Grateful for a Short Commute

With the present economy and high gas prices, I’m grateful that my office is located a short walk from my bedroom. Yes, my workplace is in my home. In the past I’ve weighed in on some of the drawbacks of being a fulltime freelancer, but due to the situation where gas is becoming the cost of a luxury item, those drawbacks are lessening.

Of course, for those who have to commute there is the option of mass transit. However, in a recent article in The New York Times, reporter Clifford Krauss writes about how that option is also becoming strained. I recall the years when I worked in Manhattan when the jostled, cramped commute from Long Island grew tiresome. It’s difficult to imagine that it would be even more jostled and cramped now, but with the gas crunch, that’s exactly what has happened.

This does not mean I don’t need to travel for my work. For the most part, though, it is a matter of running local errands to the post office and bank. Yet, this summer I have been invited to be Director of a Summer Writing Program in Old Forge, New York that meets weekly for six weeks. I’m looking forward to it, even though it will be over a five-hour drive back and forth to and from the Adirondacks. I’ve decided this weekly trek will somehow have to serve as my summer vacation. This for me confirms once again, as a freelancer, flexibility is often the key to success, even in this financially challenging time.