Loosely Planned

In soaps, what aired was the result of weeks, if not months, of writing, pre-production, production, and post. While changes might sometimes occur close to air, stories and scenes were largely well-planned, starting with tiny sentences in a long story document and ending with, if necessary, shifting of scenes to make sure that all shows ran the correct length and that the most dramatic content would air on the most watched days.

Such planning trickled down to my life. Efficient planning made for some years of free, or short, summer Friday's. Advance planning had us shooting Christmas episodes before Thanksgiving (and by the end, closer to Halloween!). A cost-conscious calendar laid out dark weeks way in advance, and invited cost-conscious vacation planning (that is, whenever I actually took vacation).

News, where I live at the moment, is a much less planned endeavor. While certain events live on the calendar, many, many just happen, requiring more staff or less, lots of hours or not so many. And, as I am discovering, the lack of planning trickles down to me too. I am rarely sure when I will go somewhere, or for how long. I allow a lot of room for recovery sleep, which I sometimes need and sometimes don't. I am slow to make plans, as I am never quite sure when and how things will change. It may not be better or worse--it is just different. A different way to think, a different way to live. Just different.

And so, I meander through my less planned life, managing today, and tomorrow, and when possible, next month. They are all just more steps. Steps in the ongoing saga of being not washed up yet...