The day job.

So,I've been thinking a lot about the phrase "don't quit your day job." I've decided I don't like it at all.

A.) It's meant to demean your skills as a writer/actor/dancer/artist/etc.
B.) It implies that if you have a day job, you're not good at what you're passionate about
and
C.) It makes the day job seem like a bad, miserable thing.

Well, I havent had a day job for very long -- only about two weeks or so. But I love it.

A.) I work in a children's clothing store, and am therefore surrounded by cuteness.
B.) It's a block of time that gives my life framework (and makes me leave the house).
C.) Its close by a lot of the errands I have to run.
D.) It makes me get up in the morning, which I almost never do unless I have a reason (and therefore I waste some of the most productive hours of the day.)
and
E.) It's a basic retail job, based on routines and being friendly, and so it's easy to just be busy for a few hours without the need for intense meditation.

Although I love my field, the fact that it is becoming increasingly work-at-home may mean I'll always want a day job. Just something little to get me out of the house and make me be social. There are definitely a lot of benefits to working at home, and it makes my day job easy to schedule, but there are also downsides. While working in your pajamas is nice, I'm such a creature of set -- and crowded -- schedules that the nebulousness of at-home work is a little uncomfortable sometimes. I have to put a lot of effort into scheduling and disciplining myself, otherwise it's very easy to get off track. Even having the schedule of a few shifts a week is already boosting my overall productivity. Someone should research that.

So I'm going to be keeping my day job. And I'll fight (verbally, of course) anyone who says that makes me any less of a writer.

Gold Star to all the lovers of their day jobs.