Happy Friday: Working For The Weekend! When I Will Also Be Working!

But, don't cry for me, Argentina. I still have one story to write for the new job before Monday, but you know what's cool about having a gig where you write stories and send emails from home? You can literally do it any time of the day or night!

I'm taking a break to eat a super-late lunch and blog, since I haven't done it since Monday...Blog, that is. I've been eating just fine, thank you!

I've also been doing pretty good at the job. I'm getting the hang of procedures and using their online ordering system to gather info for stories. I even got two interview responses this week, which I was told likely wouldn't happen so soon. Score!

I hope you've all had a lovely week, as well. I'll be catching up on your blogs this weekend. Now, let's see what's happening online.


1) 38 fascinating maps that detail everything from what the world's population would look like if it were concentrated in one city, to every country that ever got invaded by England and the US area codes in which the rapper Ludacris claims to have "hoes".

2) If you need a laugh try giphy. Just scroll over your choice to see a variety of animated gifs.

3) Speaking of gifs, this tumblr uses them to tell a comical New York based life story.

4) All you writers out there should find Writing a Scene in 11 Steps and 60 NaNoWriMo tips useful.

5) For everyone with multiple, hard-to-monitor-them-all email addresses, Mailstrom might be the answer for you.

Whoa. That's all for me. I need to rest up and goof off this weekend. It's nice to have something to step away from on weekends, right?

Happy Friday: Jobbing!

...

So, yesterday was good. HUBS got a snow day at work, and I...

I GOT A FREAKIN' JOB, YOU GUYS!!

I know! I originally applied to this company late last summer, but kept in touch with the hiring manager. She called me yesterday and simply offered me another position. YES!

HUBS and I are cautiously optimistic, since I have been semi-burned before with freelancing, but this will be very good for my self-esteem. I'll be interviewing, writing and still working from home on a part-time basis.

Also, this means that I've been able to cross three things off my professional goal list just this week. I'm making money from writing again, I tried a podcast and I began to make honest work of one of my screenplay ideas this week by actually sitting my ass down and writing the damn thing.

I'M MAKING PROGRESS!

And progress deserves a reward, so let's see what's new!

1) I think I'm finally starting to get the hang of reading faster, thanks to Bill Cosby.

2) How did I just find out about The Fluffington Post? How!?!?

3) Ever wonder how companies like Evernote, Instagram and Twitter make money? Here you go...

4) Daria Morgendorffer has a point.

5) I might be obsessed with funny/cute animal pics.

Happy weekend, everyone!

Music Monday! Get It Done!

Well, it's about time! I am finally off my ass and doing things, people. I made three necessary phone calls today, did four loads of laundry and have made a significant dent in the 1,000+ emails I let build up over the past four weeks. Plus, I did yoga and managed to drink only one cappuccino. Progress!

I hope your week is off to a good start. Now, let's get to some music so you can round your day out with some fun...

Music Monday: Yes!

Feeling a tiny bit like a star in my own little world...

Well, today I put my new Do My Opposite rule into practice and it feels damn good! I've been putting off sending out marketing letters about my writing services for one reason: calling the businesses to get contact names and email addresses.

This morning? I did it! I called five places and got contact info.

I realize that for a normal person, making some phone calls is no big deal. But, for me, it's kinda huge. Especially since I started thinking about doing this last fall. Last fall!

Now, I feel like celebrating. Let's do it!

Music Monday: Dawn Of A New Era

Today has been good to me, folks. How about you? Of course, this is mostly because I got off my ass and got some stuff done. It feels nice to be busy on my own terms, you know? I've started writing what I like to call 5 Minute Movies. You can reach the first of my posts by clicking on the last tab under my blog header. The easiest way to read it seems to be enlarging your page view until you get a good look at it. Let me know what you think!

I've also taken some pro-active steps toward meeting new people and hopefully making some new friends. I signed up for GirlfriendCircles.com, GirlfriendSocial.com and RentAFriend.com. And, today I got matched on the first service to meet a group of ladies in my area later in May. Yay!

Also, the crazy new resume I sent out a few weeks ago has netted me a nifty job interview this Thursday. I know! I haven't had an interview in a while, largely because I let myself rely solely on my freelance income for the last year. I'm nervous (It's one of those new-fangled group interviews. I have no idea what to expect.) but also excited. Wish me luck!

Let's enjoy some nice music now, shall we?

Conflicting Reports Be Damned!

Here it is, everyone. I've either done something brave or really stupid. Tired of all the conflicting reports on what the correct things are to put on a resume, I finally said Fuck All! and made something that is, for me anyway, totally new. The old format, even though it was approved by a resume writing instructor at a local college, didn't get me anywhere. I believe this one is more interesting and yet still tells people all the basics. Also? I started applying for jobs with this resume today.

Well, what do you think?

Music Monday: Something Different

...

Who else is looking for a job? Have you noticed, like I have, that no matter how many articles you read by career coaches, headhunters, professional resume writers and HR honchos that there's always another set of similar pros who'll tell you to do the exact opposite thing when writing a resume? You have! Aren't you tired of it?

Well, I am. And since the resume that I went to a resume class to write and had rubber stamped by a resume writer who works at a local college is clearly not working, I've decided to try something new. Yesterday, I spent two hours writing another resume. I do not mention that I'm "creative" or "detail-oriented" or good on the switchboard. I do not mention that I'm a writer who's good at writing. What I do mention is that I like cats, alliteration and laughing.

Yeah, it sounds goofy, but since the old way isn't working I'm trying something different: telling more of my story with my resume, while also letting whoever reads it in on the fact that, yes, I am capable of holding down a job. I'm going to do a bit more work on it tomorrow, post it for you and then start using it to apply for jobs. Wish me luck!

Now! Music!

Happy Friday: Web Wanderings & Panic Attacks

Happy Friday, all my peeps! I hope you're ready for a perfect weekend, because, why would your weekend not be perfect, am I right?

I had a bit of a wrench thrown into my perfectly planned day this morning. I had just finished brushing my teeth when someone called from a company I had applied for a job at last Friday. I know, this doesn't sound bad at all, right? Except for the fact that I have a tendency to over-think this job/money stuff.

After we got done with about a half hour of phone interviewing and I called PT to tell her what happened, I called HUBS. And as I spoke to him, I started to panic.

This hasn't happened since early this year, but now that I've looked it up on the trusty ol' Web MD, I can say for sure that I've been having actual panic attacks. Not just panicking or freaking out, but having actually medically defined PANIC. ATTACKS.


Photo

I know what you're thinking, why would the first step of a job offer make me panic? Well, the job would be full time and require some Saturdays, meaning it would eat up all the possible times for me to interview my chefs and bartenders, meaning if I got it I'd have to stop writing.

And if I stopped getting paid for writing in order to take a "stable" job with a reliable paycheck that I'd undoubtedly dislike, I would completely negate the decision I made to leave my previous job to do more creative, enjoyable work. You know, just for the money. Which HUBS and I desperately need.

All these attacks start the same: a get a bit nervous, then fearful, and then I begin to pace and talk fast and my heart races as I become angry at getting scared and worrying before anything has even happened; I start to have trouble catching my breath and I sweat and talk even faster and start to cry and...You get the idea.

The only thing that calmed me down today was HUBS saying that he'd rather stay poor than have me take another full time gig I'd hate that would remove most possibility of me being able to get paid to write (in the capacity that I write now, anyway). Well, that and recalling the fact that TUX threw up on the living room wall as I was doing my phone interview. HUBS laughed and it was all good again. Thank God for HUBS, y'all.

Of course, none of that panic does anything. Especially considering that within an hour and a half of the interview I got an email saying other people were more qualified for the job, so phew! On the upside, all that pacing (about an hour's worth) gave me a good start on today's cardio. Score!

Aaaaaanyway...On to brighter things. This fascinating place we call the internet has recently offered up some new and interesting corners to explore and I feel the need to share with my lovelies. Do you ever feel like the web is overwhelming? I do. I sit down with a set idea of what I want to read/do online. But, suddenly I've got 18 tabs open that are filled with things I have to read even though I didn't know they existed just moments before.



Oh well! On to linkage and happy weekends!

*Free, downloadable music mixes!

*If you were a reader of Sassy magazine as a teen or Jane as a young adult, you'll probably did this.

*Meet Madeline, she just moved to a part of the country where she doesn't know anyone.

*Make your ideas happen!

*Handy guides to help us navigate the good stuff online and apply tech tips to our lives.

*This movie was amazing and I'll be getting the soundtrack as soon as someone sells it on half.com.

*All the cool business, tech, social media and design news/tips you could want in one place.

*25 FREE calling cards until 9/23!

That's all from me for now, but tell me: Does the internet ever overwhelm you?

Back To Work

I can't believe it's Wednesday already. I got a sympathy card today from the vet specialist office about Luanne and reading all the nice things they said about her and me and HUBS made me cry. But, other than that I've been doing pretty good. Though I have to say, the house feels different without her.

Remember how I said her dying wasn't quite as simple as I made it sound? Well, we weren't with her when she died. HUBS and I were on vacation. More specifically? We were on our way to the beach when we got the call that she passed away.

On to brighter things, I suppose...

HUBS and I were in Philadelphia from July 3 through 8th. We drove, so we were car bound on the 1st, 2nd, 8th and 9th. We packed a lot of doing into that amount of time and we've been exhausted since getting in around 2:30 Sunday morning*.

In fact, HUBS and I slept most of the day on Sunday. We woke up to eat a late lunch and bury Luanne in the back yard (We buried her with a favorite string and planted wildflower seeds on her grave), and then went back to sleep. I slept so much on Sunday I only ate the one meal!

I'll show lots of pictures (I took around 3,000 shots. No. Not kidding at all.) and give you more details in the coming days. Right now, though, you should know that I had a very productive morning.

About a month ago I signed up on fiverr to do some little gigs for $5 each. I finally got some legitimate hits last week (hours before Luanne died, actually) and today I got to complete my first paid gig. I reviewed a screenplay outline for someone and you know what? It felt really fucking good!

It felt better than writing chef and bartender interviews or film reviews and definitely felt better than watching aimless hours of TV. For the first time in years I felt like I was using my whole brain and was seriously in my element. I like this, people! I got to help someone, write and work with film industry stuff. How is that not awesome?

If you know a friend who could use help with a screenplay, music recommendations, ideas for dinner, a personalized pop culture update or a short screenplay written specially for them, please direct them to my fiverr gigs!

Now, since there hasn't been a Music Monday in a couple of weeks enjoy the video above from Sam Sparro. You can see a slicker version here.



*Molly the stray cat ran across the street to greet us when we got home, despite the late hour. That was a really nice welcome home.

Happy Friday!

I hope everyone has made it through Snowpocalypse 2011, especially since we're due for three more (blissfully much lighter) rounds of snow over the next few days.

It was nice having HUBS home for a couple of days this week. He went back to work yesterday and I actually tagged along to get out of the house. I have to say, though, I think it may be time-out for that for a while. Why? Well, I'm starting to feel kinda pitiful hanging out at my husband's job.

I tend not to get much done while I'm there, even though I always have my laptop. Actually, it might be that watching him work at something he loves just rams home how badly I need the same thing. (Not that I begrudge him that. I'm really glad he feels like he's found his thing.)

On a positive note, I got an email from one of my old editors Wednesday and he wants me to do some weekly work for them. I'll be making $100 a week, which will save our shit once the dough starts rolling in. Not to mention, save my sanity a little by giving me some much needed confidence. So, yay!

In honor of Happy Friday times, I'm going to pass along the Said the Gramophone best music of 2010 list. You can even download the complete 100 song list, so go ahead and get the party started this weekend!

Clearly This Is Not Going To Work

Sunday, at work, I came up with a schedule to help me plan my time so I can actually get stuff done with this freaky night time work. It's a good, reasonable itinerary. See?

get ready for bed 11:30pm
bed 12:30pm
up 8:30am
blog 9am
book work 9:30am
exercise 10am
coffee & reading 10:30am
enter contests & internet randomness 11am
nap? 12pm
lunch 1pm

It works in things I know I should be doing (exercising and working on that book idea I haven't looked at since April) and things I already do daily. There's just one problem: I hate it.

I hate being told what to do when, even by my own self, apparently. As I was writing my plan I could feel freedom falling away as I became resistant to every action in every time period. You mean I have to go to be at 12:30? And, what if I don't wanna blog first thing in the morning? Hey, who do you think you are anyway!?

Doing five random things a day has generally become pretty easy for me now. But I was looking for a way to fill my morning with things that really matter to me. Another problem I see is that there's really no breathing room here. If something comes up or I sleep late the whole plan is thrown into disarray. Like yesterday, when I ended up doing not much of anything important before work, including my list of five things to get done. I didn't even get those taken care of after work.

The prospects just ain't lookin' great, here.
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In other news, I spent all my post-dinner time at work last night farting. I blame the hummus. And my wonky digestive system. And the propensity of women in my family toward excessive gassiness as they age.

Damn you heredity! Daaaaaammmnn yooooouuuuu!! *shakes fist at belly*

Careery

Come to mamma...

It's 10:59pm and I'm hungry. That's what I get for having popcorn for dinner at work because I was too lazy to fix a proper meal to lug along.

Also, HUBS is not home yet. I've tried calling him at work, but, well, see...My cell phone got shut off Monday. So, I've got his cell in case I need to make calls during the day. And since he's rarely at his actual desk at work, he's generally not around to hear the phone.

Not to harp here, guys, but I'm really fucking hungry. But I want to wait for HUBS to get home so we can eat together. Dammit.

In other news, I went in to work today with a positive, go-get-em attitude. I filled the time between calls by writing down all the recipes I've been coming up with lately. I plan to enter a shit load of cooking contests and win so much money that I never have to work for the man again. The End.

I know a lot of my problem with traditional office-type jobs is my attitude. I tend to get bogged down in the boredom and hatred and slog through every little task. Having a little assignment for the down time helped me avoid that today. And? That was nice.

Is Anybody Else Sweating Through Their Clothes Yet?

This is pretty. Heat stroke is not.

I feel quite a bit better today. Mostly because HUBS was home from work and I got to take his air-conditioned car to my job-o. And, since his car's all new and spiffy-like, it has a temperature gauge. Guess how hot it was when I got into the car?

ONE HUNDRED AND ELEVEN DEGREES!

Jesus, Pete and Mike, y'all!!!

Stay cool everybody!

So, Citygirl, How's Work Going?

Well, it's going just fine, internet. Thanks for asking. Aside from the heat and lack of air circulation in the office, things are mostly alright. The people are nice and so far I've made $294.

Monday was interesting. I kept getting random, shooting pains in my right boob and had to keep grabbing and massaging it. Inappropriate at the office? Sure. Do I care? Only for an additional two bucks and hour, so...no.

On Tuesday I tried to look real nice (we can basically wear whatever we want), so I put on my green sateen walking shorts that I bought at Walmart a couple of years ago. Well, it's butt-fucking hot outside and I have no air conditioning in my car and, as I said, it's kinda hot and stuffy in the office as well. About an hour into fanning my way through the work day I adjusted my pants and noticed two huge panty line shaped sweat spots on the front of my pants. Awesome. Not at all embarrassing. I swear. Thank God I was able to fan them dry before I needed to get up from my desk.

The only bad thing about the job (aside from the boredom) is getting off work at 9:30pm. It's screwing with my eating. I have dinner at work, but as soon as I get home and see HUBS all I want to do is sit down and have a meal with him. I had just been eating a piece of cake after work (bad enough), but last night I gave in to full-on fast-food-o-rama. He had just gotten home and wanted a shake from Steak-n-Shake and Burger King, so, naturally, I joined him. One mocha shake, Whopper Jr, and a shared order of medium fries and onion rings later I felt sorta disgusted with myself and way too full.

Though, I must say, the food was so, so, gooood.

Taking Care Of Business

Don't let his cool exterior fool you. Tux loves money.

So I got word from my temp agency today that the job will officially last 2 1/2 weeks (starting tomorrow...EEEEK!). We've got some things we definitely need to buy with that money a little at a time. Here's the list, so I don't forget important stuff (Or get my hands on a check and go Oooh, money! Must. Have. Expensive. Cheeses.).

Things To Get

1) 2 forms of birth control. Uh, since we're really strapped right now I have been without my standard, mandatory two birth control thingies: Nuva Ring and Conceptrol.

2) Giant litter box with lid. In the past three months we've gone through about four litter boxes. We're having logistical issues with liner ripping and size which have led to boxes being thrown out in anger because they're literally crapped up and to having to pick up loads of litter and doody off the basement floor. No more. We've got our eyes on a box at PetCo.

3) Water filter. Our faucet filter was supposed to be replaced early last month. We'll need to get that done now.

4) Pet meds/Tux's annual vet visit. We've got three cats to keep Revolutioned up. A six month supply lasts two months split among them. And? It's time for Tux to get all his shots.

5) Food. Oh God, y'all. We had to seriously truncate our grocery shopping last time. I had to forgo buying animal crackers, mayo and chips, and we still spent more money than we should have. I am going to buy some good food. And, yes, I will buy at least one expensive-ass cheese.

6) An item of clothing, possibly a blazer. The interview suit I got two years ago is way too baggy and unstructured on me now. I fully intend to have it tailored when I get something more permanent, but until then, I at least need a blazer that fits better and won't kill me in the heat.

7) Anniversary-worthy dinner out. We're not talking about spending 100 bucks, but at least 50. This will likely involve booze.

That'll probably about do it for sort-of-extraneous spending from my temp job. It feels good to know that I'll be contributing financially again. Fuck, it really feels good.

Two Years And A Good Hat Later...

This is HUBS. Today, we've been married for two whole years. It occurred to me earlier that these two years have probably been filled with more strife than they would have otherwise, since I left my job mere months before our wedded union. Like how we're not going out or getting gifts tonight because we're out of significant amounts of cash for the next two weeks.

But, hopefully the next 3 to 4 weeks will be easier. I got called today for a temp assignment that should last at least that long. It's a telemarketing job. As excited as I am about making some money again, I'm a bit nervous too. I don't want to hate it. I hate hating things! Well, I start Thursday; let's all pray that I enjoy this enough to not cry at work for the next month!

A New Way To Do Things

Weekend Report

Saturday, past about 9 am? Felt like I'd swallowed one of these.

Today is Tuesday. After a boring day at work that went by blissfully fast (I was in an area where I couldn't see the clock. That actually helped a lot.) I got called off for today, which means I'm currently at home.

So far I've done 4 loads of laundry and gone through over 500 neglected emails. Not bad for 4 hours of awakeness and doing-stuff.

I hope everyone had a good Easter. Mine was ok. HUBS and I took my mom out to his parents place for the annual Easter dinner. Mom had never been out there before because of taking care of my grandmother. I was a bit surprised she agreed to go and didn't back out. When I talked to her that morning, she sounded quite down. This is the first holiday without my grandmother and it's been almost a year to the day since my uncle died. She didn't say it, but I know that stuff was weighing on her.

Everything went fine, but my day was only ok for two reasons. First, I was a bit afraid to eat. Why? Because on Saturday, after taking almost the whole week off "sick", I really did get sick. Big sick. Doing-scary-things-in-the-bathroom-that-no-one-wants-to-think-about sick. I was trapped in there for about an hour. Unfortunately, the thing that seemed to irritate my stomach this time involved jalapenos. Just so you know, spicy in = 1,000 times spicier coming out. It took a full day for my throat to stop burning.

The second reason I wasn't that great was because I knew I'd have to go back to work Monday. I actually almost started crying during the car ride home.

Really? I'm going to try to stop complaining about my job in this space now. I've just realized I'm tired of it. That probably means you're getting tired of it, too. Of course, if anything completely outlandish happens you can totally expect me to tell you about it!

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On a completely different note, HUBS and I went to see Clash of the Titans Saturday after I recovered for a few hours. I found it exciting and enjoyable. We also walked around the mall a bit, which wore me out a lot more than I was expecting. We managed to finally get HUBS a new pair of glasses, something that's been on our list since January. Rectangularish, gray frames will be a new look for him. I'll submit a photo when he's all glassed up.

There's a Discovery

I've taken off work 4 of 5 days this week and you know what? I fucking loved it.

I wanted to finally get started on some big things I've got planned for myself, and the best way to do that was to pretend we don't need my fifty buck a day job for this week.

I already have no idea what I did with my Tuesday.

Wednesday was relatively un-productive. I listed some long-neglected items on ebay, took a three hour nap and then cried to HUBS and my mom about how things just are not the way I want them to be and how often I feel like I'll never have the life I really want (if I even really know what that is).

Thursday rocked ass. Making major headway on my list helped me feel like good things were possible. Even though, I found out this week that my only two paid writing jobs have dried up because both websites are "restructuring." I'm trying hard not to freak out about losing $450 in monthly income.

And then there was Friday. HUBS took the day off for Good Friday, we slept late, ate leftovers for lunch, watched soaps, played around online, got him an eye exam, shopped at Super WalMart and had our usual Festival of Trying Different Things after grocery shopping.

During my freak out on Wednesday I realized something. I hate waking up in the morning when I know I'm going to work. This is the same thing that happened at my last job. What I realized is that I don't want to not wake up just because of how I make my living. Also, I don't want to spend all day at work the way I've been spending it: wishing the day were over. One day my days will be over and that will be all. I don't want spend all my time wishing time would speed the fuck up. I want to be able to enjoy most of my day, even if I'm at work. I'm tired of work standing in the way of my life.

Well, this week was nice. Happy Easter, all! Here's hoping you have a great weekend.

Ick

Prettiest fungus ever.

I've been working pretty steadily for about 6 weeks now. Time at work=money for us. But it also seems to equal something else.

In those past 6 weeks I've gotten more rashes, zits that won't go away and funguses than ever before. You already knew I worked in a filthy warehouse, now my body knows it too.

I itch more than ever before and in strange places. Thigh and neck areas that don't even touch the filth. (Although, we worked with fiberglass a couple of weeks ago and I did manage to get some in my neck. Yay.) Also? Every skin issue I've ever had has re-occurred recently. That means that all at one fucking time I've been subjected to athletes foot, jock itch (Yes! So feminine and sexy!), and a yeast infection. And, I'm pretty sure the mole on my neck that's been the same small size for five years is actually growing.

I am now a living petri dish of awesome.