Work – Page 10 – AJ Mullican, Author

Dread

I’ve been staring at my unchanging computer screen for about half an hour. Before that, I was flipping through Facebook pages and Twitter feeds for about an hour. Actually, every time I’ve had any free time in the past month or two–which isn’t always often–I’ve reverted to blind Internet-wandering to the point of large blocks of time spent unaware of what I’m looking at. Why am I numbing my mind? Because I have a job to do, and it’s a doozy.

I have to review a book for Talk Nerdy With Us, and–spoiler alert!–it’s terrible. I’m having a very difficult time sludging through it.

The thing is, I can’t decide which I’m dreading more: actually reading the rest of the book, or figuring out how to write the review without using the words “painful,” “excruciating,” or “unfinishable.” Is unfinishable a word? It should be. I don’t want to have to use it, but it should still be a word.

I think I’m going to ask how far I have to get into the book before I can give up on it and just grit my teeth through the writing of the review. As a lover of the well-written word and a fan of grammar and consistent formatting, I just don’t think I can go on much further.

The excitement is Con-tagious

#nerd, Convention, Fandom, Geek, Interview, Social Media, Work

That’s right, this afternoon I leave my humble abode for Phoenix Comicon 2016! I’ll be in cosplay the first three days (I’m wearing my Talk Nerdy With Us t-shirt Sunday–shirts available at talknerdywithus.com), and I’m hoping to get photos galore of all the cosplays, as well as live tweeting and (maybe) Periscoping some panels.

I’ll be representing Talk Nerdy With Us as well, with my sweet press badge:

Official, and flattering lol

So excited to be going to the con as press, and extra excited because it’s my fifth year in a row at Phoenix Comicon. Each year I go I get more and more thrilled to be there. It’s even more fantastic this year because my little sister is coming with. I can’t wait to introduce her to the addiction that is Con Life.

Of course, there will be the blistered feet, the blistering heat, and the unending exhaustion…but that’s half the fun!

See y’all later! I don’t know if I’ll have time to post any blogs this weekend, but I’ll definitely have an update Monday with all the fun I had! 🙂

Next question….

Celebrity, Convention, Cosplay, Geek, Work

T-minus 3 1/2 days until I arrive at Phoenix Comicon, and as the time draws nearer I’m starting to get interview opportunities from some of the convention guests that I requested interviews with, as well as other guests who are eager to be interviewed by websites and magazines to get their names out there.

It’s exciting to be attending as a member of the media. I don’t know exactly what special privileges I’ll have (taking photos at panels that otherwise wouldn’t allow them, perhaps? Who knows), but just having the opportunity is great. I can’t thank Talk Nerdy With Us enough for all the opportunities they’ve given me in this past year. (Hard to believe I’ve almost been with the site for a year!)

It’s also going to be interesting to be conducting these interviews in costume, as I’m going to be cosplaying most of the con. I’m sure there will be other press in costume, because come on, it’s Comicon! Still, I have to maintain a professional veneer throughout the day because I will be representing Talk Nerdy With Us. I can’t just tell some jerk who disses my cosplay to piss off, because that would look bad for Talk Nerdy With Us. I have to take the high ground. Be the better man…er, woman.

Well, I guess it’s time to get back to drafting interview questions. Here’s crossing my fingers that my phone’s voice recorder app works well! Lol

Why stress when the worst is over?

Convention, Stress, Work

I’ve been thinking that all is sunshine and roses, now that I’ve nearly finished the cosplays. Just a couple of snaps, a strap for my husband’s prop, and boom! Done. So why am I breaking out with horrendous stress acne?

I suppose it could be due to yesterday’s hectic work day, but then again I’ve had worse. No, I think it’s the impending Comicon that’s got me looking like I have humongous lumps on my face, neck, and chest. They’re not “ripe” (haven’t come to a head), so the pressure is quite painful…not to mention they’re not exactly pretty to look at. Gross would be a better description. Disgusting. Abhorrent. I could go on, but I’m too lazy to get a thesaurus right now.

Could it be the next two cosplays that have me broken out? Doubtful, because I have three months to work on them as opposed to the one month I had to work on the Naruto costumes.

Maybe it’s just the general stress and excitement of the impending con. I may or may not have interviews to do (can’t say for sure, because apparently some PR people don’t get in touch with the media until the night before the con, if at all), and I have to remember to use the Talk Nerdy With Us social media to take pictures, live tweet, and Periscope things as they happen. Not that I can’t use my own media at all, just that I have to remember that I’m working while I’m at the con, not just playing. And of course, there’s the photo op with Alex Kingston (aka the actress who plays River Song on Doctor Who). The excitement of that could lead to a type of stress-induced acne, I guess.

I know I need to calm down about whatever is bothering me. Just breathe. I just can’t figure out what’s bothering me so much.

Here’s hoping that the current breakout is the worst of it, and that it goes away before next Thursday.

New Frontiers

Work

Well, it’s learning time again. Which is great, because I love to learn new things!

I’m starting training on a new position at work today. It’s exciting, even though it’s repetitive work, because I get to learn something new and I get to have more responsibility. It may seem like easy work, but it’s super important and crucial, and you can’t take any shortcuts or slack off. Back-to-back work. Nonstop.

A few months ago I spent a single day training on this position but wasn’t able to continue because of how the schedule worked out. Now, though, they have time to fit me in for training plus I get the bonus of possibly working towards another new position that, while a great opportunity, is a bit intimidating. Even more responsibility. Even more back-to-back. Even more nonstop. Even more stress.

I’m confident that I can at least master the position I’m training for today, but the other position terrifies me. Gotta face your fears, though. Suck it up and keep pushing. Or something equally inspirational.

Back in the saddle

Celebrity, Interview, Learning, Work

It has been a long time since I’ve had the time and availability to do a phone interview for Talk Nerdy With Us (well, aside from one Skype interview with someone in Australia, whose lunch time coincided with my just-before-bed time). It felt kind of nice to do an interview again, even if the conversation didn’t last very long.

I need to work on that. Other writers talk about interviews that run over an hour long, or becoming buddies with the person they interviewed to the point where they exchange emails or phone numbers to keep in touch.

I don’t get that. Despite my best efforts to keep a conversation going, I just run out of things to say. I’m not great at small talk, and I get shy and awkward even over the phone. Not that I’m too shy to actually talk with an actor or musician, but I just feel like I don’t have anything important to say. Talked about the weather? Okay. Asked my questions? Okay. Now we can chat about…what? What else is there? If they’re not into nerdy things like I am, I don’t know how to relate.

Hiking and traveling? I don’t do those much. (Okay, hiking never.) Music? I like to listen to it, but I can’t play any instruments or even sing on key.

There was one interview where I had a good conversation with my interviewee, but that was because we had common interests. Pair me with someone who likes Doctor Who or Star Wars or something and we’ll do great. Pair me with someone who’s into working out and venturing into the great outdoors, and I clam up. I can’t relate to that.

So how do I get these long, friendly interviews? What do I have to do to get that? I simply don’t know. They say the “secret” is to just treat it like a conversation, but guess what–I’m a terrible conversationalist. Normally, I hate talking on the phone. I’ll test or direct message any time, but put me on the phone and I don’t know what to say. It’s rather pathetic, really.

Maybe next time will be different. I may not have had the longest interview today, but I felt comfortable talking with the actor (even though I didn’t have anything in common with him to keep the conversation going), so I guess that’s a start.

Not much of one… but a start.

I really should do something productive…

Art, Drawing, Original art, Work

Yet again I’m up early (this most recent time is not Rory’s fault), but instead of working on art or cosplay I’m just dicking around on the computer.

Not that I don’t have four months to finish the cosplays…I have much less time to work on the art, but it’s hard to find good lighting in the apartment while not waking up my husband. I’d go to the craft room, but it’s covered in, well, cosplay stuff.

I think I’ll try to get the base drawings done tonight, then work on the backgrounds when I have time. (That part is easier to do in the dark, because I can use Photoshop on the computer without worrying about disturbing the hubby.) I’m getting much better at making backgrounds with PS, which is good because I thought my drawings were “missing” something, and the backgrounds really help them to pop.

Might ask my husband to scan the drawings I haven’t scanned yet while I’m at work today. The scanner doesn’t want to work with my new laptop lately, and it’s frustrating. He’s much more tech savvy than I, so I’m sure he can figure it out easily. (As I type this, the laptop popped up with a notice saying that “Scan to computer is no longer active.” Sigh.)

Soon I’ll be finished. Soon.

A Question for Another Day

Celebrity, Interview, Learning, Work

I’ve been doing musician, artist, and celebrity interviews over phone (and now Skype) off and on for over probably six months now, and I have to say, I think I’m finally getting the hang of making it a conversational interview rather than straight-up questions.

Part of it is that I try to write the questions so they flow more organically. I try to gauge how the interview will go, how some questions will be answered, and arrange my questions to that sequence. Part of it is just practice, I guess.

But my one big hang-up (no pun intended) is still how to end the interview. So far, I just say “Well, thanks for talking with us today” if I’ve come to the end of my questions and there’s not really any opening left for continued conversation. That, to me, feels cold and impersonal, but after all this time I have not figured out a better way.

I’ve asked the other writers for the website for advice because it’s a very supportive team, but I feel like I’ve failed by not figuring it out myself. I guess it goes back to when I was a kid and school came easily to me for the most part; if I ever had problems understanding something, I was frustrated beyond belief. This problem doesn’t quite have me at that level of frustration, but it’s getting close.

One day soon I’ll know the answer. But for now, it’s a question for another day. (See? I don’t even know how to end a blog post properly lol)

A little of a lot

Art, Crafting, Drawing, Novel, Work, Writing

Got quite a few things done today. Not a lot of any one thing, but a little of a lot of things.

Got more of the beta read I’m doing accomplished. Wrote a couple thousand words on my new manuscript. Drew a little. Set my craft room back up after our company left. Sculpted a little. Burnt most of what I sculpted.

No email yet about the interview, but I’m not too worried about it. If anyone knows what it’s like to have time get away from you when you have an email interview to prep, it’s me. Lol

Back to work life tomorrow, full-on. Cold is gone, so I should be ready ‘n’ rarin’. Or something.

Dead to the World

Art, Cosplay, Drawing, Health, Novel, Sewing, Work, Writing

It’s been a few days since I’ve posted, I know, but I was kinda half dead. Okay, a little dead. Dead enough that I didn’t want to write or do much of anything.

Though it was only a cold, I’m sure y’all know how much that can take out of you. The constant coughing. The wheezing. The shortness of breath. The sinus congestion. The fever. The body aches. It sucks, and it isn’t very conducive to productivity.

Thankfully, though, I’m starting to feel better. I still have a little ghost of a cough, but hopefully tomorrow I’ll be right as rain. That’s a funny saying. What’s so right about rain? Shouldn’t it be right as sunshine? But I digress.

A lot of projects have been backing up. The art commission project. The cosplay work. The beta read. The writing. I’m barely keeping up with the Talk Nerdy With Us work that’s been assigned to me. I’ve been able to work at my day job, but only while heavily medicated. (Not too heavily medicated. The max that I can take legally to function in the workplace.)

I’m trying to psych myself up for getting back into the swing of things. I need to get back into that art project. Like kick-my-own-ass get back into it.

Back from the dead. Time to get to work.