All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go

Now that I've gotten that song stuck in your head… Today's the day, friends. Today I fly out to Vegas for the weekend, then spend the next three weeks in California, Arizona, Oregon, Washington, and Colorado. I have my plane tickets booked, rental cars reserved, and one hotel room waiting. Yes, just one. I'm determined to do most things as the mood strikes, but this one place just had to be reserved. Other than that? I have long lists of places to be and people to see, but I'm not exactly sure when I'll be where. So if we're supposed to hang out - I promise I'll give you as much notice as I can.

Today I have a new header on my blog. Check it out.

Today is my last day at my most favorite job in the world forever and ever amen. I will not cry I will not cry I will not cry.

Then begins the biggest adventure of my life to date.

Deep breath - here we go.

Being Professional on the Internet

You hear a lot about what you're supposed to share on the Internet, and what you should keep to yourself. I like to think that, despite having a blog and Twitter account, I'm pretty good at keeping private things private. However, not posting personal information all over doesn't mean I'm professional.

I've read articles about how to come across as professional online, mostly relating to writers. Don't give a bad review, don't respond to a bad review, don't use bad language, don't be negative, yada yada yada. It's also bad form to talk about your job, which I admit I used to do since I loved my job and didn't see any harm in raving about a good thing. And it hasn't, knock on wood, yet bitten me on the ass.

Oops, I just used bad language. And you know what? I've written a bad review, too. And I've ranted about companies that have ripped me off or provided despicable customer service, like Comcast. I don't see the point of giving a book/movie/album/product/ company a good review, or even no review at all, if you didn't like it. As a consumer, I find it helpful to read good and bad reviews about anything I'm going to spend money on. As long as a bad review doesn't stray into name-calling or senseless insults, I think it's valuable to read, and many authors who have spoken on the issue agree.

I've been thinking about acting "professional" a lot more lately, since I'm freelancing and networking. Both this blog and my Twitter account are linked on my website. Obviously I have no problem with people seeing this stuff, because I am posting on the Internet without password protection. I feel like my personality comes across in my blog, so if someone is screening me, finds this, and doesn't hire me because of it? It's probably for the best, because my "in-person" personality would more than likely be a bad fit with them. I've read blogs where the author is clearly concerned with staying professional; I didn't read them for long. They fell flat, they read like a textbook or newspaper article. Blogs are about personality!

My brother recently signed up for Twitter, and was asking me how to use it. We both follow people we're affiliated with/interested in professionally, but also follow a lot of friends. He wanted to know if there was a way to screen posts so professional people couldn't see what you were saying to your friends. I told him there wasn't, but I thought of Twitter as a fun way to network (compared to, say, resume-centric Linked In) and so I felt like there was a little more wiggle room. [[Though I'm still getting the hang of Google+, I love the idea of Circles, so your "Co-Workers" circle won't see everything your "Drinking Buddies" circle would.]]

I keep hearing conflicting reports about certain fields becoming more accepting of tattoos and piercings in the workplace, and I'm thinking (hoping) the same is true with Internet profiles. Social networking is huge, and companies hire for that specific position, so I think a good deal of professionals are okay with their employees having an Internet presence. That's not to say you can publicly blog about how much you hate your job, or tweet about a stupid policy your boss just enacted, and not expect consequences. But I also think it's silly to block access to all of your profiles "just in case" someone might find it. It's the Internet - someone's going to find it.

Got any thoughts on the issue? Let's hear 'em!

New Beginnings - AFR creative

I've been thinking seriously about my life path since the middle of last year, but have been especially focused on making changes since the beginning of 2011. I had given myself a time limit of two years at my current job (mostly to save money) before branching out and doing whatever I wanted to do to be happy. Well, obviously my company being shut down cut a year and a half off my timeline. Though I was initially scared to death, I'm now thankful for that kick in the butt.

I've been frustrated with myself over a year for having so many different websites: my photography portfolio that launched in 2005, my graphic design site that launched last year and fell to the wayside when I started working at the company, and of course this blog. I wanted to pick just one creative outlet and roll with it, but I couldn't choose between photography, design, and writing. Then I asked myself Why do I have to? If I love them all, I can balance them all.

I've launched a new site that will be the hub of my online existence. I have design samples, some of my favorite photographs, a link to this blog, my "published" writings, my Flickr... well, just check it out.

I have a project to accomplish when I travel, and thought having one cohesive site would be the easiest way to network while on the road. There's also the benefit of not feeling like a bump on a log while out of the workforce, because I'll be freelancing! I'll be generating new content (ahh, I'll miss hearing corporate buzzwords all the time) like a creative fool, "working" for myself, submitting art and words and basically finally focusing on my creative side full time!

Inspiration: Ryan W. Bradley

I can't remember how Ryan W. Bradley and I became friends, but we've been that way for over two years now. We've talked about everything, because he's one of those people you just feel comfortable opening up to, and I honestly doubt he has ever, in his entire life, been offended. Besides all that, Ryan constantly surprises me with how much he writes and I have to admit I have never known anyone who submits as much as him!

I'm one of those writers who produces a fair amount but rarely submits for publication. I'll write a story, edit it, workshop it, revise it, and admit it's ready to go out into the big bad world. But do I send it? Usually not. My submission spreadsheet (started in '09) has a meager 16 entries. Ryan probably has 16 A DAY.

Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating. A little. Ryan says:

I try to make at least 10 submissions a month, just to keep things going. I try to approach submissions like an assembly line, when a story, poem, or manuscript gets rejected I send it right back out to another journal or publisher. Since January of 2010 I have made over 300 submissions (fiction & poetry combined). Currently I have 30 fiction submissions outstanding.

Good god man!

You're probably thinking "Ok, so the guy writes and submits a lot. Whoop de doo!" Right? You can admit it. I won't get mad, and I think Ryan would probably just laugh, if he took a break from being creative long enough to engage in such foolishness.

The real reason Ryan is an inspiration to me is because he has a family. He has a wife and two sons and he works full-time jobs to support them. He has never complained about this fact, at least to me or online, which makes me feel really lame when I do complain about things, because I'm only responsible for one person.

Ryan supports a family of four, works full time, and still manages to write and submit a lot of fiction and poetry. And he doesn't just submit - he gets results! He has a list of publications; a chapbook, Aquarium; and short story collection, Prize Winners.

But it doesn't stop there! Ryan also works as the editor of Artistically Declined Press and does loads of design work at aestheticallydeclined.net.

I contacted Ryan to tell him how his drive inspired me, and he said this in response:

When I stop long enough to think about it, the idea of "work" or a "job" is very strange to me. I think maybe I was too naive when I was young, because I never thought about the fact that one day I would have to work and that "work" was unlikely to be writing or anything else that I loved doing. But the thing is I don't think about it in those terms very often.

Luckily, I found when I had my very first job that my work ethic seems to be inherent in my personality, so it feels natural that I would work to support my family. Love is many things, and I know my family loves me because they put up with having me around all the time, which I know isn't easy. Likewise, the best way I know to show my love for them is by making sure we can pay the bills, etc.

Are there days where I wish that I could spend all my time working on this damn new novel that I just want to finish already instead of going to work? Of course, but the satisfaction I get out of working hard for my family outweighs any momentary mopey-ness.

I think my favorite thing about Ryan's eloquent and concise response is that it inspires the hell out of me while making me feel guilty about the times I've complained about working just to support myself. Powerful words, Ryan!

Inspiration: Jas of Smile Big and Pretty

Today's Inspiration post comes courtesy of Jas at Smile Big and Pretty. I stumbled across her blog and was blown away first by her sense of humor, and second by her drive to make things happen. She's an actor who works a variety of odd jobs in order to pursue her dream, but she's decided to take the next step. I'll let her tell you about it.

- - -

Have you ever felt like you have exhausted all of your options in one place and that the only way for you to achieve the goals you want for yourself is to pack up and leave? I feel like that. My name is Jas and I'm currently an actor in the Atlanta market. It's dawning on me: I am only getting older. My window of opportunity is now. If I want a shot at what I have always dreamed of, then I need to go to where the work starts: Los Angeles.

Let's rewind for a second.

I have wanted to leave Georgia ever since I was old enough to know that I wanted to pursue a life in the arts. I wanted to move to Los Angeles when I graduated high school, but I let people tell me what I should be doing instead of what I needed to be doing. 
"Go to college," they said. "Yeah, go to college and get a degree. Have something to fall back on."

I'm going to be very honest: I wish I hadn't gone to college. I wasted so much precious time in school. In the film industry, do you know who cares about a theater degree if it didn't come from NYU, Julliard, or some other Grade A Institution? A degree will not get you a job. Your look, your agent, and (God willing) your talent will get you a job. You've got it or you don't - and half the time, the "it" factor doesn't matter. 

I put together packets with my headshot and resume and sent them out to all of the major Atlanta agencies. I waited. I received all kinds of positive buzz, but the one agent who would even speak with me told me this: "We don't know if you're marketable enough for us. Figure out your type and re-submit in six months."

I didn't understand. I was supposed to wait and try again in six months? I had done that before. I didn't have an endless supply of six months to spare while I waited for these people to wake up and realize that I could get work for them.

Finally, an actor friend of mine forwarded me an ad for a meet-and-greet with a new talent agency. "What do I have to lose?" I thought. I packed up my headshot and resume and drove out to a theater on the west side. 



I signed my contracts two weeks later. I got a callback on my first audition. I felt on top of the world. I felt like I had finally got that leg up that I needed and so desperately craved. I had an agent that I absolutely adored and I was right where the action was happening!

Right?

Wrong. You can call me the "Close, but no cigar!" girl. I'm the queen of callbacks and second/third/fourth tapings. I even "booked" something once - only to have the offer rescinded when whoever the hell made that call found a spritely looking blonde from Hollywood willing to work as a local hire in Georgia at the very last second.

I hear, "Love her, but her look isn't right," more than your mother has told you she loves you.

Someone tried to tell me, "Jas, if you can't make it in Atlanta then you won't make it in LA." I beg to differ. "Making it" in Atlanta has nothing to do with it. My logic? You can't "make it" if the opportunities aren't there. I want to be in a city where I can readily make my own opportunities. LA is bigger. There are more opportunities to network out there. There are more opportunities out there period. That's where I need to be for writing. It's where I need to be for stand-up comedy.

Women have gone out there with less than I have and made something of themselves.

I'm not stupid enough to anticipate overnight success. I know that I'm going to go out there and bust my ass for two years working a series of menial jobs while I rent out a corner of someone's living room. I will do whatever it takes; anyone who knows me understands that I am not above waving a sign on the side of the road if it means I can put more money into my savings account. I will be a dogwalker. I will be a brand ambassador. I will temp as much as I can. I would wait tables if I didn't suck so bad at it, but if it comes down to that then, dammit, I will do it.

My peers think that I'm cocky because I say Atlanta doesn't have enough to offer me. I don't give a damn. I gave Atlanta a shot. It didn't work. 

Now we're going to try something completely different. 

I'm armed with a demo reel, a voiceover reel, some headshots, some awesome LA contacts, an indestructable constitution, and a jawline that, let's face it, was far too exquisite for this town in the first place. 

I am going to make this work. 

(I need to figure out how to be a Hispanic woman. That's all I'm really trying to say.)

- - -

Go visit Jas at Smile Big and Pretty and read on
as she follows her dreams across the country!

Inspiration: Lauren of I'm Better in Real Life

I love reading Lauren's blog, I'm Better in Real Life, because she is unflinchingly honest. She rehashes fights with her fiance new husband!, discusses boob sweat in great detail, and waxes poetically about burlesque dancers and feminism. In short, Lauren makes me look at my own posts and think "What am I sugarcoating and why?"

Lauren has shared a lot about balancing her day job and writing, which is a problem I frequently find myself having. You work so you can enjoy your hobbies, but it's hard to find time and energy at the end of a long day. So what did Lauren do? (Hint: What is the one thing everyone tells a writer not to do?) That's right - she quit her day job.

She didn't do it on a whim; she thought it out, talked about it with her then-fiance (now husband, congrats Lauren and Kamel!), and figured out a budget (which means, in her own words, "we're broke but we can pay rent"). And she's been inspiring the hell out of me ever since. I emailed her to tell her this, and wanted to share some of her thoughts on the whole experience.

First, it's insane that I inspire anyone, as I am mostly rapt with fear. Failure is ultimately the scariest thing for me. I graduated with my MFA in 2009 and promptly moved back to Seattle, started working in a bakery (thinking an office job would suck my soul out through my toes and make it impossible to have time for writing), and felt utterly lost in my writing life.

After moving back to San Francisco, where she had earned her MFA, Lauren worked as a temp at a non profit.

The office manager told me, on my third day, that she had gone to school for Art History and that year would have been her 9th year at that company. She had tried and tried to get into the curator world, but had continually been turned away and had completely given up. She was super bitter and super resentful of her own life. I went home that day totally scared to death. I seriously saw my life heading down that path if I wasn't careful. I saw the possibility of tricking myself into becoming too comfortable with money and a job that was fairly easy and fairly stable. To me, that life would have been failure.

I am right there with Lauren. I never wanted an office job, but one fell into my lap. And I accepted it. And while I gave myself a time limit, who isn't to say I might have been reluctant to give up the safety and security of a job? I could be that employee on her 9th year, devoting no time to creativity and resenting myself for it. And, like Lauren, I view that as failure. I don't want to settle; I want to push myself and explore everything that is open to me.

Lauren is working now to build her own career being A Practical Wedding's Editorial Assistant, writing short and long fiction (she has a novel ready for edits and is starting a 2nd), and creating a solid reader base through her blog, which she calls her "creative jungle gym and a place where I can help cheer on other artists."

She's calling her venture into the writing life "a hodge podge of wordiness" - a phrase I'm totally stealing. And if this doesn't inspire you, you quite possibly have a black heart:

[A writing career] is something I've never had the time or opportunity to pursue. While I'm super stoked, I'm also wary of massive rejection. I'm treating writing like my job, instead of my hobby, because it is my job. It's what I went to school for, and it's the thing I do the best. It should be interesting…

What're you waiting for? Head over to Lauren's blog
to cheer her on and follow her adventure!

Ch-ch-changes

I'm not sure if you noticed, but I skipped posting a Sippable Story this week. Honestly, I didn't have one. All I had was a coffee mug imploring you to submit your stories. I was going to cut back to posting those every third Sunday, anyway, but then I decided to just let it go. You're more than welcome to still send in submissions, but they've trailed off and it seems like interest has died down, so I figured I'd take a hiatus. I can't tell you how much I've appreciated all your support, comments, and submissions! Hopefully you'll see that mug again.

On a similar note, this is the middle of the month, but I'm not posting my book reviews. Partially that's because I haven't been reading much as I wrap up work and get all my travel plans in order. But I'm thinking I'll phase out my recap posts, since I already share reviews on Goodreads. If I have a book I really want to rave about though, rest assured I will do so here.

So... what to post about since I've tossed my usual post? How about... random photos that make me laugh?


This used to be on my fridge.


A rundown, runover Barbie doll in my cousin's driveway.

Also, a hint of what's to come:
Since I've been talking so much about adventures and really living life lately, next week will be "Inspiration Week!" I'm going to showcase blog friends that have been inspiring me on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. As for Thursday, well, I have an inspirational announcement of my own! I hope you'll check them out - my spotlight posts and the bloggers I'm featuring!

I just love what you've done with your hair

I'm working out the final kinks of my first leg of travel. I'll be out west for about three weeks. I'm taking a laptop/camera bag and a large backpack-type suitcase. I'm bringing clothes that look nice wrinkled (sounds crazy but trust me, they exist) and can be worn over and over without looking ragged. Get ready to see pictures of me wearing the same clothes in a lot of different locations...

I'm fine with wearing the same clothes over and over, but I don't want to have a bunch of toiletries taking up space in my bag. This has never been an issue because I'm pretty low maintenance, but with my no poo lifestyle, I have more bottles and jars in my hair-care routine.

At first, I considered buying a box of baking soda and bottle of vinegar when I landed, but I'll be taking a few flights while I'm out west, so that could get messy to pack or would be wasteful to re-buy each time. I'm thinking of stocking up on empty travel shampoo bottles and doling out what I'll need. They'll be TSA regulation size so I can carry on my bag if I choose. I'm assuming that those working the checkpoint will know the difference between baking soda and other white powders...

Just in case I run into some trouble with that, I've been testing alternative methods of hair care. No, not shampoo - that'd be too easy! I usually go two days after washing my hair, then rinse it with water only, mostly just to feel like I'm doing something. My hair looks decent for another day or two just because it's so long, but the roots get greasy. Pulling it back helps me not think about it, but it still looks dirty on the third and fourth days.

"I wonder if I can pull off the head scarf," I mused aloud one day.
My mother assured me that I could, but she is my mother, and also thinks I need to cut off about 8 inches, so I have selective hearing when it comes to her advice.

Still, I'm inclined to agree with her here. I'll be temporarily homeless, wandering aimlessly, wearing wrinkled clothes - why not add a scarf tied over dirty hair to the mix? It will complete my costume flawlessly.

So I gave it a shot:


Despite what my averted eyes may imply, I don't totally hate the look. I only have two scarves that are long enough to use, but I'm thinking I'll raid my mom's sewing closet and cut some scraps. And if I look stupid, who cares?! I'll never see these people again anyway. (Except, you know, the friends I'm going to see that I actually will see again...)

Sippable Stories - Guest Post #4

You loved her last story, Bears, so Callie Leuck is back with another!





- - -
Callie Leuck enjoys fiction, coffee, and swing dancing. She is currently daylighting as a proposal writer for an IT company in northern Virginia and moonlighting as a science-medical writing grad student. Callie keeps a blog at http://callieleuck.blogspot.com/ which she remembers to feed slightly more often than her fish, Frankie II.

- - -

Submit your own Sippable Story! Check out the guidelines.

Also, be sure to check out my Uprinting.com giveaway! Win 50 free brochures
for yourself/your business/anything! It ends tonight at midnight.