Production.

As a freelancer, a significant amount of my "free" time is spent looking for work.  Nowadays, that means sending out emails.  Sometimes, they include my availability.  Sometimes, they include questions that I have been meaning to ask.  Sometimes, they are just simple hello's.  All this to keep all five of my bookers thinking of me.  That's it.  Just thinking of me.  Because when a new job pops up, I want to be at the forefront of their minds.

And it works.

It works so well that four out of the five companies I work for have me as part of the core group of go-to cooks.  It's a great feeling.  And it helps prevent me from worrying about where my income will be generated.  Or if there will be any income to begin with.

Which is why I am convinced that a lot of my fellow freelancers are lying when they say that they do contact the bookers for work and claim that they are never given work.  I am especially convinced because there are a lot of people getting work who are not as skilled as the ones who say they are overlooked.  There are a lot of times I get asked to do double shifts.  There are a lot of times I have to turn down work because I am already booked or my week is too full.

I am truly convinced that a lot of my fellow freelancers are lying because one of the companies we all work for sends out an availability form before the beginning of the month.  I fill it out promptly.  I get work often.  I find it baffling when others say that they haven't filled it out and it's the second week of the month.  Really?  I guess you aren't strapped for cash as badly as you say you are.  Weird.

I guess I have to be thankful for these folks.  If it wasn't for them, I may have less work.  Because, no matter how good you are, if you don't follow up on work, you won't get hired.  No matter how good you are, your booker has no idea if you are available to work.  No matter how good you are, if you don't spend time looking for work, you'll be spending a lot of time "free".  Later.

Labels: Effort, Pounding the Pavement, Weird, Work

  ¶ 12:43 PM 0 comments

 

Hmmmmmm.

One would think that with the amount of technology available to keep us all in touch, it would make for more accountability.  But one would be wrong.

Very few things piss me off more than people who flake on me.  It just irritates me to the n'th degree.

You see, I'm fine with being cancelled on.  Just shoot me a quick note saying that you are not feeling well and would like a rain check.  I'm also fine with you giving me plans well in advance and not confirming BUT showing up for said plans.  I'm even fine with you giving me no reason to cancel our plans.  I'm fine with it all because there are times, I do the same thing.

What I am not fine with is you being all gung-ho about getting together, rescheduling me a couple of times, saying that you definitely want me to come hang with you and your posse (for which you state that I am a part of), and then only contacting me, after I text you, to tell me that you are already there.  REALLY?  So, at no time in your entire day were you able to send  me a note saying to just meet you at the place at the designated time?  REALLY?

I'm pissed.  I'm pissed because most of my plans are designed to fill in friend time with work time.  It's a factor of being a freelancer.  I don't get the same times off as the rest of the people I know.  So, I tend to accept certain jobs just to fit other people in.  I like my friends.  I want to spend time with them.

Maybe I need to re-configure some friendships.  Later.

Labels: Effort, friendship, Irritation

  ¶ 8:50 AM 0 comments

 

Makes me wonder

Every day that I leave the apartment, I get to witness how our society has just stopped trying.  Get on the bus and you'll see someone who acts like they have never gotten on public transportation.  Yes, you have to pay a fare and those gigantic machines on the sidewalk that everyone else used is where you pay it.  You really should have asked the people standing around.  Not just feigned knowledge of what the fuck you are doing.

Go to work and you'll meet people who would rather watch you make a mistake than help you.  I used to think that it was because people were being malicious.  Now I think it's because they just really don't know and have not taken the time to try to know. 

I worked a gig last night where I asked the guy next to me if he had done the task I was doing.  I told him it was my first time working with this company.  He told me I was fine the way I was doing it.  After getting half way through the task, the lead chef told me I was doing it wrong and had to fix it.  Luckily I could.  Seriously?  Why didn't the guy next to me, who supposedly had done all of this, correct me?  I just felt he was not trying.  And it was obvious throughout the night when I would work on 4 different appetizers while he worked on one.  ONE!

I'm not sure what not trying does.  People don't try to find out anything anymore.  People don't try to fix problems anymore.  People don't try to help others anymore.  Is it fear of failure?  Is it fear of being considered ignorant?  Is it fear of being rebuked? 

I'm trying to understand this all.  But maybe that's the problem.  I'm trying.  Later.

Labels: Effort, Irritation

  ¶ 6:35 PM 0 comments