Everyday Goddess

Round and round she goes, where she stops, nobody knows...

2009-07-15T10:14:03-07:00

There are perhaps few things in this world that are more similar while being totally unrelated than dating and job hunting. Right now with the job hunting.

Which you partially influence by what jobs you apply to, choose to accept, and how you network. And which you have no control over in terms of who calls you and when.

My first full-time position in L.A. was an administrative position in post production sound. I influenced this in terms of applying, and being excited to work in sound, and also in terms of needing a position that paid at a certain level - I couldn't work low/no pay so production and development were out. But it's also a result of that company choosing me and offering me the job. That same week I got a call for an interview for a film festival position I'd applied to. If they'd called in the other order, my life from that point forward would likely be quite different than it is now.

But I landed in post production. I was laid off, and my next position was also in post production, but more on the picture side. And I sought out and took a position as an executive assistant because I thought it would make it easier to find another job if I was laid off again. Which now I am.

The executive assistant thing has definitely been a positive. I have always gotten calls off my cold resumes and cover letters, but that seems increased now, even with the economy such as it is. I've already had an interview for a job I didn't even apply for - they just found me on Monster.

But even with the executive assistant thing, there is - as always - that degree of roulette wheel to the proceedings. What sort of company will I end up at? Where will it be? I've decided to focus for now on remaining in the entertainment business, but it seems more likely than not that it won't be in post production because of the current depression in that segment of the industry.

Of course, when I apply to other segments I'm often dealing with experience requirements or preferences I don't quite have. If it's firm and cut-and-dried, I usually don't apply. But if it's at all gray, I throw my name in the hat. It would definitely be awesome to end up in television or production somehow.

And then there's the wild card. I have this whole other life and experience after all between blogging and my personal production work. So there's jobs that kinda mesh my two worlds together, and there's always a possibility that I could end up in something different in new media or production. Which would certainly be fun.

Fun.

I try to focus on the fun aspect of all of this. I try to remember that I always land on my feet and that I do indeed enjoy the adventure of new places, new challenges, new people, and always, new things to learn.

Job hunting: Spin the wheel.

Last day to enter my SmartFood sweepstakes for a $100 Visa Gift Card!

2009-07-14T12:21:24-07:00

Just let me know how you celebrate girl's night in over at Everyday Goddess Does...

I'm accepting entries until 5pm Pacific tomorrow, July 15th.

My Fourth Week of Unemployment Brings a Wonderful Surprise

2009-07-09T14:40:32-07:00

Read the Wii-Wonderful news over at Everyday Goddess Does...

"Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg!" You're inspiring the heck outta me!

2009-07-08T00:32:07-07:00

Well, I am just blessed to have gotten my hands on a screener for a new documentary, "Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg," a new film by Aviva Kempner. I just love this press pic of the director:

Super thanks to Melissa Silverstein at Women & Hollywood for passing me this film because I am simply in awe of the story of Gertrude Berg, a woman who wrote, produced and starred in her own TV show, "The Goldbergs" until troubles with McCarthyism found her timeslot taken up by "I Love Lucy."

From Aviva Kempner, maker of The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg, comes this humorous and eye-opening story of television pioneer Gertrude Berg. She was the creator, principal writer, and star of The Goldbergs, a popular radio show for 17 years, which became television’s very first character-driven domestic sitcom in 1949. Berg received the first Best Actress Emmy in history, and paved the way for women in the entertainment industry. Includes interviews with Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, actor Ed Asner, producers Norman Lear (All in the Family) and Gary David Goldberg (Family Ties), and NPR correspondent Susan Stamberg.

What I loved most about Gertrude Berg was learning what a hard worker she was her whole life and how she pushed for what she knew was right. The documentary is also a fascinating look into the history of radio moving into television and a recounting of the some of the effects of McCarthyism. It was inspiring to learn how Gertrude Berg fought for her cast, and her show. She clearly enjoyed her work, and during the depression her stories served to inspire and bring laughter to many, many Americans.

Here is my favorite image from the whole movie, Gertrude Berg surrounded by her scripts:

Such a talent and such an inspiration. "Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg" is playing first in New York starting this Friday July 10th, but will be screening around the country from there, including L.A. Here's a list of theaters and dates. They've put together quite an impressive list of opportunities to see the film; definitely consider checking it out if you can.

There's a trailer up on the official website, and they've even got a campaign going to put Gertrude Berg on a stamp. My letter's going out tomorrow.

In other, sadder news from the early days of Hollywood, movie theater organist Bob Mitchell (1912-2009) passed away on July 4th.

Bob Mitchell pic from http://www.flickr.com/photos/hyperbolation/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

He was a truly amazing talent who played over silent movies from the beginning. I was fortunate enough to see him play before a screening at The Orpheum Theater and to hear him accompany silent movies at The Silent Movie Theater. He was a true treasure, may he rest in peace. The LA Times reports, "Mitchell's services are scheduled on Friday at 9:30 a.m. at Christ the King Catholic Church, 624 N. Rossmore Ave. He will be buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, 6000 Santa Monica Blvd." I'm glad to learn he'll be watching movies with us under the stars.

Flash Your Stash: Grocery Bag Edition

2009-07-07T12:37:28-07:00

When I first joined my sorority, Phi Sigma Sigma, I remember visiting an older sister's apartment and marveling at her giant collection of sorority T-shirts. I couldn't wait to have so many! "Don't worry," she warned. "You'll have more T-shirts than you know what to do with."

She spoke the truth. Before I knew it I was awash in sorority T-shirts.

Cloth grocery bags follow the same rule apparently. At one point, I actually bought a couple of these:

And truth be told, I most often use those two bags, along with my most favorite grocery bag that I got at BlogHer last year:

Once a bagger asked me, "What's blogging?"

So, I have my 3 usual grocery bags... and 12 more. It's 2009, and I can't be the only one awash in cloth grocery bags, can I? It's the primo swag.

This beautiful bag came full of SmartFood (and you still have a little over a week to enter the contest for the $100 Visa gift card):

This one came with my CVS card:

And this one was bought years ago at Barnes & Noble:

I guess because I thought I could use a nice cloth bag.