Get a Real Job? Not Me!

I’ve worked some strange jobs. Paintball magazine editor doesn’t even top the list, which is pretty unusual considering the sports demographic is 89 percent male and, well into my adult life, I’d never played any organized sports or held a gun.

But I’ve also worked promotions for a country radio station, been an advice columnist for an online men’s magazine, and, more recently, a beauty product tester.

And the Auction Jobs. Ah, the famous art & sports memorabilia silent auctions for charity, which I blogged about in this post.

I work auctions about two nights a week to supplement my freelance writing income. Not only is it fun (most of the time), I’ve also made some great connections. But I don’t need to justify myself… Really. ;)

The other night, at a hoity-toity hospital fundraiser, I started a conversation with the lady selling raffle tickets, a volunteer for the organization. She asked if I worked for the hospital (a common question for the night; many people started conversations that way, by means of introduction.)

I replied, “No, I work for the company running the silent auction.”

“Oh,” she said. “That’s a job?”

“Um, yes,” I replied, wracking my brain for a snappy comeback. “But I also own a magazine,” I added, by means of salvaging some self-respect.

Why I should care, I have no idea. They say women begin “discovering themselves” in their 30s, blossoming into confident, glamorous, devil-may-care vixens, secure in themselves, their careers, their sexuality, their life-choices. When will I get the inner confidence and self-respect to just let these things slide, rather than feeling like I have to prove myself to complete strangers?

Regardless, I felt it necessary to defend my life and justify my means of income.

Then, out to dinner last night with a close friend, we started talking about holidays off. Because my husband works for the school district, he has most of this week off. My friend, who works for a bank, gets to leave early Christmas Eve, but was lamenting working on Black Friday.

Then she added, “Well, you don’t have to worry, Dawn. You don’t wor— “

I stopped her mid-sentence, pointing my fried shrimp at her like a loaded weapon. “Go ahead,” I dared. “Finish that sentence.”

“Well, I mean… you don’t have a real jo—“

I smirked, one eyebrow raise, shrimp still poised for attack.

She finally found the proper phrasing. We’d been through this before. “You get to set your own hours and you don’t actually have to DRIVE to an office,” she finished.

“Yeah, isn’t it great?” I grinned at her.

I know freelancers can relate to this... Writers, I'd love to hear your worst "my family/friends just don't understand what I do" stories.

E-mail Free Fridays?

Read an interesting segment at Christopher Null's Working Guy blog today.

In a nutshell, a group at Intel is instituting e-mail free Fridays. They recommend employees forego e-mail in favor of a phone call or a walk to their co-workers office. (This also fits with the increased emphasis on corporate health and fitness in some companies!)

I like this idea! Being an e-mail/forum/blog IM junkie, I'm going to try it.

E-mail Free Fridays pose a few unique challenges for freelance writers, at least until everyone in my circle knows the situation. I'd hate to miss an assignment because I didn't answer an e-mail (and that keeps the editor waiting over the weekend, too). And, of course, if story assignments are due, I have to e-mail those in. So here are my rules:

* I will check e-mail only once in the morning, at lunch, and before I finish for the day.

* I will scan e-mails, and respond to any that I can with a phone call.

* If they can't be replied to by phone, and are not urgent, (ie, assignment-related) they don't get answered until Monday.

* Story submissions may be e-mailed. And query letters. But that's it.

* Additionally, I may post to my blog, but not check to see if I received any comments (which I do compulsively!)

* Forums and AIM are completely off-limits. Blogs are okay, ONE visit per blog. (ie, no comment conversations for the day).

I don't have any fear of the phone, but I think this would be a great exercise for writers who try to avoid the phone, too. I'm curious to see if I get any more work done on Fridays with these rules instituted.

I'm starting now by turning off AIM.

Anyone going to join me?