditions are even tougher than usual.
• I’m hungry.
• I’m tired.
• I have cramps.

Then I take a deep breath and ask myself: “When you started this project, did you say yes for love or money?”

In this case, the answer was love.

My next question: “If you take your money worries out of the equation, can you still persevere and do a good job — for love — here?”

And the answer was yes.

My attitude changed in that moment. I felt better and realized I could make it through the hard circumstances because my original objective was still being met. I wanted to do the film for the experience, because it needed me, for love. My basic problem was really that my exhaustion caused me to feel horrible and it messed up my viewpoint. To be happy again I had to “change my mind” by reviewing my original motivations and realizing that I was achieving what I started out to.

Today I finished a resume for love. And after writing this, I finally feel satisfied with it because — even though it took much more time and effort than I had expected — I succeeded in what I set out to do.

Working for money is another story for another day . . .

Posted in dealings w/feelings, change your mind, attitudes, balance, editing, freelance, sleep, love, energy, film | 3 Comments »

Thursday, March 20, 2008 by Julie Cancio Harper.

I think I might as well just start where I am. I ate a donut for breakfast today.

This is very un-normal for me. Normal is a long-cooked bowl of steel-cut oats with soy milk and a shot of ground flax seed. Which sounds as appealing as gnawing on branches if it is not what you are accustomed to. But I am. I love it. I crave it, usually.

I didn’t start out that way of course. The oatmeal habit started back in 2000. It was a result of two unlikely forces colliding in my life. First: my dad and step-mom started yet another diet-slash-new-eating-plan-for-life (not uncommon). Second: I was returning to my blissful home office after two treacherous weeks shooting a short film in the desolation that is Cisco, Utah.

Note: No one eats properly on an indie film shoot, even if everyone is trying to. You eat what you can get your hands on when you can get it. Your focus is on trying to continue working without falling over dead. I have never seen so much beef jerky consumed per capita (and by professed vegetarians) in all my life. May the angels save us.

So, strung out from the road, I returned home and phoned all my parents (who live in another state) to report on my safe flight. What news have you, good parents? I ask.

The Word is oatmeal. Oatmeal, my dad reports, will save us from our ills. My dad is not a religious man, per se, but he is delightfully prone to enthusiasms. I get this from him. Enthusiasms come on like fevers. They overwhelm your sense of sight, taste, and smell. You touch nothing, hear nothing else.

I do not generally like food fads or believe in miracle foods. But what I needed at that moment — after all the film food — was a high-fiber enthusiasm. So I took his advice and ate it, every day.

Right away, my life improved.

I’m a driven freelance editor. And in the first few years I worked at home I had trouble remembering to eat. I would wake up every morning, turn on the computer and get crackin’. Until I noticed a few hours in that I had become stupid. And then it was too late to decide what to eat — can’t think, brain broken.

Many, many hours of productive work were lost because I was not smart enough to keep my blood-sugar up. And once you get a decent meal in you, you never fully recover your brain-power that day. You’ve got to start over again tomorrow and . . . it’s pretty darn hard to break the cycle once you’ve started.

The oatmeal mandate solved this. Before turning on the computer each day, I would put on the long-cooking steel-cut oats. By the time they were done, I had realized I was hungry because I could smell their steamy oatmeal invitation wafting into my office from the kitchen. A perfect system.

So then why break a perfect system by eating a donut today?

Because they were on sale. Because they were the lovely olde-fashioned kind that Eric and I love best. Because it is my birthday month. Because I’ve been very good. Because my happiness requires some variety. Because we worked on a film shoot last month and I did not get nearly enough donuts. Because I’m still learning to eat.

All of that is true.

Some days joy is worth a little lost productivity. That is my best reason to start this blog.

Posted in enthusiasms, celebration, balance, miracle foods, brain food, film, oatmeal habit, junk food | 6 Comments »