How Losing My Job Cost Me My Marriage – Why It Was The Best Thing

How Losing My Job Cost Me My Marriage – Why It Was The Best Thing

134 days after I got married, I lost my job.  134 days is a very short amount of time before being forced to deal with the harsh realities of the real world.  That line in your vows – “for richer or poorer” – was quickly put to the test. Spoiler alert: we failed.  However, losing my job wasn’t the main reason why my marriage failed.  I will say, that although it may seem as though this is not a happy…

Read More Read More

4 Steps for Getting Gigs (Landing Freelance Work)

4 Steps for Getting Gigs (Landing Freelance Work)

After nearly four years of full-time freelancing, I’ve learned a trick or two about how to keep my family fed without having a traditional, full-time job. In my humble opinion, there are really four main areas of concern when it comes to getting work as a freelancer: landing the work scheduling the work completing the work and finally, getting paid for the work. The last three areas are really not an issue if the first one’s not happening (i.e. landing…

Read More Read More

Treading Water

Treading Water

Boston, 2006: I step down from a full-time editing job seconds before I’m sure to get a pink slip. I convince myself I’m ready to create my own work. And I do. I edit. I teach. I write. I even babysit. Ten years fly by in a blur – during which I accumulate exactly two things: telling experiences and untold debt. I try LA, then Boston, and then LA again. All complete busts. The unsteady diet of tutoring and teaching…

Read More Read More

5 Ways to Earn a Living While Unemployed (which I used)

5 Ways to Earn a Living While Unemployed (which I used)

I’ve been unemployed a few times in my life and during those times, while I looked for a job, I still had to earn money. While unemployment benefits are available for those who qualify, in many circumstances, not even that can hold down the fort until a new job comes along. And if you don’t have access to unemployment benefits that can be an even scarier situation. As you find opportunities to make money while unemployed, you may discover that…

Read More Read More

When You Need A Boot (Out the Door) To Take A Step

When You Need A Boot (Out the Door) To Take A Step

In October of 2016, I was laid off. I wasn’t surprised by the lay off; work had been dwindling for months. My last two months there, they had me doing the one task I explicitly said I desired not to do (make phone calls to strangers) almost exclusively. I was surprised by how powerful my feelings of self-hatred and worthlessness were. My self-esteem hadn’t been particularly robust before being let go from my first position in the legal field, but…

Read More Read More