Wow. And I mean this in terms of the expression. I can’t BELIEVE how addictive this freelancing thing is! Ok, so I’m trying to establish a writing (and other similar services) career online and so far, so good. But never in a million years did I anticipate the sheer thrill of bidding on projects, waiting with baited breath for results, playing the ‘freelance dating game’ of that perfect combination of communication and patience and finally reaching the climax of the story (or ending, depending on the bid outcome).
I find myself CONSTANTLY checking my BlackBerry for messages. One “DING” and my heart instantly flutters. “Could it be that client responding to my bid on the specialty coffee shop coffees from all over the world?” The job was to describe these coffee beans. I mean “hello(!)” I was BORN for this job. But so were seventy five other Elancers. And someone out there was willing to accept fewer greenbacks to do the job than I. So, I didn’t get that one. Here’s the drill: Euphoria (when I first read the job posting). Suspense (as I chewed my nails waiting to be awarded the job. Complete and total LET DOWN (when the hippie chick from Arizona got it instead).
I was smart enough to customize the “DING” on my BlackBerry associated with Elance emails so now I can sit tight rather than jump for the phone each time there’s a shred of activity on it or if there’ s just another message. Yep, that’s right. Just another message. It seems like all other things have faded into black. Including Facebook, Hotmail, Huffington Post, The FAIL Blog, Fark.com and other online favorites I used to spend lots of time reading.
Now, it’s just the game I’m playing – and getting paid on those hits where I actually end up getting awarded the job :)
