On one hand, I'm pretty sure that if I list those I have less than a snowball's chance in hell of getting a call back.

For temp work, it shouldn't matter, Kristen. I was temping with a JD, three years out of law school and a fair amount of professional experience behind me. Given that you're in LA, I can't see that recruiters would be surprised to see that sort of stuff on a resume.

Hell, at least it's proof you can type. *grins*

Kristen, what do the past couple of years look like if you don't list the writing on your resume?

I would guess it would look like a big black hole unless I fudge. I became an independent contractor in 2005. So, if I fudged it, I could put 2005-Present on my resume. Though that makes me feel weird.

For temp work, it shouldn't matter, Kristen.

That's my hope. If I'm not looking for a permanent gig, and am willing to take the crap money that temps get here, no one will care that I used to write teevee shows. I mean, maybe they'll snicker behind my back but I'm at the point where that matters less.

I mean, maybe they'll snicker behind my back but I'm at the point where that matters less.

I had a law degree. Nobody snickered, that I ever noticed. I did get the occasional odd question, but people understand about economic downturns, and again--you're in LA. People understand how Hollywood works, don't they?

I think I'm just feeling a little panicky about the whole thing. The job market here has never been especially kind to me and I fear what it's going to be like out there in the midst of Writer Apocalypse 2008.

I don't see that the writing would look bad on the resume, Kristen, it's just a matter of some offices being more interested in it than others.

Kristen, my lunch-buddy when I worked retail at the Beverly Center (I at Eddie Bauer, she at The Limited) was an Academy Award-nominated actress. And yet, there she was, selling clothes.

Another friend was an awesome tv writer (who knows, you may know her) who wrote for a bunch of Matt Williams productions. The years 1996-97 weren't good for her, and she temped. She simply wrote "television writer" and omitted the names of the shows. She listed all of the other production details, though. But she never got sniggered at. She says people were very gracious to her, actually.

If I had to guess, I would say about 50 percent of the “name pros” you see on television on a regular basis have a negative net worth. Frightening, I know.

I believe TJ Cloutier (who is tied with Phil Helmuth for most WSOP fial tables) had his family living in an RV behind Ceasar's Palace at one point. Most of the Big Name Pros have gone bust several times over. They get bankrolled by people with money to get back in the game, essentially making only a percentage of what they win. It's a big, underground economy in Vegas.

Going to bed at 6:30 p.m. for a "little nap" is never a good idea. 7 hours later, I'm wide awake in a totally different shift from my early-bird children. Although I shouldn't waste this time--there is work I could get done.

Good luck in the job market, Kristen.

Allyson, "productize" sound very lame and klunky, actual word or no. DH got in a kerfuffle with a lady at work because she kept saying "irregardless" to him and when he would summarize what she was saying to him, he'd use "regardless." She finally asked him why he wouldn't say, "irregardless" and he replied "because it's NOT a word." She was good humored about it, though, and they both had a laugh afterward.

Allyson, "productize" sound very lame and klunky, actual word or no.

Many are the times I've LITERALLY screamed when someone tried to sneak that "word" into a document on which I've worked. Or said the "word" in my presence. It makes me nuts because it's so easy to reword a sentence in which it's used using actual words and retain the same meaning. Fortunately, I've usually been in charge of producing the final document and I can make sure it doesn't stay in.

'Productize' is in the same class as BLOs (Bagel-Like Objects) that must be abhorred on sight.

OTOH, I heard a neat word on my drive to school this morning: 'hibernacula' which is the technical term for the dens or whatever that hibernating animals (like bats) hole up in.

I should really pay more attention to things. I lost all of my playcounts and stuff AGAIN when I moved my iTunes onto the new computer. And apparently I didn't need to? But I didn't care enough to go back to the old computer and follow whatever procedure I was supposed to follow the last time. Oy.