Knock Knock

About ten years ago when I was just starting my career, my husband did a few film gigs.  He and his epic red hair won the part of William Clark in a Discovery Channel special about the Corp of Discovery.  He also auditioned for a reality show and he appeared as an extra in a movie that filmed nearby.  He gave my picture from The Merchant of Venice to the casting agent and I got a call out of the blue.  Apparently the representative for First Interstate Bank wanted me for a commercial shoot the next day.  Super short notice and it meant I'd have to call off my regular job--a job I just started--and drive about 90 minutes to somewhere I'd never been and I'd be wearing a swimsuit in the snow to film this commercial.  While I was flattered, it just seemed so incredibly unethical for me to call in sick and leave all my teammates scrambling so I could go play.  I said no.  Needless to say, the agent never called back.  Thanks in part to this episode, I've grown to a point where I think I should say yes when opportunity knocks.

Consequently,  I'm working three jobs again.  Just to be clear, this isn't a money grubbing ploy to grab all I can.

What?  Every blog needs a little music break now and then.

I am, however, finally taking action to move my career in a new direction and keep it moving.  It all began with a book and an impulse.
Some years ago, my mother gave me a book by Suze Orman.  One detail I recall suggested that women have more than one way to make money.  It took me awhile, but I finally started actively pursuing this idea.  My health concerns finally seemed to be under control, my artistic pursuits were flourishing, and the time seemed right.  I dusted off my resume, did a quick Google search for online tutoring opportunities, and applied to a few sites.  Then, came The Silence.

If you're not a Whovian, you might not get that reference.  I find this hysterical.

The spring came and I attempted to go with the flow as just about everything in my professional life went topsy turvy.  Quite unexpectedly and serendipitously, I received a job offer for an online writing tutor.  The training at times baffled me and I found not being able to speak to an actual person when I was struggling quite vexing.  This is quite funny to me in hindsight because at the time, it was no different than what was going on at my day job where there were actual people!
Anyway, I made it through the training and hit the ground running with 15 hours a week.  That turned out to be a lot.  I wanted at least one day a week to me and my pursuits of reading, crafting, and potentially gaming.  Everyone needs a little rest ya know?
Shockingly, I also had the chance to write a brief article online about my time at the Las Vegas Bellydance Intensive and Festival.  That opportunity was not even remotely on my radar, but I would have been totally insane to pass it up!
I also received another unexpected occasion to edit a novella for someone thanks to a mutual friend's brother.  Word of caution: if you agree to edit for grammar and mechanics and you state verbally that you want to keep communication online, you should always keep a log of what transpires.  We meet some interesting folks in our lives and sometimes the more you get to know them, the less contact you want to have.  Live and learn.  Eventually, I did complete this novella and I did get paid for it and I hope my advice helps this fellow.
By year's end, I added three resume points to my writing record.  Sweet!  I was on a roll!  At the start of this year, I thought maybe I'd explore further and found a site for freelance writing gigs.  After playing around on the site, I concluded that perhaps this was more than I could do right now.  Maybe I should wait until summer when things calm down a bit so I could devote more time to being a freelancer.  Then last week, I received a surprise invite to apply for a potential long-term article assignment.  My shock stems from the fact that I have neither finished my online profile nor have I tons of experience with free lance work; I don't even have my bellydance article linked to my profile.  None of this seems to matter.  The job involves up to 6 articles a week, templates for easy online posting, use of Googledocs, and I get paid...a pittance, but it's paid writing work!  I am awaiting my first assignment.  I'm way more nervous about this than even auditioning for a part in a musical.  More nervous than performing a bellydance with a sword.  More nervous than appearing in a commercial in a bikini.
But I said yes to opportunity.  I'm telling my nervous Doubting Thomas to bugger off.  Holy crap.  What have I done?