Working for a Living (or free coffee)

As promised, I've been diligently looking for writing internships these past few weeks. I even got a tad bit obsessed with it on my vacation (which I don't recommend as that's not how vacations are supposed to be spent). What I'm looking for is simple. Or at least I thought it was simple. I just want to learn a bit about the publishing industry, get some writing cred and something that looks good on my resume. In exchange, I will contribute long hours, tireless patience, edits, re-edits and re-re-edits. Notice that I'm not asking for money? Nope, none. All that for free. But for some reason, despite the fact I am willing to be an editorial slave for a few months, it is still incredibly difficult to find this type of situation. Or at least this type situation that actually wants me.

This brings me to the thrust of this entry. While I freely admit that I am willing to give my time for free in exchange for some experience, I do not believe this should be the modus operandi for every person working out there. Take for instance, Rob (heart of my heart, washer of my dishes, blender of my margaritas). He is currently working a dismal job. His hours are long, his commute is an hour each way, his benefits are being cut and the company clearly cares very little about its employees. It affects his quality of life, my quality of life and our relationship. Recently both of us have vented about this to family and friends. To our surprise, their reactions weren't those of empathy or encouragement. Instead most people say something along the lines of "well, at least you have a job". When I have commented on how little teachers are paid or how I am stressed about the idea of having to find work after my temporary credential expires I have received the same type of responses.

This is dangerous thinking. Yes, we are in an economic recession. Yes, many people around us have lost their jobs and cannot find any work. Yes, it is fortunate to not be in that situation ourselves. But I think we are forgetting a few things. This recession is not an excuse to start expecting less out of the quality of our jobs. It is not a reason to stop expecting health insurance, or vacation or a comfortable work environment. The economy will improve eventually (with lots of work!), but then what will we be left with if we haven't held corporations and other businesses to a high enough standard when things were rough? The reason we have labor laws (not to mention weekends, maternity leave and worker's comp) is because people like us have been working for legislation and putting the pressure on employers to uphold those laws for many years. If we suddenly stop being vigilant in this we are doomed to regress.

When I do someday get a "grown-up" job (ie not nannying, or tempting or interning) I will look for an employer that values their employees' time and the contributions they make. But until then, I will say to the next publishing agency/website/weirdo hermit author looking for an assistant, "Use me! I'm yours for the taking!"

Oh yeah, I have a blog

I will be honest with you. I'm not a very good blogger. It's true. I have tendency to take long, leisurely hiatuses in which I don't so much as think about my commitment to my blog or really any personal writing for that matter. This is not good for a number of reasons. First of all, any person who wants to write has to have a blog. Let's face it, even people that don't want to write or aren't even very good at writing have blogs. I should be so exception to this rule. Blogging is where it's at, and I wanna be where it's at! ( still figuring out what 'it' is. will get back to you)

Since my last blog post almost an entire year ago I have moved back to the bay area, met the love of my life, worked as a nanny and a teacher and have finally come to terms with the fact that if I'm not working as a writer then I still have a lot of work to do. So here I am, back to documenting my post-collegiate life, one step at a time. At the moment, the job market is tough and I have to force myself not to become discouraged by its slim pickins. But on the bright side I make enough money to pay my rent, eat good food and still have some left over to play and travel. I live in a great apartment in the Lake Merritt area with two cats (who knew), a bunny and a very loving and domestically-inclined boyfriend. We even have a sliver of a lake view! Life is pretty peachy.

Right now I am sending out resumes looking for an editorial or writing internship to really get some hands-on experience in the publishing industry. The more I learn about writing professionally the more I realize it's not a career that comes to you suddenly. It has to be built over years of experience, persistence and diligent writing. I don't think this is something that comes naturally to most people, the whole making yourself do something for years and years without receiving a dime for it. It sure doesn't for me. But writing fills me and as many times as I may walk away from it for a while I always come back and it always feels like coming home.

I'll try to make this a regular post, not just about job/internship hunting, but about my whole, wide, ever-expanding life. Oh and I'll even figure out how to add pictures to make this a bit more visually exciting.

Peace out!