The Outsider – Me, Myself, & I

Wow, its been a while since I’ve posted anything! I’ve been working back at the shop full time for the last week. Monday I’ll be working as well after I set up my financial aid and everything else I’m going to need to start back to college in the Spring.

Something I’ve noticed over the last few months or so is that everyone treats me as an outsider. I’m no longer really included in anything and pushed to the side for other “more important things” to take my place. I don’t feel welcome anywhere – not even at home. I don’t know why – but maybe it is for a reason. Maybe to push me to move on with my life and those who are meant to be in my life, will be and those who aren’t, well they’ll be gone. 

I’m working on my Computer Information Systems (CIS) degree and will have over half of it completed within nine months. I know my plans for what I want to do with my degree and have found a shortcut to start a career in nine months instead of waiting 2 years to get my degree before I can start making the big bucks. I have met a great advisor who is helping me through the loop holes and helping me land one of the highest paying salary jobs in the area. I’m so happy and can’t wait until next September. No more having to write for pennies. I am still writing, but most of my clients have hired someone else because I have raised my rates. Blogs are now $20 -$35 per post instead of $10 and $15. Q & A  and articles up to 500 words are $45 each and my hourly rate is now $25 per hour. This is still under the current going rates for these types of articles and posts, but I feel I will still come out ahead with these rates. But many of my clients have looked for writers in India and other countries where they are willing to write for pennies – this in turn leaving American writers with no work. I have also started up web designing again. My rates for that are $50 an hour for now. Soon I hope that it will take off and I can make a pretty good income with that until I finish my degree. Well, I have to finish up the laundry and catch up on some other stuff around here.

Setting Up My Business – Today

My business name is Meisha MacKenzie. I’m setting up my site today.

Monday – First day of the week!

Today is Monday – you know that dreaded day of the week. One of the longest, nothing goes right, can’t seem to get back in the groove of how things work! Yep, you know what I’m talking about.

For today I think I’m going to work on cleaning out the basement, all the closets, all & I mean ALL of the laundry which I’m almost done with it now. Yay! Give me a pat on the back! So far I have cleaned out the dresser and cleaned out the closet. Now to get rid of all of the old clothes and clothes that do not fit me anymore. Yes, I’ve gained a bit of weight. Over the weekend I went shopping for some clothes and shoes. I’m addicted to shoes but I needed some dressy shoes to wear out. The ones I found are dressy and I can wear them anywhere – well except in the mud or grass. They’re 2 inch heeled boots. I love them and I got a good deal on them. I got them on sale along with a $3.00 discount – I can never pass up a good deal! 

The clothes I bought are dressy office attire as well as going out and having a good time clothes. Since I’ve been looking for an office job or sales job lately, I really needed something else to wear other than jeans, t-shirt, and a pair of sneakers. I’ve applied to quite a few places lately and still no luck. I think it is that I’ve been working for myself for so long that no one really wants to hire me for anything else. I have experience in about everything – Sales, Retail, Writing, Photography, Fast Food, Call Center, Telemarketing, Shift Manger, Office Manager, Restaurant Manager, Secretary, Administrative Assistant, Cashier, Merchandiser, Driver, Animal Attendant & the list goes on and on. The jobs I’ve been applying are for Secretary, Retail Sales, Cashier, & Photography. I have a few small freelance writing gigs, but it’s not enough to make ends meet at the moment. I’ll always work as a freelance writer but only part-time. I really need a part-time or full-time hourly or salary job. I had a great paying hourly freelance writing job at one point, but it was only temporary and the project is now over. I would love to land another hourly job like that, but they seem to be few and far between – at least the ones that pay more than $2.50 an hour. Who really works for $2.50 an hour unless you are a waitress or something. And even waitresses around this area make more than that as their hourly wage plus tips. I got an email yesterday for a job that I was considered for that I applied for on GetAFreelancer.com. As it would turn out it may be a scam. It said in the email to get a screen name so that the conference call can be set up. When I went to the link to get my screen name it took me to a conference call page and it asked for a monthly fee of $39.99 a month. I contacted the employer and he said he did not realize that his page required new potential employees to pay a monthly fee of $39.99 and that it was the only way he knew how to set up a conference call. I emailed him back letting him know that there are free messengers out there that will allow free conference calls as well as VOIP services. I haven’t heard from him since. The job was for a virtual assistant for a real estate company in New York. I’m guessing it was a scam since it is required that employees pay a monthly fee just to be considered and to work for them. 

I would love to do a virtual assistant job. I worked as a virtual assistant in 2005 for a woman who ran a few too many websites and I took care of a few of them for her, scheduling appointments, hiring writers for various areas of the sites, and editing the content. Eventually she sold all of her websites and moved on to other types of work. I’ve searched for Virtual assisting jobs lately and have had no luck with any of them. I’ll keep looking though.

Time seems to be slipping away today. I guess cause I’ve been busy working on cleaning up and doing some fall cleaning. I can’t believe how beautiful it is outside. Fall is finally here!

All Rights Reserved! ©2008 December M. Raynes

Getting the Ball Rolling

LIST ARTICLES: Last night I began working on quite a few list articles and three are completed. I couldn’t beleive how easy they were to write. I still have to revise the three that I completed, but that shouldn’t take too long. I found my ideas by just crusing around on the internet, looking at boards and some very popular websites that everyone checks out at least once a month. If those site get lots of traffic and those are topics everyone is currently interested in, then why not write on those topics.  I still have a few more to work on and complete, then find a great market for them. 

UPDATE: The Dieting update. Well, I’ve lost 4 pounds – yay me! The whole eating issue (what I eat) well that ship sailed a while ago. This morning for breakfast I”m making Mac – N – Cheese! Yep that’s what I’m eating. 

BEFORE:

TODAY IS THE DAY – These two sap seeping annoying tress are going to saying “See -Ya!” today. I love trees, but these pine trees have been ruining the paint on our vehicles day after day. So today, they’re getting cut down and shipped out! They’re pine trees, not my favorite type of trees.  

Below are a few little tidbits about the trees that are getting cut down.

Virginia Pine

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The short (4–8 cm), yellow-green needles are paired in fascicles and are often twisted. Cones are 4-7cm long and may persist on the tree for many years, often (though not always) releasing their seeds in the second year. In growth habit, some trees may be inclined with twisted trunks.

This pine is useful for reforesting and provides nourishment for wildlife. Its other main use is in Christmas tree plantations. It also can provide wood pulp and lumber.

Virginia Pine is also known as Scrub Pine and Jersey Pine.

AFTER:

     

Now it’s time to get back to work! Time to get all of my ducks in a row and make some money! 

 

All Rights Reserved! © 2008 December M. Raynes

A Brand New Month

Okay, since it’s a brand new month, I have a brand new plan. This morning I woke up, heated up a blue berry muffin, made some coffee, and sat down in front of my laptop ready to search for work. My plan was to write up a filler or two really quick, but finding some ongoing work is a MUST DO right now. So, the writing for magazines has been set on the back burner for a bit. I have finished my query letter to Woman’s World. Nowjust to find the email or postal address and get it out to them. It’s for a filler however, so I really wanted to write the filler and send it as well, but that doesn’t look like it’s going to happen today or at least not in the next four or five hours.

All Rights Reserved © 2008 December M. Raynes