Thank you for letting me share what was in my heart here yesterday. I wanted to post an addendum late last night saying, “My day got better!” in case you were at all worried. But, of course, you knew it would get better, just as I did. All it takes is time.
 
Tomorrow will be my last journal here of the year, as so many folks get busy with the holidays and celebrations starting next week. I get that, and anticipate you’ll want to take a break from the journal, too. But I’ll be back here tomorrow and I’ll share with you another book-related appearance that has been made public. We may see you there in February!
 
Over the next two weeks or so, in addition to hosting one of the lowest-maintenance guests a girl could ever hope for (my sister-in-law Sue), Rob and I will be doing our share of trying to get work.
 
As you may know, I do voice work on the side; there’s a British company which uses me for Southern Ontario phone prompts (maybe you’ve called a company, been put on hold and thought that voice sounded familiar?) and we also audition for a half-dozen or so other voice jobs daily through various online sites that post jobs, and to which we subscribe (at a cost). I’m thinking 2019 might be the year I get an agent for voice work as well as for public speaking, as I hope to get much busier in the coming months.
 
You may be wondering where we do our recording down here in Palm Springs. Would you believe in a trailer?
 

 
When we saw this place online last spring, the big attraction for me was this little retro-looking Shasta trailer. It’s actually just a few years old, but is designed to look as if it’s straight out of the middle of the last century. It sleeps four (although we haven’t booked enough company here to put it to the test) and is a sweet little thing. I’ve always had a thing for trailers. Although I’m not sure I’d like the life, I do love the idea of having your house on your back. My friend Lisa and I share that passion.
 
Perhaps it’s about the freedom to travel as long as you want, staying where you like. I’m afraid what could ruin the experience for me would be staying in close proximity to people who don’t respect rules or boundaries; we’ve experienced that enough with noisy neighbours and slamming doors in hotel rooms. I wouldn’t want to have to ask someone who’s had too many (and is a possible gun owner) to keep it down, if you know what I mean.
 
This little trailer isn’t going anywhere; it has locks on the wheels so no one tries to open the gate and wheel it out. That’s okay; we don’t need to move it; we like using it as our studio!
 

 
I sit at the little table which Rob has surrounded with our black egg carton-like acoustic foam, and my microphone is on that table. As Rob listens and records from the seating at the back end of the trailer, I do my auditions and then we come into the house, Rob edits and sends them out and we wait. And wait. 
 

 
I haven’t lucked into much work yet, but we’ll keep auditioning. Luckily, Derek (my friend Lisa’s husband) landed a nice fat job from some trailer voice work he did here, and Lisa also got work, if I recall. So it’s been great for them and I hope over the next few weeks it’ll be lucky for us, too!
 
Back with you here tomorrow to wrap up the week, the season and the year!