Sophie Kersey Has Left the Building

I did it – I escaped/sky-dived/belly-flopped out of the office and into the freelancing life!

Crazy…

is the only word for the last few days. My final day in the office was also Jon’s 50^th birthday, and it also happened to be the day a TV crew came to film a colleague who has written a book about crafting her own wedding!

http://www.searchpress.com/book/9781782211587/my-handmade-wedding

My lovely colleagues were all incredibly kind and produced both a lunch and a tea-time party with Prosecco, cakes, wonderful gifts and a hilarious card covered in pictures of me being a nutter. In the evening at the pub, Jon and I shared breathless stories on the theme of ‘they all made such a fuss of me!’

 

Jon’s enormous birthday bash was on Saturday, so when people asked about my first day of freedom, I rather snapped at them that I had spent eight hours cooking a casserole for 120 of Jon’s closest friends and family.

The party when it finally came was completely wonderful and worth every moment of hyperventilating panic I had over the catering. The beef casserole will live on as one of the main achievements of my life – you know the sort of thing: the odds were stacked against me, it took two hours to brown the meat, I felt the fear but did it anyway and ultimately I triumphed. I think I have given away the plot of my next novel.

So how was my first day of freelancing? Well, here is the view from my desk:

Yes my presence in the house prompted Misty to want her tea all day long and to claw my legs expectantly – something my human colleagues almost never did.

As I began to do things that someone might pay me for, I was gripped by doubt that I could make this work – Indesign looked different at home and I had to fiddle around to get all the bells and whistles I needed. Could I get my head round the projects I had laid down all of four days ago? Could I even spell today?

Well I did manage to get a few hours’ work done, opened a business bank account, went for a walk and arranged a get-together with a friend, which goes some way towards the kind of balance I wanted to have in my life. The only thing I have not managed to do is any writing – which I will be putting right very soon, as otherwise this is all going to be pointless!

As for offering money saving tips, I feel an absolute fraud because in the wake of a tidal wave of kindness from everyone, Jon and I find ourselves in a house stacked high with goodies, so, um – watch you don’t drink all your champagne in one go..?

I give up – but normal frugal service will be resumed when the fuss has died down, the wine has all been consumed and we are left with a depleted bank account and quite possibly liver damage.