This post is all about taking advantage. Or rather being taken advantage of.
I want to deal with a popular misconception. Unemployed does not mean lazy, bored, inactive, or dying to be taken advantage of. It can mean those things. But it tends not to. Anyone who's been unemployed for any length of time has a routine - things that occupy their time. I, for example, blog. I have three blogs and if I don't keep them up-to-date, Google will take a certain dislike to them and bump them down its ratings.
I also like to keep my hand in with other projects. Competitions, opportunities, applications for jobs, applications for internships, not to mention the 'domestic duties' that appear on official things the bank like me to fill in.
In short, I'm busy. It's not difficult for me to fill my days even though I'm 'unemployed'. I will admit to watching my daily fix of old Desperate Housewives on E4, but I rarely just sit and watch it; I'm usually tip-tip-tapping away at something.
That said, my schedule is flexible - I have to be in case I get interviews or if an important coffee date comes up... Some people, however, like to take advantage of this.
My movie editing skills are, let's say, not bad and some quarters like to use them on a non-profit basis. I don't mind helping anyone out - I really don't. Give me a project and in due course it will come back to you completed as you requested. I also work well in a team - give me a job to do and I will do so, assisting my teammates in the best way I can. If, however, you try to do my job for me then understandably I will get a little annoyed.
I was given a little filmmaking project to do a week last Thursday that is to be premiered tomorrow. I was given free reign - the person calling the shots said she wasn't precious about the deets so I could do with it what I liked. I sent her my idea. She didn't like my idea and so conducted a focus group to see whether my idea was better than hers. It was. We moved on.
The scriptwriting was largely painless - she asked me to add in a few bits and bobs almost under the pretence of re-writing it, but I was being optimistic and let it go. I told her (last Friday) that I would make the necessary amendments and email it to her the following day.
I did this. I also told her I would like to film on Monday morning.
Monday morning came and went and I'd had no reply. I got a panic call at 6pm that evening with a blustering apology and a hasty reschedule.
'How's Friday for you?'
'Bad.'
'Why?'
'Because it gives me appoximately no time to edit it.'
'Oh. So when can you do?'
'Monday.'
'Oh.'
'Friday it is then.'
So yesterday saw me filming and editing and producing and stuff. Jus' doin' my thang. Under the watchful eye of my minder who at one point I hid from so the creative input I would no doubt receive was tempered slightly.
Anyway it was in the can by 3.30pm and it turned out to be a nice easy edit. Good job really as I was feeling more than a little peaky this morning. I sent a text to let my 'executive producer' know it was finished but that I was feeling a bit under the weather so someone would drop it over, to which I got a reply asking whether that would mean there was no way she could offer any more of her creative input.
I said that was correct. So tough.
In conclusion I have two things to say.
1. I don't like being patronised - if I'm asked to do a job, trust that I can do it. What annoyed me so much about the situation before was that this woman knew zilch about movie making, but obviously thought that I would still need her help.
2. I don't like having my time wasted - just because I don't have a regular 9-5 job, doesn't mean I'm not doing useful things with my time; I'll help anyone I can, but if that means I'm going to be left in the lurch for a week and a half (compromising some of the useful things I'd been spending my time doing), then I'd rather take my ball and go play at home...
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