Anyone seen my mojo?

by Susan Helene Gottfried

I'd like to thank Joyce and all the regular Working Stiffs for having me over today. This like a homecoming for me -- I used to be a regular here, a number of years ago. It's nice to be back among friends, even those of you I'd never met before. 

So where've I been? What have I been up to?

Well, I've put out a few books. I've become a Boy Scout when I answered an e-mail one day. "Do you need a writer?" I asked. They said, "Yes, we do."

Okay, they all but yelled, they were so excited to have me along.

It's a super job. I get to sit here behind my computer, where it's safe, and write up articles that are, hopefully, destined to appear in a local newspaper or magazine. The coolest part is that my name never shows up on any of it. Instead, my boss (wow! I have a boss!) gets the credit.

I am more than cool with that. I'm excited about it. This couldn't be a better set-up if I'd planned it out. I get to wrestle with lead sentences and search for fresh ways to interest newspaper editors -- a sadly dying breed.

And in there, I hope to recapture my mojo.

I don't know where it went. I have a vague idea when it started to steal away, and I have a better idea of what chased it off.

I've been casting about, here and there, for the solution. Nothing's worked. For all I know, this new gig won't be any better. But there's good synergy among the people I've met so far (who'd have thought? The Boy Scouts???) and even better energy. The men and women I get to work with are a total pleasure. And man, am I learning things. Good things. Big, worldly things that a girl otherwise wouldn't get to see from the seat at her desk. You know: the one facing a glowing computer screen.

Maybe my mojo will come back. If it doesn't, maybe I'll find a new one. A better one.

But in the meantime, if you guys have any advice or suggestions, I'm all ears. A fresh perspective, a fresh set of eyes, even an infusion of optimism. It's all welcomed over here.