Friday, November 21, 2008

Back to Work?

As you may imagine it is tough being the money saving mom sometimes, especially when you have no money to save. The Bean and The Bear had a paying job this week, which was great. It wasn't the best environment, (inside at 5:30 p.m. with a four year old, a one year old, and a two month old), and even though not everyone cooperated at the same time we got some great shots.

The thing is, I feel like I have been making progress in a lot of my goals so far. The running is coming along and some of the weight is coming off. The novel is at least being looked at, even though it isn't close to 50,000 words yet, and I am writing almost everyday on the blog. The problem is training for a Turkey Trot, writing a novel and blogging doesn't really pull in a giant salary. I think that my Feng Shui might be off. Perhaps the career/finances area of my home is literally my toilet. Anyway, a while ago, I told you that I signed up with a temp agency who places "creative" talent in temp positions. Yesterday, I got my first call.

I always hated starting a new job. The learning curve is always just a pain in the ass. You have to ask a million questions, get people to talk to you, figure out where the bathroom is and how long you can linger at lunch. Being in a temp position has its benefits, the number one benefit is knowing you won't be in that position for long. However, I was nervous this morning walking into the unknown. It is always a bit scary, especially since I haven't worked in an office setting for a long time and because I wasn't familiar with the environment that I would be working in.

So, I arrive a good 10 minutes early and was shown to an empty desk where the proofreader sits. My contact was in a meeting so from 9 to 9:30 I just read over my novel and started to make some changes. At 9:30 someone dropped off a project and hour later I was done. Someone dropped off one more and by 11:30 I had completed all the work they had for me. The minimum amount of hours I had to work was four. So I was guaranteed a half-a-day's worth of work and was to leave at 1 unless they really needed me. What I forgot was how much downtime there is in an office. I didn't have computer access and was grateful that I brought the novel along but I also felt guilty because essentially I was sitting there getting paid to edit my novel. I guess things could be worse.

I left at one, met my husband for lunch and was home in time to hang with the Lady. Getting out of the house was good and it was nice to concentrate on something else besides nap schedules and wrestling small objects out of the Lady's grasp. I am hoping more opportunities come my way not only for the extra income but to help me step out of my comfort zone a bit as well.

2 comments:

  1. I did not know where the bathroom was in my office for about 2 weeks. I finally followed somebody and was able to find it. Congratulations on the paying gig, but I was really looking forward to your thoughts on what Ashley Simpson named her new son- Bronx. Joe Simpson must be fuming right now.

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  2. I am still writing the Ashlee post. I needed time to process. Should be up by later tonight.

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