Really, it's funny! (or not)

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ViewsAskew
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Really, it's funny! (or not)

Post by ViewsAskew »

I joined a non-partisan political group related to campaign finance reform in the US. I work on the communications team. My goal was to get some bylines, write some blogs, etc., so that I'd have some current pieces in my portfolio. I stopped consulting over 12 years ago and while I've done a bit here and there, every contract required that I not say who I worked for, nor show the work I did.

After a few months volunteering, one of the people I worked with suggested that I could do some contract work for them. They write health/medical stuff. I'd be a copy editor or would rewrite older pieces that needed updating. Perfect! I had to take a test - I figured I would do OK.

The test was to take a very old article, check all the resources used, verify them, remove content with research that was more than 8 years old, follow the house style they use, etc. Great - I can do that I thought! I get the test and open the style guide, do the research, rewrite it, and send it off to their senior editor. A few days later I hear that I passed the test. Yippee, I think - I can earn a bit here and there and only take work when I feel competent, they don't need to know I can be incompetent, etc. Win-win!

In the meantime, I was waiting for them to put me in their system, officially adding me so I could get assignments. A few days went by and I opened my gmail and I see that someone has rejected my change to the style guide. I was confused. We use a style guide at the political org (all of us have access via Google Drive), but we finalized it about 2 months ago and no changes had been made to it recently. I was sure I hadn't made any. Besides, I am a senior editor there and I know all our writers - the person who rejected it had a name I had never heard of before.

I hunted around the email, trying to making sense of it when I realized that it was for the style guide at this new company that I was going to work for. Slowly it dawned on me. Somehow, must have been in a late night drug induced wide-awake-but-not-functional delirium, and thought I was editing some social media posts for the political group. I took the copy for the social media post and inserted it as a comment into the medical style guide. What I inserted was, "A win against corruption! Many ways to nip at the edges of this issue. These wins add fuel to our effort for a 28th Amendment."

As soon as I realized what I had done, I almost hyperventilated. They hadn't finalized the hire and who in the world would finalize hiring a person who adds completely non-nonsensical things into their style guide! On the other hand, it was sort of funny. You know, the kind of funny when it is something someone else does.

Today I heard that I will receive my first assignment tomorrow. Something to do with the pandemic (I imagine just about everything they do right now does). Either the department that handles the style guide hasn't informed the department I work for, or they do have a sense of humor. Either works for me.

Or, of course, they just haven't figured out who I am, yet.
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

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Polar Bear
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Re: Really, it's funny! (or not)

Post by Polar Bear »

:Oh Ann. The blood must have drained from you. So fortunate it seems ok.
Betty
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debbluebird
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Re: Really, it's funny! (or not)

Post by debbluebird »

My brain is so out of it these days, I'm not even sure what happened or what you're talking about. I'm sure it will work out for you.

ViewsAskew
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Re: Really, it's funny! (or not)

Post by ViewsAskew »

debbluebird wrote:My brain is so out of it these days, I'm not even sure what happened or what you're talking about. I'm sure it will work out for you.
Big boo-boo in my part :-). Looks like it will work out.
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

Managing Your RLS

Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

Polar Bear
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Re: Really, it's funny! (or not)

Post by Polar Bear »

With regard to boo boos I had to give up my random part time work with The Electoral Office. The Craic (and the money) was good but I could no longer trust myself to be capable because of lack of sleep.
Betty
https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/a ... 0/fulltext
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badnights
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Re: Really, it's funny! (or not)

Post by badnights »

Betty, that's too sad. You don't want to lose whatever bits of normal you still have in your life; but obviously it was the right decision. I am sure your insomnia problems are temporary and will get figured out, so hang in there !! xoxo

Wow. Ann, that's a frightening thing to have happen, but luckily it didn't affect your being hired!

How hard it is to stay away from the computer when I'm wandering around zopicloned; my worst one was ordering some 'free' thing that resulted in monthly charges of 200$. I got it cancelled in short order, but the fact that I even ordered it was appalling. It was a monthly delivery of some miracle anti-wrinkle cream, total nonsense; I was so ashamed of myself - what vanity lies in my subconsciousness!
Beth - Wishing you a restful sleep tonight
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ViewsAskew
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Re: Really, it's funny! (or not)

Post by ViewsAskew »

Such a horrible feeling not to trust yourself, isn't it? I hope you get this figured out soon, Betty.

Beth - SO hard to stay away! Interesting choice of the anti-wrinkle cream.Sounds like you wouldn't do that normally.
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

Managing Your RLS

Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

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