Hello again, dear reader. I have to be honest with you when I say that I almost did not write this post, due to the fact that so many things seemingly have gone wrong in the last few weeks that I am absolutely emotionally drained. If one more thing happens in the wrong way, I may have a nervous breakdown.

Okay, maybe that is an exaggeration, but is sure feels that way. Besides my laptop having to be repaired (which I wrote about last week), there have been things which have evoked feelings in me that range from anxious to ashamed to heavy-hearted. I will not list them here out of regards for my privacy and that of the people I know and love.

So what keeps me sane and functioning?

Well, first of all, there is my faith in Jesus Christ, and talking to Him regularly comforts me a lot during hard times in my life.

Second, there are my loved ones, mainly my husband, family, and friends. They are a great source of comfort as well.

Third, there is editing. For me, being absorbed by a written piece which I am editing is the same as escaping into a good book. I can shut out the rest of the world and my own noisy thoughts and concentrate on the writing in front of me. The more I edit and polish the piece, the more at peace I feel.

When one’s life is hard, one has to continue to work, as we all know. When I worked in laboratories, this was often very hard to do, since one’s joy and happiness often depend on experiments working out…and oftentimes, they do not. But since I enjoy editing so much, I derive peace from working.

Do you get peace and comfort from your work? If not, from what do you get peace and comfort during the hard times in life?

Apologies to my readers for not warning you that I was going to take Easter Sunday off of blogging. This was a long-standing decision, but I neglected to tell you about it in my last post. Mea culpa.

Anyhoo…

This past week, the thing I dreaded the most but knew would eventually happen…took place.

My treasured laptop slowed down immensely on Thursday and I shut it down because I could not use it. I only thank God that I wasn’t in the middle of an editing gig when this happened. In fact, it happened only hours after I had finished my last editing gig. So, praise the Lord again.

The next day, I took the ailing laptop to Staples, specifically to their tech repair desk. The young man who took down my information was extremely polite and helpful. While I used the old desktop in our home to do my work, Staples ran a PC tune-up for free! And I got my laptop back the next night, which was last night.

However…I have yet to hook it up and try it.

I am really scared that something will go wrong and that they didn’t fix it correctly, that I lost significant data, et cetera. Chalk this up to my clinical anxiety, but I’m just plain scared.

I always get scared when I get a new piece of technology or when it gets repaired. This past January, I bought an iPhone 13 Mini to replace my ancient iPhone 6. For the first two and a half weeks that I owned it, I was afraid to touch it. What would happen if I did something wrong? And when I bought my laptop in June 2020, same thing. It took me two days to hook it up and use it.

Luddites (the first syllable rhymes with thud, not with rude) resist technology and avoid it. I do not consider myself a luddite. Some people in the past might have thought I was one, because I did not buy my first smartphone (an iPhone 4) until 2015. By that time, the majority of people my age had smartphones. However, this was for economic/financial reasons.

I consider myself more like the Jawa from Star Wars. They, in fact, love technology…but they are clueless about how to use it. I am not “clueless,” but I’m embarrassed about the number of times I’ve had to go to the Verizon store with my iPhone and say, “Do you know how to do this?”

How about you? Are you more of a Jawa or a luddite? Or neither?

I think that, in the freelancing world, it is often good to be a little stressed. That way, the freelancer is continually aware that they are getting work and are sought after.

For yours truly, the week of March 28 to April 1 of this year was just like that.

I edited a short paper for a client, a much longer paper for another client, a booklet for my church, the weekly program and insert (also for my church), and the text of a new web page for yet another client. (To be fair, the deadline for the much longer paper wasn’t until April 4, but I did the vast majority of the editing during the aforementioned week.) Whew!

And l loved doing it.

Still, editing all of that material in the same five-day period was somewhat stressful. I had to plan carefully and triage everything based on its deadline. My daily planner was invaluable to me during this time, as it is during every week. For me, what works best is to break up a more sizable task into equal-sized pieces and work on one piece every day; I also try to leave one day as a “cushion” in case something comes up and (Heaven forbid) I fall behind. (By the way, please don’t use the expression “wiggle room” in front of me. I detest that term.)

I also had to exercise discipline in my work. No doing laundry while I work; that distracts me when it’s time to transfer clothes from the washer to the dryer or remove clothes from the dryer and fold them. No going out for a walk (although the weather that week was freezing for late March/early April in Maryland) as much as I crave fresh air. Getting up and stretching is okay, but not spending too much time away from the computer.

I even worked Monday evening in order to accommodate all of my deadlines. I am a morning person and I don’t like working in the evening, but an editor has to do what an editor has to do.

Mission accomplished! I met all of my deadlines.

So what did I do that Friday night to relax and treat myself? Cleaned the bathroom.

*shaking my head*

Please let me start out by saying that I am not, repeat, NOT anti-science.

I worked in the biological sciences for years. I loved my science classes in high school and college, and went on to earn a master’s degree in biochemistry. I attended the March for Science in Washington, DC two years in a row (2017 and 2018–both of the years that it took place). I think science is essential for living. Think of all of the vaccines and antibiotics and antivirals that we wouldn’t have if it were not for science.

But science has an ugly side.

And I have experienced it.

Those of us with physical disabilities have a hard time doing it.

I have mild cerebral palsy. I am highly fortunate that I am able to walk, talk, write, and do so many things that people with severe CP cannot do.

However, my CP affects my hand and finger coordination–something essential to running many science experiments. I must work more slowly and more deliberately. This, when I was working in laboratories, did not endear me to some of my bosses, shall we say. In my last scientific research position, I was fired because I could not get the hang of restraining live laboratory mice.

When I was in graduate school, one of my professors flat-out told me that I am not good with my hands and that I should not be working in a scientific laboratory. (This professor also told me that I should “maybe” go into technical writing, which I find ironic, considering that I am now an editor who works in the sciences. Maybe I should have listened to him then?)

The ugly side of science is that it, by nature, makes it hard for those with physical disabilities to succeed in the laboratory. This is nobody’s fault. It’s just the nature of the beast.

If you, dear reader, have a physical disability and are pursuing a career in laboratory science right now, PLEASE don’t give up. You may be more successful than I was. I’m only writing from personal experience here. At the two Marches for Sciences that I attended, I listened to speeches given by scientists who were deaf or blind. I applaud those people immensely and wish I could sit down and hear more of their experiences.

Let me just add that I am still working in science–just not in the laboratory. Science embraced me after all.

The best laid plans of mice and men…and of Suzelle…

Several months ago, I wrote a post about how I was going to take an EFA class on macros in April. Macros, for those of you who are unfamiliar with them, are keyboard shortcuts tied to commands in MS Word. They make an editor’s work go faster and the editor more efficient. And I am all about efficiency in my work and learning how to improve it.

I shuffled my long-term schedule around to accommodate the six weeks during which I would be taking the class. The class was to be from April 18 to May 29.

Alas, last week I received an email from the EFA saying that, unfortunately, the macros class could not begin in April. It would begin later in the year, but not before the end of May.

I understand that things come up in the lives of people and organizations. I am not angry at all about this. Nor am I cursing anyone or anything for it.

I am, however, rather torn. You see, my husband and I have a vacation scheduled for Thursday, June 23 through Sunday, June 26–our first vacation in three years (thanks to the pandemic). We have already put down a deposit at the hotel, and only 75 percent of that deposit is refundable. I am all about complete separation between work and leisure time, and I refuse to take my laptop to this beach hotel and work on my classwork and homework for the class there. Work time is work time; leisure time is leisure time.

On the other hand, I run the risk of falling behind in the class (albeit slightly, but still…) if I do not work on it for four days in a week. And if that week ends up being the first week of class, I am in deep doo-doo.

Bottom line: I have already been in touch with a super-helpful EFA staff member about refunds, and they assured me that the EFA will accommodate refunds when the new class dates are announced. If the new six-week class period overlaps with my vacation, I will be forced to ask for a refund, for the good of both the class and my vacation. After that, I will keep my eyes peeled for when the class will be offered again. I really hope it will be.

And so goes the work/life balance–a very important thing.

I studied science. I have a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in biochemistry.

I know that cancer begins with the genes in a cell. The genes cause changes that make the cell cancerous.

Likewise, I know that a virus contains either DNA or RNA (not both, as in a cell). And the DNA or RNA in a virus can mutate. That is how, for example, we get variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus (the virus that causes COVID-19).

Now, this is where you might think I’m crazy. I sometimes wonder if the genes in cells and viruses are somehow sentient and know what pain and trouble they will cause people when they mutate. For example, one cell in Jenny’s breast tissue might be saying, “Hmmm. I think that in this gene, I will swap a guanine for a cytosine. Let’s see if that teaches her to wear such tight bras!” Bad, bad cell.

Or if the SARS-CoV-2 virus is saying, “Hmmm. Those people think they have beaten me with their vaccines, huh? I’ll just change an adenosine to a thymine over here, and…BAM! The vaccine won’t work and people will suffer again.”

Okay, I admit, that’s weird talk. I know that genes don’t think.

This is where this post turns serious.

Today would have been the 60th birthday of a friend who succumbed to cancer in 2019. He was taken too soon. I remember his funeral at our church: the huge auditorium was close to filled, the worship band played such powerful songs, his children and business partner and wife (a close friend of mine) gave eulogies.

Cancer is such a jerk. My mother survived it and, thankfully, is now in remission, but it made her suffer a great deal and I remember watching her suffer. It wasn’t easy on anyone in the family, especially Mom.

COVID, too, is a jerk. I don’t personally know anyone who died or was hospitalized from it, but I know of people who did. One gentleman I know spoke to me of a young man he knew who was afflicted with the disease. His ventilator was removed only because he had no hope of living and the hospital needed the ventilator for a person who did have hope. And I still can’t get over seeing images on TV of huge refrigerators being used to store bodies.

Sometimes I wish genes could think–specifically, of the horrible potential damage they can do just by mutating one nucleotide base pair. (There is a large number of diseases that can also be caused by gene mutations; it would take days to write about all of them, but the people who have these diseases suffer just as much, if not more.) Then maybe the genes would think twice before they mutate.

Just thinking.

Please allow me to talk a little about my past.

Once upon a time, I was unemployed. I had left the world of laboratory work (or, more accurately, the world of laboratory work chewed me up and spit me out) and I was left jobless. Wanting to continue being a productive member of society, I began job hunting.

I’m sure that everyone today knows that this is done online; long gone are the days of physically going to a potential employer’s office and filling out an application. If you try this today, you will most likely hear, “Go to our website and apply online.”

I have had varying experiences with online applying.

One very popular job board today is Indeed.com. I used this a great, great deal during my job searching days, and it has come a long way since I used it regularly. These days, it can show you the details of a job you are interested in while still showing you the results of your keyword search in another half of the screen. I think this is genius. Back when I was using it, I had to click on the Back button of my browser to get back to my search results from the details of a certain job. Indeed also allows you to create a resume for use on their site–a feature which I have never used, since I like to write my own resume and include it with each job application.

Another popular choice is LinkedIn. Besides being a good form of social media (although at times it does resemble Facebook), LinkedIn has a feature in which you, after setting up your profile, can browse jobs which match your profile. Some of the jobs will even allow you to apply with just your LinkedIn profile. Many, however, will want your profile plus other items, such as a resume and cover letter; some will even want you to fill out an online application as well. Bottom line: if you have a LinkedIn profile (and, in my opinion, you should), make sure to keep it up to date!

The most luck I had while job searching, however, was to look at jobs which were on the company/organization’s own website. Many job postings lurk there while not being found on Indeed, LinkedIn, or other job boards. If you need help deciding on a company whose website to search for jobs, look at the companies that come up on LinkedIn or Indeed, or run a Google search for, say, “Cancer research organizations.”

And what about CareerBuilder.com and Monster.com? They are SO two decades ago. Don’t bother with them.

I wish you the best!

One could file the following post under “How should I have known?”

I was contacted by a graduate student from an unnamed institution this past week (because of the name and nationality, I could not tell the student’s gender, so I will refer to the student as “they.”) They had a master’s thesis that they wanted copyedited, and the topic (molecular biology) was right up my alley. They also said they were given my name by their advisor. Sounded great, right? Well…There were several things about the email request that concerned me.

First, the student did not address me by name.

Second, they did not name their educational institution or give their advisor’s name.

Third, the email originated from a live.com address, not an address from any kind of institution.

Fourth, the deadline was rather tight.

So, saying “Better safe than sorry,” I turned the job down, telling the student that I did not believe I was the ideal editor for their work and wishing them well. I also showed the email to the Editorial Freelancer’s Association Discussion List to get my colleagues’ opinion on whether this request was legit.

The good people at the EFA did some excellent detective work and found out which institution the student was from and their advisor’s name. So let us found out where I went wrong:

1. They may have not addressed me by name because they could not tell my gender from my name.
2. A live.com address is legitimate; the student may only be using their school email address for communication with faculty and other students.
3. Many students who are unfamiliar with copyediting underestimate the time it will take to do so.

Therefore, I lost out on a gig. I am wiser for next time, and hoping my reputation has not been tarnished.

Onwards and upwards.

Hello, readers.

Let me first and foremost say that my blog is not and was never meant to be a political one. However, I do not wish to bury my head in the sand regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine this week.

I was horrified by some of the images of the invasion that the news showed me this week. I can recall the camera shot of the city square in Kyiv with the Motherland Monument in full view with its arms outstretched, the streets empty as the terrifying wail of the siren filled the air. And that of the Russian tanks marching across the Ukrainian border like hungry monsters.

I keep thinking, “Putin, what did the Ukrainian people ever do to you?”

What I am torn about is how much we in the US should get involved. I know we have some troops over there and my heart breaks for each of these brave soldiers and their families. I personally don’t want another Iraq or Afghanistan. Biden has put sanctions on Russia; will that stop them or make them angrier? The sanctions are already starting to (slightly) affect my life in the form of the cost of gas and the fact that Apple deleted a song from my iTunes which happens to be by a Russian rock band (a song which I downloaded four years ago and which has nothing to do with war). The song was grayed out in my library.

On the other hand, we cannot just sit on our duffs and watch this happen. The people of Ukraine are desperately leaving the country and becoming refugees. They are suffering. They are getting hurt and killed for an evil reason. We have to do something. This reminds me way too much of what history taught me about World War II.

Has World War III begun?

I will leave it here.

Let me say it right now. If you want to work typical “9 to 5” hours, then freelance editing (or editing of any kind, for that matter) is not for you.

I worked for a few hours last Saturday afternoon; I did that so I could meet a deadline. Back in November, I worked Black Friday, while many folks were at the stores (not that I wanted to be at the stores). And I plan to work tomorrow, which is Presidents Day. (I know that not everybody gets a long weekend the third week of February, but a lot of people do, and many [though not all] of them might grumble if they had to work on that Monday.)

Ah, but I’m not here to whine and moan. Freelancing has plenty of advantages with regards to time. For example, if you are a night owl by nature, you can work in the evening or at night and sleep late in the morning. If you charge by the hour, you are only paid for the hours during which you actually work. This means that you don’t have to feel guilty if you take a break to have a snack (as long as you remember to turn off your timer).

You can also give yourself a day off if you need it or even want it. Last summer, I did not go on a vacation per se, but I did give myself one day off so I could visit Hersheypark. (Yes, it really is spelled as one word.) Or you can give yourself a day off if you need it to attend to an elderly relative. (I should add that if you take one or more days off, your clients need to know that you will be unavailable those days.)

One interesting thing I have found about freelance editing is that the common adage, “Poor planning on your part does not make an emergency on my part,” does not apply. Poor planning on your client’s part does and will make an emergency on your part. That’s part of the business. But then there are days when there is no editing to do. On these days, you must plan your marketing, tidy up, read books on editing and/or business…you should be doing things that are constructive.

If you are a freelance editor, how do YOU plan your days? Please let me know in the comments.