Follow-up Friday Came Early

I didn’t do much following up today because a) I did a lot of following up yesterday and b) I pulled another all-nighter last night (more about that later).

Currently, I’ve been exploring some options for part-time jobs that would provide steady income and still allow me the flexibility to continue freelancing, which, almost exactly a year later, still feels like the right lifestyle for me. Here’s what I’m considering:

1. Yesterday, I had an interview with the local library for a part-time teen librarian position. Awesome work, awesome hours (late afternoon and one Saturday a month). They warned me that competition was stiff, but I was the only candidate without a library sciences degree who got an interview, so that was flattering.
2. I also applied for a Saturday mail delivery position. I’ve worked for the post office before so I’m already “in the system.” Working every Saturday might be a drag and would throw a wrench in my long-distance writers’ group plans, but the pay is very good, so it might be worth it just to repay “the Europe fund.” (Yes, you can expect a hiatus or at least slow-down here from Nov 9 – Nov 25, eek!)
3. My sister offered me a “relief” receptionist position at my brother-in-law’s business. I’d only be needed when she or her husband couldn’t be there. She offered minimum wage, but also high-speed wireless and permission for me to spend my time there doing work for my other clients. So I could get paid twice for the same hours. How many employers offer that?

I’m also officially writing a short story for the Family Matters contest, I had a chapter to send to my writers’ group from my novel again, and I have a handful of vociferous comments on my latest YA Catholic blog post to respond to (I think I really am a glutton for punishment.) Also, of course, I have to put the finishing touches on my Halloween costume. It’s nothing fancy, but it is literary, which means that I’ll be posting pictures here.

And as for that all-nighter? I was working on a production push for NewMoon.com. This is a fairly new project in my repertoire, although I’ve been working with NM.com since its launch last September. Production pushes are essentially “upgrades” to the site, which we do in the middle of the night because there are fewer girls online to notice any glitches or downtime that result during the push. Although I thought my night owl days were far behind me, I enjoy the production pushes.  They’re like the digital equivalent of the “laser readings” I used to do on the magazine — one last, intense look at the magazine in its entirety before it went to press. Like those readings, production pushes are intense work, but like those readings, they’re also very gratifying — to see weeks or months of work all come together in one final product at last (although on the web, unlike in print, nothing is ever truly final — which means I probably have many more all-nighters to look forward to in the future!)