Adventures in oDesk (and Happy Equinox!)

I wanted to wish everyone a happy transition into Fall, though it is a day late (out-of-town appointment yesterday), vent some minor frustrations and broadcast some good news.

I have been looking for an extra assignment to add to my schedule, being out of school till January and, having quit Avon, able to take on more (looking to integrate my school schedule around a long-term thing). I applied for a few, earning a couple interviews, one for an editor position.

The lady writes me, asking if I'd be interested in a marketing apprenticeship instead, so I asked for the details of the position, hours per week and their flexibility (necessary for any WAH parent lacking a regular sitter), etc. She responds with only a link to her site. Alright.

Now, I thought the 'candidate must be emotionally stable and not blame others for mistakes' was a strange thing to put in a job description to begin with, but the website was full of poor sales copy, in which the potential customer is down-graded and has their intelligence insulted at every turn. Couple that with the fact that most of the site is repeatedly 'we are not a scam, depsite what past clients have said...they are only pissed that I was 5 minutes late calling them' (she even gives one former client's full name) and it becomes clear that perhaps this lady isn't playing with a full deck herself. Not to metion the job description didn't give any info on hours or specific duties, which was definitely another minus.

Deciding this wasn't someone I wanted to work for, I reply and tell her nicely that I looked everything over but didn't see how we could form a work relationship that was mutually beneficial and thanked her for her time, wished her well, etc. She writes back with a 'I can see you're not ready to work and commit, so I will go with your gut'...a 'nicely' put cheap shot to my ego that, unfortunately for her, isn't typically the type of thing that fazes me. She then ended my candidacy for the position (which I'd have done myself if I'd known I could have), claiming I 'disappeared and was very unprofessional'. OK, I'm good at being calm, but that one did piss me off just a little...though it didn't surprise me at all. At the end of the day, I'm convinced I made the right choice and would rather be called unprofessional than work for her!

At about the same time, I was approached about a research gig I applied for with an ecommerce company...and asked if I was interested in also doing some writing and perhaps marketing for the company. This company is based in my home state and the terms were out of this world (giving all the specs upfront too!), so I accepted and am their newest VA! The owner and I are in agreement that we don't like some of the marketing tactics used today and he is willing to help me learn what I need to know to run my own ecommerce site...very cool!

Actually, I am starting today with some marketing research for them, so I've gotta go! Happy Equinox everyone!

The September Whirlwind!

I hadn't meant to stay away so long, but this month has been insane, with good and bad extremes, and everyone I know has had no choice but to just run with it. I, for one, can handle some craziness and even enjoy it for the most part, but putting everything back together is a delicate, time-consuming dance.

I've even slacked on hours at work due to vacations and family emergencies, the first of which was picking Grandma up from out of town to take her to her school reunion in another state (vaca for my boyfriend, but since I still had to manage everything-not for me). What sucks is that while we were gone, we got a call from his cousin that his aunt had to be rushed to the hospital and put on life support...they had to take her off of it a few days later, unfortunately. Needless to say, we've been out of town quite a bit this month and running back and forth.

The good news is that we're finally ready to buy our own house...found some good ones, but it's time consuming and I haven't logged as many hours. I've been looking to add an assignment to my schedule, since we're up to date on surveys and I'm worried about less hours when we're trying to buy a home. I applied for an editor gig and was approached by them for a marketing apprenticeship, so *fingers crossed*. I want to start soon so that when school starts back up this winter, I can arrange my course schedule around it (I'll be back in a physical classroom, so timing's tricky).

I haven't forgotten my business plans...in fact, it's one reason (maybe the main one) we're looking at buying-to have more room for production/distribution and more room in general...this apartment is getting cramped!

I figure it will take me a couple weeks to readjust, but I'm hoping to take a day a week to catch up with my online buds and unwind! Thanks for bearing with me...you guys are awesome!

The Evening Wind-Down

When the kids are asleep, school clothes set out, the house is clean and put away...

...now's the time to get out that book you've been taking forever to read, call/email that friend you've been meaning to get ahold of, give someone you love a hug without worrying about what else needs done today...

...grab a cup of your favorite drink, breathe and relax...