Gainful Employment

I meant to update here much sooner (and will stick to a weekly schedule shortly), but a stressful, exciting, fortunate and unfortunate chain of events has occurred since this blog's creation that still has me spinning. This entry is long. I'm sorry. They will be much shorter in the future, I promise!

I've been struggling with money for a while in an attempt to pursue art as a career (the subject of a future post, I'm sure). A long time procrastinator, I had left a costume project a year in the making off until two weeks before the agreed upon deadline. My focus for the month of November was finishing and mailing this costume, though financial pressures had me stressed until I finally threw my hands up and browsed craigslist job ads, looking for any position I might be qualified for.

I silently admitted to myself that art alone wasn't cutting it - I needed a real job, something part time with steady hours and a schedule that would allow me to get my life and my future back on track. I didn't want to work customer service again, or run a cash register, but I was willing to do what it took to turn things around. What skills did I have? I browsed different job categories. Cook? No. Bartender? No. Bud tender? Maybe... but without reliable personal transportation, that was out too. Exotic dancer? Hahaha, oh Los Angeles.

With no car (and no desire to drive in this city), working from home was the best option I could hope for. If I couldn't find something I could either do from home or take a bus to, I decided I would seek employment at one of the many establishments near the apartment in some sort of customer service position. But first I needed to explore my skills.

If only walking on rainbows were more lucrative.

I'm a good writer. It feels weird typing that, and even weirder saying it out loud. I'm a college drop-out (not by choice - by financial reasons), but after changing my mind multiple times, my third and last major was English: Creative and Professional Writing and the one I most wanted to finish. I fell in love with writing in grade school and wrote in a journal often. In high school I was the only one in my class to receive a perfect score on the 10th grade writing test, even though I didn't apply myself well enough to be placed in Advanced English and finished school in the middle of my class. I simply love language, and what it can do.

I can't call myself a great writer, but I'm good. Upon admitting that to myself and mustering up a little self confidence, I browsed writing jobs on craigslist and applied to one that stood out - an ad seeking a "badass blogger." Now that sounded like a job I could do!

I have no resume, though it was not required. A simple email started the interview process. The first stage made sure I knew how to follow directions. The second, an evaluation of title writing skills. The third, a test of writing and summation skills and some getting-to-know-you questions. The last? An interview via Skype. I had never done anything like this before, and the use of Skype for work was something that never crossed my mind. Web-based companies actually exist? You just don't think about these things growing up in a tiny remote town in Northeastern Minnesota.

Tiny, remote and beautiful.

I was nervous. My last interview had been for a housekeeping position back in MN, a second job I took while I was working for the Visitor Information Center to help make ends meet before I moved back to California. I was far more nervous for this one, mainly because I felt I was unqualified without a college degree to vouch for my credibility. I prepared a list of possible interview questions and my responses. My nerves made me sick to my stomach.

During the interview I fumbled my speech a bit and lost track of my thoughts, but overall it went fine, and at the end of it I was glad I pushed myself out of my comfort zone and pursued it, no matter the outcome. The work sounded wonderful though, and definitely something I could do (and do well). Still, I felt a little silly later for uttering the words "dream job," even though I spoke the truth. I realized that if I did get this position it would basically solve all my current problems. All of them. I was grateful for the opportunity.

When I received an email offering me the position it didn't fully register. Did skills really just beat paperwork? Did I really have those skills and qualifications? Apparently I did. I was going to work as a writer for a marketing company for more per hour than I'd ever made before. Even as a part time position this was a dream come true. I'm not sure how many times I said "holy shit" that morning, but it was a lot.

It felt kinda like this. (Bad perspective - that fish was huge!)

I love the job. I summarize news articles and write commentaries on different subjects based on the kind of business the blog is for. I'm really interested in some - for example, writing about the holidays for a Christmas tree company is super fun - and others with subjects I'm less familiar with are more challenging (writing about electrical work, for example).

Another thing I love about the job is I learn new things every day. Did you know there are renewable energy systems that make cooking gas from biomass (aka plant and animal waste, including human poop)? How about periodontal disease being directly linked to heart disease, fungal infections, and erectile dysfunction? The world is a fascinating place, and my job allows me to explore it further and get paid for it. Love it!

Unfortunately because of the job training and new work I did not have as much time to finish the costume as I planned for. Also my boyfriend's mother Wendy visited us from across the country for a few days after Thanksgiving, and I enjoyed spending time with her and her friend Ellen (and wish I could have spent more). Hard as I tried to get the costume done in time for the commissioner's convention, I just could not justify sacrificing quality for speed. I offered a $200 refund for missing the deadline, which I thought was very fair (the costume was nearly $1k). I now have until spring to finish it, but I intend to much sooner.

In conclusion, bills are slowly getting paid and art is slowly getting done, but progress is happening. There's still some financial catching up to do (as well as an art commission backlog), but goals are glowing brightly once again!