Yesterday a former colleague of mine at the magazine asked me, "Well, so, is life just awesome now that you get to work for yourself, or is it stressing you out beyond belief?"
To which I replied: "Yes."
Truthfully, my answer to that question tends to vary pretty widely depending on the hour you ask me. Sometimes I have days where I think this is the coolest thing in the world. I'm proud of myself for not being afraid to go it alone. I can own up to the fact that I'm not going to make anything close to a full-time wage in the beginning, but I feel good overall, because I believe in my ability to eventually build up enough contacts and assignments and projects to continue this career that I love.
Other days? Not so much. Those are the days I get super impatient and frustrated that I'm not getting the call-backs I really wanted. Those are the days I go for walks around the block in the middle of the 107-degree afternoon just because I need to get out of the office and breathe some different air. Usually accompanied by head-shaking.
But the hope and common sense in me have not yet failed to straighten me out again. I mean, things are looking up. Yesterday I received official notice from Ahzooey (sorry, I mean, AZUI -- Arizona Unemployment Insurance) that I am, in fact, approved to receive benefits.
This comes after the fact that the payroll company (who, weirdly enough, according to the government and for tax purposes I guess, is my employer, rather than the magazine, which I was hired by but who contracted the payroll company) declared I had voluntarily given up my job. Now that just isn't true. So after explaining to Ahzooey that I was laid off under the state's definition of "one's job [being] moved beyond a reasonable commuting distance" (I'm pretty sure Phoenix to Los Angeles counts), I received a nice letter in the mail yesterday informing me that the issue had been cleared up and I was approved to start receiving benefits.
Ahzooey's letter says:
"You are eligible for unemployment insurance."
Then there's a lot of blank space. Below that:
"You indicated you were laid off or discharged from your last employer. Your employer was the client of a leasing agency that has a rule regarding reporting for subsequent employment after your assignment ends. However, there is no reasonable expectation that you should have know about this rule, because you did not have direct contact with the leasing agency ..."
Ummm ... YEAH. Of course I didn't know about that rule! What does that even mean?? What, was I supposed to show up at the office of the company who handled our payroll and be all like, "Yo, reporting for duty. What else can I copy edit for you fine people?" Crazies.
I also got word on fees for a few of the upcoming articles I'll be completing for the magazine. Because I'll be doing both the writing and photography, the total for those should come close to $1,000, depending on how many photos they end up printing. Which is a nice number. Until I consider that the payments will be spread out over four months, so it's really like I'm averaging $250/month with that ... But let's not get bogged down by accounting details, right? I'll take it.
Also, I did find some good information in Palm Springs that I think I can use. But because that's still currently on spec, that subject is lower on my priority list right now. What isn't low on my priority list, however, and needs to be finished as quickly as is humanly possible, is completing many, many blog posts within the next few days for the website I'm writing for. Since I'll be in Santa Fe Sunday through Wednesday of next week, that means I need at least four posts completed ahead of time that I can schedule to go up automatically on those days, in addition to my posts for today, tomorrow and Saturday. So a week's worth of posts completed by Sunday morning, that's my goal. If I don't make it, I'll just be working late-ish those evenings I'm in New Mexico.
Speaking of which! I'm super excited about that trip, as the resort and its PR company is going to be treating us really well. (I say "us" because this is a press trip for a group of reporters and other media persons. Think of it as summer camp for journalists, lol.) We're touring the Santa Fe Opera, visiting the Railyard District, seeing art galleries, trying awesome Mexican restaurants, going on a nature walk, participating in a yoga class, receiving "Mountain Spirit Purification" treatments at the spa ... It's going to be ridiculous. And amazing. Probably ridiculously amazing. I'll blog the whole thing if I'm not working like a fanatic in the evenings. And then when I get back, I'll have nine days to write two articles about the details of my trip, etc. !!!
OK, enough procrastination, I'm off to churn out some words.
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