April 27th, 2010So there I was....I had on my brown suit, my butter-fly collar, Buster Browns...I was looking GOOD! The world was so full of promise and life. I had the world on a string and the future was bright. I could do anything.
And then...life happened.
If you asked me two weeks ago what I do for a living I would probably pause and say, "I'm a bartender...but I also substitute teach." What I would liked to have said two weeks ago is, "I'm a teacher." Or, "I teach language arts at such and such high school." The problem is this silly little recession has put a BIG monkey wrench in my gears.
Two years ago (right before the recession)I decided to go back to school and get my Masters in Education at Portland State. The program takes a year if you want to go full-time which I did. It costs about $15,000 (Thank you Sallie Mae!) and requires that you student-teach for free at a local school--I taught at Beaverton High. Toward the end of my time at BHS I sat in at an all-staff meeting regarding the district budget. What it boiled down to was that there is/was no money in the coffers and the teachers were being asked to work for free for a week or so. What was even worse was that they discussed letting some staff go in order to save money. So there I was, sitting in an auditorium surrounded by disgruntled teachers who barely get paid anything anyway--some of whom were about to lose their jobs. I walked out of the meeting completely dismayed. What the hell was I thinking? My future as a teacher looked bleak. But I earned the degree, continued to tend bar, and when the school year started, got some steady sub jobs.
Well guess what? Subbing kind of sucks. Remember when you were in school and walked in to the classroom only to discover that you had a sub that day? Remember how you felt? Instant relief right? And why were you so happy? Because you knew that you could do almost anything you wanted for that period. You sure as hell weren't going to pay attention or do your work. Heck, I remember making a sub cry when I was in the seventh grade.
I must admit, I am a pretty good sub. But being a good sub means that you have to lay down the law as soon as you walk in the door. ANY sign of weakness and they'll eat you alive. You basically have to be a complete hard-ass until the final bell rings. I've discovered being mean to kids all day is no way to earn a living. It makes me head for the liquor cabinet as soon as I get home--and not in a good way.
So this brings me to today. If you ask me what I do for a living I will say, "I'm a bartender and a sub but I just started free-lance copywriting and I have one paying client. Would you like to be my second?" Yup, that's right, I've switched gears again. Let's face it, the school year is almost over and there's still not any teaching jobs on the horizon so I must adapt...and pay the bills. (Thanks again Sallie-Mae!)
When a friend asked if I would do some writing for her business, I said absolutely. (Did I mention that I also have a Masters in Technical and Professional Writing?) I'm writing everyday and I'm even considering starting a facebook page which I swore I would never do. I'm just trying to get my name out there, network, and hopefully drum up some business.
If anybody out there in the blogosphere has any advice or suggestions please let me know. I'll take all the help I can get.
I wonder what I ever did with that suit...
