Tag Archives: job

It’s Always Unexpected (or Sending Positive Energy To A Co-Worker)

Posted on October 25, 2013 | Comments Off on It’s Always Unexpected (or Sending Positive Energy To A Co-Worker)

So we’ve been back at work since Tuesday, and while not everyone has been at every shift, there’s been one co-worker who hasn’t been back yet. I knew he just had some dental work, and we all thought that he was recovering from that.

But yesterday, he came into work to talk to our boss about something. Then he came out and told us the news: he has liver cancer.

I’m not sharing who this is to protect his privacy (I didn’t ask him if I could blog about him). But even with this person being anonymous, I’m hoping that we can all share some positive energy his way.

When he told me the news, the next thing he wanted to talk about was my mom. He knew that my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer before we all went on unemployment. And he was always asking about her and hoping for the best.

My mom is extremely lucky to have a lot of amazing people in her life. Everyone I know is sending her positive energy and healing thoughts every day. My friend Erin (who does my hair) made a donation to breast cancer research in my mom’s name this week. And my birthday twin Joanna dedicated her yoga practice one day to my mom. I know that every bit of this is helping. I’m not the sort of person to believe in prayer (I was raised very very reform Jewish and we never really went to temple), but I believe in positive thoughts and energy. And I know that it works. My mom is the proof.

I can only hope that my co-worker has the same type of people in his life. Of course I’m going to be thinking about him everyday and sending positive thoughts his way, but I know that the more people who do it the more power it has. This particular co-worker doesn’t really use the internet so I don’t really have a way to connect with him while he’s getting treatment. But I’m still going to send him positive energy even if he doesn’t know about it.

And what I’m asking of all of you is one simple thing. If you are sending positive thoughts, healing energy, or prayers to my mom; can you just add my co-worker to your thoughts? I know that you all don’t know him, but I know that he would appreciate it.

Thanks everyone.

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Default ThumbnailShould I Stay Or Should I Go? (or More Day Job Issues) Default ThumbnailF#*k Cancer (or Proof That My Mom Is A Badass) Default ThumbnailActing Like A Duck (or Reminding Myself That Positivity Is Important) Default ThumbnailA Phone Call Can Change My Future (or Making Plans) Default ThumbnailFeeling Jet Lag Without A Time Zone Change (or Back To Home) Default ThumbnailToo Many Complaints (or Trying To Get Back To Being Positive)

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Posted in Family, Health, Tough Stuff, Work

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Busy Work (or It’s All Coming Together)

Posted on October 24, 2013 | Comments Off on Busy Work (or It’s All Coming Together)

Once things start to get busy it all gets busy! Isn’t that the way it always is? When you have nothing to do, there is nothing to can go to do. And when you are scheduled like crazy, you have to add more things to your day.

Work is work. I had some good sales yesterday which made me happy. And I’ve got full shifts for the rest of the week before the weeks of not being able to work everyday start.

I’m also doing some work for here. I’m hoping to make my blog better than ever. It takes time, but I have some things in motion that I hope will come through in the near future.

And the Beverly Hills Shorts Festival is coming together! I had a call with the other two co-directors the other night and we’ve started to plan out how things will work this year. I’m surprisingly not nervous about running the festival for the first time. I’ve been a part of it for so long that I’m excited to add on some responsibilities (although I’m very sad that I won’t be seeing the other co-directors this year). I’ve been making lists of things I need to do and I’ve started to contact past volunteers to see who would like to be part of the festival this year.

By the way, if you are local to LA and want to volunteer for the film festival, leave a comment and let me know! I know I’ll need volunteers and I’d love to have some blog readers there!

Finally, I’ve been sitting down and figuring out my next job move. Obviously right now I can’t leave my job. I still have debt to pay off, but I’m making a list of what I want in my next job. I can look while I’m employed and not have the pressure to have to take a job that isn’t right for me. But unless I list out what I want, I’ll never know if a job has everything I need.

I’m loving being busy with things that I enjoy. This is all I want in life. Even though I’m still at my day job, at least I have a lot of time filled up with fun things. And you never know when those fun things can result in a new day job!

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Default ThumbnailExciting News (or Sometimes It Pays To Wait It Out) Default ThumbnailOpening Night Party (or Getting To Be A Party Hostess) Default ThumbnailBeverly Hills Shorts Festival (or Remembering To Breathe After Being So Stressed) Default ThumbnailCatch Up Time (or A Blog With Lots Of Random News) Default ThumbnailJust A Normal Weekend For Me (or Lazy Days Are Surprisingly Busy) Default ThumbnailAnother Festival Done! (or My Weekend With The Beverly Hills Shorts Festival)

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Posted in Fun Stuff, Work

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Back To Busy (or It Comes Back So Easily)

Posted on October 23, 2013 | Comments Off on Back To Busy (or It Comes Back So Easily)

Yesterday was my first day back. And man did I fall back into my work pattern quickly.

Not all of my co-workers were there, but it was enough of us to feel like a normal work day. And we really got back to work as if we had never left.

There were some changes we all had to note, but those happen all the time so it wasn’t something that made it feel like we were returning from a break.

And while the day did seem to take forever (it doesn’t help that the sun keeps setting earlier), I did make it through the day. I think the fact that this will be a short week will help me.

Most weeks until after Thanksgiving will be short weeks for me. This week we skipped Monday. Next week, I’m missing Saturday because I have a 5K. The week after that should be a normal week unless something comes up. The week of the 15th my dad is coming to town for a show (and he’s going to check out spin class with me too!). After that I have the film festival. And then it’s Thanksgiving. So that’s only one full 6 day week until Thanksgiving is over.

That will definitely help me feel like I have more time. Even though my days off will be packed with other things, they are all things I chose to do and love (well, maybe I don’t love the 5K but I tolerate it).

I’ve already let my boss know about my crazy schedule, and since I told him in advance he’s cool with it. I just have to make sure I make my work days as productive as possible so I can make enough money to pay for everything.

I know that the next few weeks are going to fly by, but the day-to-day life at work can be a bit slow. So I just need to focus on the big picture and I know that I can make my time at work as efficient and profitable as possible!

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Default ThumbnailBusy Work (or It’s All Coming Together) Default ThumbnailCatch Up Time (or A Blog With Lots Of Random News) Default ThumbnailA Quick Post (or I Really Hope I’m Not Getting Sick) Default ThumbnailBusy Time (or Scheduling Again) Default ThumbnailAnother Busy Day Off (or Getting Everything Done and Nothing Done At The Same Time) Default ThumbnailBusy Unemployment (or Maybe I Over Scheduled)

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False Start (or My Real Last Day of Unemployment)

Posted on October 22, 2013 | Comments Off on False Start (or My Real Last Day of Unemployment)

So I was supposed to start back at work yesterday. I was all set to go back until Friday evening.

I was working the show shift at work and once the show started, I checked my phone. There was a text message from my agent letting me know that I had an audition for a recurring role on a tv show on Monday. The audition time was at 3pm, kind of in the middle of my shift at work. So I let my boss know that I would try to come in, but since the audition was in the valley and I work in Santa Monica it could be tough with traffic.

My audition went great. It’s hard to tell when you only have a few lines to say, but the people in the room smiled after my read and genuinely seemed to enjoy it. I was done and ready to deal with all the crazy traffic to get back to Santa Monica when my boss called.

I guess nobody else was able to work yesterday either. 2 of my co-workers had to work at another job, one had a doctor’s appointment, and the other showed up but he had to go home sick. So my boss let me know not to come in since he was leaving. And our first official day back was moved to today.

It was a relief not to have to rush back to the other side of town. I was able to take my time driving and run a few errands that I forgot to do over the weekend. I spent last night catching up on my reading and getting to bed at a decent hour so I would be nice and rested for work.

It was a nice surprise to have an extra day off. Even though I was prepared to go back to work, having the audition really made yesterday a more stressful day than I would have liked.

So now I’m off to work today. Of course, I could have another last-minute audition come in or something that prevents me from working the entire shift, but that’s how my life is.

I expect the unexpected.

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Default ThumbnailThe End Again (or Back To The Real World) Default ThumbnailAn Interesting Start To My Unemployment (or Trying To Always Look At The Positives) Default ThumbnailUnemployment Honeymoon (or I Need To Be Doing Things!) Default ThumbnailTaking Care of Me (or Making Sure I’m First in My Life) Default ThumbnailBack To Real Life (or One Week Of Normalcy) Default ThumbnailAnother Day Another Audition (or This Is The Life I Love)

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Posted in Acting, Fun Stuff, Work

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The End Again (or Back To The Real World)

Posted on October 18, 2013 | 1 comment

My unemployment is ending again. I technically still have this weekend, but I’m working a show shift tonight and am going to a show for fun on Saturday. So it’s kind of going to feel like a work weekend.

Looking back on this time of unemployment, I’m proud that I got a lot more done than I did last time. I did focus on looking for new work, but there was nothing out there right for me right now. I also worked on seeing if I could be self-employed, and while I think it is possible, I think to be fully self-employed is at least a year or two away.

I also focused on seeing friends and doing fun things. I made it to a bunch of screenings that I wanted to go to.

The big thing that I didn’t get done was start improv class. I really wanted to do that during my time off, but it didn’t fit into my schedule. I was looking at doing one of the intensive classes (where you go through an entire level in 2 weeks instead of 8), but the intensive class was when I thought I might be going home for a visit (that trip ended up being moved to December).

While I didn’t do everything I wanted to do, I was so much more productive with my time this time. It’s a good step for me. I wanted to prove to myself that I could stay motivated even without a set schedule. And while there were some lazy days, a majority of them weren’t. This makes me think that being self-employed is really an option for my future.

I’m making the most of my last weekend of freedom. Besides working and going to the show this weekend, I’ve got a WIF mentor meeting today and a paintball adventure on Saturday (I’m scared how bruised I might be after that).

While I’m not excited to go back to work, I’m excited to start making some money again (I still haven’t gotten anything from the unemployment office). And I’m excited to keep pushing myself to find a new and better job.

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Posted in Fun Stuff, Tough Stuff, Work

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Exciting News (or Sometimes It Pays To Wait It Out)

Posted on October 9, 2013 | 1 comment

I’ve got some exciting news to share with all of you! I’ve wanted to share it for about a week, but I had to wait for it to be official.

I’m the new festival co-director for the Beverly Hills Shorts Festival!

You all might be wondering what I’m talking about since I haven’t mentioned this festival before. Here’s a little back story.

About 7 years ago, I heard through The Actors’ Network that there was a film festival that needed volunteers. I was unemployed then so I figured I should check it out and maybe I’d meet some cool people. I enjoyed volunteering so much that I returned for every screening for the festival! I got to know the directors Dan and Laura pretty well because of that.

The next year, they asked me if I’d like to volunteer again. And of course I said yes! After the second year, they asked me if I’d like to become a staff member of the festival and be the volunteer coordinator. And again I said yes. So for the past few years, I’ve worked as the volunteer coordinator.

The only reason I haven’t mentioned this festival on the blog yet is because last year, the festival was held before I started blogging (I almost don’t remember a time I didn’t blog!). This year, the festival was moved to November.

But I’ve been a part of this festival for 6 years (this year will be my 7th) and I’m so excited that my role with them is expanding into something amazing.

I never would have guessed all those years ago that volunteering on a whim would result in something so cool. And I didn’t go into this hoping that one day I’d be a co-director. It just naturally happened.

I’m so grateful that Dan and Laura think that I should be the co-director of the festival. It means so much that they can trust me. I’m excited for the festival this year and just a little nervous to be running the show for the first year. But I know that this is only going to lead to more and more good things in my life.

And just in case any filmmakers are reading this, I still don’t get a say in the programming of the festival. Submissions for this year are closed now, but if you want to submit for next year, you are all welcome to. Just know that sucking up to me isn’t going to help you any! But if any of you want to help out with the film festival this year, leave me a comment and I’ll make sure to get back to you when I’m putting together the volunteer list!

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Posted in Celebrations, Fun Stuff, Work

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Unemployment Honeymoon (or I Need To Be Doing Things!)

Posted on October 8, 2013 | Comments Off on Unemployment Honeymoon (or I Need To Be Doing Things!)

I’ve hit what I feel like is the end of an unemployment honeymoon. It may have something to do with all the issues with unemployment I’ve had this time. I did finally get my letter in the mail that they are processing my claim, and I don’t believe that for any reason it should be rejected.

For a while, it was nice to sleep in late (until 8am sometimes!) and not have to worry about rushing around. But now I’m at a point where I’m working on trying to find things to do. It’s not like I can just go out and work. I am still registered as a substitute teacher but the district I work for hasn’t needed me. And I can’t force auditions to come my way.

So I’ve been working on finding something to do everyday. Sometimes it’s easy like going to Disneyland, but some days it’s tough. Yesterday, I had nothing that had to be done. No errands, no friends to meet up with, nothing.\

I know that I spent way too much time online yesterday. Time flew by while I was reading various news sites and before I knew it, it was the afternoon. So I went for a walk just so I would get out of my house. I’m sure I could have just spent my day without ever stepping outside, but I don’t want to get into that habit. When I’m working, sometimes it’s ok to have a day like that. But when I don’t have something that is forcing me out of the house everyday, I feel like staying inside all day could become a very bad habit.

I know I probably sound really ungrateful right now. There are plenty of people out of work who can’t receive unemployment benefits. At least with that, I should be able to pay all of my bills on time even without getting a paycheck this month. Not everyone can say that.

I went through this same thing last time I was unemployed. The grass is greener on the other side, no matter what side you were on. If only I could find a day job where it feels more like I’m unemployed while still getting a regular paycheck. That would be the ultimate dream!

But for now, I’m trying to be happy that I get to have free time like this and relax for a bit. And maybe I should stagger my errands so I don’t do everything in one day and then don’t have anything I have to do the next day.

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Posted in Fun Stuff, Tough Stuff, Work

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Unemployed Again (or Trying To Not Make It Feel Like Summer Break)

Posted on September 20, 2013 | Comments Off on Unemployed Again (or Trying To Not Make It Feel Like Summer Break)

It’s only been a week since I got back from my trip, but I’m now unemployed again for about 4 weeks (the return date is a little up in the air but it should be around October 21st).

This is my second time of unemployment with this job, but I’m going to try to treat it differently than I did the first time. Last time, we ended because the campaign that we were working on had ended. This time, we are taking a mid-campaign break.

Last time, it felt like summer break in school. It was the end of the year and I knew I would be coming back for the next year. This time, I’m hoping to not make it feel that way.

While I will be doing some fun things over my unemployment like going home to see my parents (and dog) and seeing my friends, I want to use this time to reevaluate some things in my life.

I’ve mentioned that the schedule of my current job is tough on me. I miss out on a lot of opportunities that I want to take advantage of. My job is my job, but it’s not my career. I spend so many hours outside my job trying to work on my career (imagine someone working as a lawyer but trying to go to medical school at the same time). I want to find a job that fits in better with my life, but I don’t know if one exists out there. I might have to create my own job, and that can take time to get established.

While I will be job hunting during my month off, I want to start the process of creating my own job. I highly doubt that I could get enough work going for me in a month to not have to return to my old job, but at least it would be a start. And if I happen to find a better job, I can work there while trying to establish my own job.

I know that a bunch of other actors create their own jobs and work for themselves, but it’s a scary thing. At least right now, I know that I will have money coming in and can pay my bills. If I only worked for myself, there are no more guarantees.

But if I don’t start working on my own job now, it’s just going to take me that much longer to get it to a point where I can support myself. I’m going to spend part of this weekend writing up a business plan and trying to take the first few steps on it. I have no idea what the timeline will be for me, but I know that if I have to go back to my old job in a month, I will feel better about it if I have already started my plan.

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Posted in Acting, Fun Stuff, Tough Stuff, Work

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Back To Real Life (or One Week Of Normalcy)

Posted on September 18, 2013 | Comments Off on Back To Real Life (or One Week Of Normalcy)

I’ve been back from Maui for a couple of days now. The first day was spent being pretty jet-lagged and sunburnt (even though I had sunscreen on my back, I got burnt while snorkeling).

I spent Sunday doing my usual chores and preparation for my work week. And then I found out on Monday that Friday will be my last day of work for a while. We will have another month of unemployment, which will be nice.

I haven’t quite figured out what I will do with the unemployment. I’d really like to see if I could find a new day job that fits in better with my life. Ideally I would find something that is work from home, but even something with more flexible hours would be nice (at my current job, I can only work scheduled hours not off hours). But I’ve found that many jobs that allow for that either don’t pay well or pay in a weird way (like transcription work that paid a couple of cents per line typed).

I put it out on Facebook and twitter that I’m looking for a new job and I’ve already gotten some offers of babysitting and organizing work, but those won’t be enough to be my only jobs if I decide to leave my current one.

If I can’t find something new and better, in late October, I can go back to my old job. I know it will be there waiting for me.

This is the same scenario I was in with the last unemployment month I had with this job. But I didn’t work as hard as I should have to find a new job. This time, I’m much more motivated. I’m starting to look at jobs now.

I think it’s pretty funny that I just had a week of relatively unscheduled time and was looking forward to getting back to a schedule only to find out that my scheduled time will only be for a week.

But I’m making the most of my last week of work. On Monday I had a really good sales day (I need it since it will be my last “real” paycheck for a month). And when I did my Sunday errands, I got everything I needed to make lunches for each workday (I’m excited to not have to go pick up a last-minute lunch this week).

And on Friday at 1pm, my last shift for a while will be done and I’ll be celebrating my freedom for a while. Until I freak out about how I’m going to pay my bills for October.

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Default ThumbnailFinding A Work/Life Balance (or Preparing to Not Be Unemployed) Default ThumbnailUnemployed Again (or Trying To Not Make It Feel Like Summer Break) Default ThumbnailBusy Unemployment (or Maybe I Over Scheduled) Default ThumbnailBack To Normal (or Catching Up On Life) Default ThumbnailMaking Time For Real Life (or Trying To Not Just Live Virtually) Default ThumbnailMy Strength In Real Life (or Helping A Friend Gave Me Some New Confidence)

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Posted in Fun Stuff, Saving, Tough Stuff, Work

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Back To The Grind (or Can I Be Unemployed Again Please?)

Posted on August 23, 2013 | Comments Off on Back To The Grind (or Can I Be Unemployed Again Please?)

I’ve been back at work for a couple of days now, and I’m seriously feeling burnt out. I felt this way last year too, but it didn’t happen as early in the season. Maybe this affirmation could have something to do with it?

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Could it be because we are supposed to have another break (and get unemployment) in the next month or two? Maybe I have something similar to senioritis from high school/college. I know that I should be not working soon and it can’t come soon enough.

Or maybe it’s because last year, I really didn’t know what I was in for. Each week could mean another huge turning point in sales. I thought that the end of the year was going to be as good as the summer was (it wasn’t). And this year, I know better.

I know I’m not the only one at my job feeling this way. You can’t expect people to work on phones for 40 hours a week (and 6 days a week) without them starting to go a little crazy.

But I don’t know what I want to do. I would like to find a job that fits in a bit better with my life, but that might be at the expense of it being a flexible job (which is a necessity for me). I’m looking into some options, but so far, none of them have been good enough for me to want to switch jobs.

At least I feel like I’m acting more mature about the frustration with my job now than I would have before. I’m not leaving my job until I have something better. And it has to be something better, not just something new, for me to leave.

And who knows, maybe with having 2 breaks throughout the year, things will be better for me. How it looks now, I’ll work for 5 months, have 1 month off, and then repeat. That’s not too horrible.

The one positive for all of this is that I am still doing well at my job. I’m making enough to pay all of my bills and the only thing I’m struggling to find the money for is the deductible to get my car fixed (which I might just end up putting off for a few months).

And please don’t worry that my boss might read this. First of all, I really doubt he reads the blog. But secondly, I’ve already had this conversation with him. He knows that the schedule is getting to me and that I’m thinking of moving on. There’s a pretty decent turnover rate with telesales people. It’s expected that I am ready for a new day job. And maybe by waiting this out long enough, I will book a really great acting job that will be able to hold me over for a few months while I look for something else.

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Posted in Tough Stuff, Work

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