The Lucy Ricardo School of Unemployment

Welcome to the Lucy Ricardo School of Unemployment.  You remember Lucy Ricardo don't you?  She was the lead character in I Love Lucy -- a classic 50's sitcom that I used to watch in black and white re-runs as a kid.

Lucy was always coming up with some ditsy scheme for making money or becoming famous.  Usually the scheme turned into a disaster and much slapstick & merriment ensued.  

Since becoming unemployed I feel like Lucy Ricardo sometimes as I brainstorm different ways to generate income to keep my family afloat.  Sure I'm doing strategic things too -- looking for consulting gigs, expanding my search to include teaching jobs at universities, but lately it's the crazy pursuits that are keeping me busy.  Here are some of the wacky/off-beat money-making projects I've done since losing my job last summer:

You Ought to Be in Pictures -- Part 1 -- Last September I read an article about how our city is seeing an increase in movie and television productions due to some attractive tax incentives.  I thought that I could jump on this gravy train.  So I contacted the local film office and submitted the Hen House to their location library.  I had to submit a photo portfolio of the house from all angles -- both inside and out.  The locations librarian sent me a note thanking me and commenting that it looked like a great house.  Now, I just need a Location Scout to come to the film office and say, "I'm looking for an Arts and Craft bungalow with nice gardens and a sweet homespun feel."  And voila --  The Hen House can be a star  -- while its inhabitants make some greenbacks.

You Ought to Be in Pictures -- Part 2 -- Later in the Fall,  someone told me about a casting call for extras for a movie.  That opportunity had already passed, but I took the time to submit Libby Doodle Doo and Little Zo Peep to the most respected casting agent in the region.  

I'll be honest, I did this with some trepidation.  I want the girls to have childhoods -- not careers.  But I rationalized that if they were only being extras in movies/TV, that we wouldn't have to come into contact with  that crazy stage mom world.       Quickly I started to think that this entire undertaking was a scam, to boot.

For their applications  I had to submit two photos of each girl and give their basics vital statistics --- age, hair color, height, weight, sizes, etc.  As I was submitting the online application, I kept getting pop up windows urging me to take my data entry to the next level -- for a modest monthly fee.  No thanks.  I'll just do the free Basic application.  

After I completed the online sign-up,  I started getting emails every week telling me how my daughters' profiles were not optimized and not search-able by national casting agents until I signed up for the Premium Service.  Talk about bait and switch.   I was about to pull both girls' profiles when I got my first call to have Little Zo Peep come for an audition for an ice cream commercial.  So maybe this is legit afterall.

The audition required Zo Peep to speak on camera. They want her to speak!!  Yikes!! If you've ever looked at my YouTube videos in which Miss Peep talks (Referral Day, 3 Little Christmas Trees), you know that she has a tiny little voice that I think only Horton the Elephant can hear (and maybe me because my ear is used to it).

Zo Peep did a great job at the audition -- not too nervous.  She spoke the lines like a champ -- honestly I was quite surprise how expressive -- yet natural-- she sounded.  Problem is -- no one could hear her but me.  The panel asked her to repeat the lines as loudly as she could -- and the second time she reached a volume that was barely audible.  Hey, it was an experience.

Just last week I got a call for both girls to audition for a TV ad for a hospital -- no speaking lines required.  YEAHHH!  When we went into the audition room the agency person commented on how beautiful the girls were.  One of the casting agents said they looked like angels from heaven (wasn't that nice).  Zo Peep answered their questions politely and without a hint of nervousness.  The Doodle was uncomfortable with the bright lights and the row of people sitting at the table and -atypical for her -- shy.  She did muster a really cute and really loud "Bye, Bye." at the end.  

We'll find out if they got a part this week or next.  If they do get any work, I'm planning to put the income into their college funds -- I haven't made any contributions to that since last summer.  Once I get a job, I'm planning to have them retire from acting.

Contest. Sure I Can Enter A Contest  -- The week before last I found out about a video contest sponsored by Johnson & Johnson and YouTube.  The purpose of the Big Bubblin Star contest was to create a short video of a parent and happy baby  interacting during a bubble bath.  Grand Prize is $10,000.  Wouldn't that be a nice addition to the college fund?  When I found out about the contest there were only 5 days left to submit the video.

So I got cracking.  For my submission, I rewrote the lyrics to some famous old time songs that are in the Public Domain (Take Me Out to the Ballgame, I’m Just Wild About Harry and Toot, Toot Tootsie Goodbye) and created lyrics having to do with bubble bath time. Then I put my video camera on a tripod, plopped Libby Doodle Doo into the kitchen sink filled with bubbles and hit RECORD.

To avoid any other copyright problems (a big no-no in the contest) – I sang these songs a cappella.   Trust me, this is not a pretty sight or a delight to the ears.    What I lack in vocal talent, I try to make up through volume and enthusiasm.  Here's the video:

I find out tomorrow if we made it to one of the top 9 semi-finalist.  The next phase of the contest is a public voting component.  If we make it that far, I'll be begging all of you and your friends and their friends to go and vote for us.

Lucy Ricardo would be so proud of me.

UPDATE -- My video did NOT make one of the top 9.  Maybe I wasn't telegenic enough, maybe Libby Doodle Doo didn't seem happy throughout (she did get a little PxxxxD when I tried to put bubbles on her chin and in her hair).  Whatever the reason -- sometimes you hit a home run; sometimes you strike out.  Lucy Ricardo always tried again and so will I.

Catching Up

Hi everyone.

Here it is April 15th.  My gosh the months are rushing by like cars on a freeway. 

The bad news is that I'm still unemployed.  I never imagined that finding a job would have been so difficult, but as a living, breathing statistic of our weak US economy -- I can attest that it's really, really rough out there.

 

And I'm not going to pretend that I haven't had some rough times since losing my job but -- even in my darkest moments -- my girls have helped me (and continue to help me) get through this time.  We celebrated holidays, marked milestones (lost teeth, expanding vocabulary),  and enjoyed the "ordinariness" of every day.   

For the last month or so,  I've been working with a colleague who lost her job at the same time I did.  We are going to try to get some consulting work.  I don't know if our efforts will turn into a permanent gig  or just keep me afloat till a more traditional job comes along.  I know that just working on this project has helped me shake the cobwebs from my brain and the lead from my step.  

Net, net I'm in a better place and have decided to return to occasional blogging.  I'm sure my postings won't be daily, but I think they will be regular.  I hope you'll join me on my journey.

Let me get you caught up with Little Zo Peep and Libby Doodle Doo.  The girls are both doing very well -- healthy and happy.  Yesterday while driving to a meeting with my colleague,  I heard Bill Withers "Lovely Day" on the radio.  As I listened to the lyrics, I thought that how the words captured how grateful I am to my children for helping me get through this rough patch and for bringing purpose, sunshine and focus into my life.

This morning I gathered together a bunch of photos from the last 6 months and created a montage of my girls.  I've included a couple of the Apple Orchard shots from October, but most of the pics are more recent.  This gallery shows Zo Peep and the Doodle being silly, grumpy, loving &  ornery -- but in every photo I feel their energy and spirit that is helping me focus my own optimism and resolve.   

I WILL be OK.  I CAN see light at the end of the tunnel.

Enjoy the video montage.

Commentary on the Commentary

"Doesn't seem fair that a single Mom gets to have 2 daughters while many married parents wait for their first one."

Thus read the quote added this week in the Comment section of one of my videos that has been posted on You Tube.    I was taken aback when I first saw this sentiment and full of righteous indignation:

“How dare someone write that. Talk about kicking me when I’m already down. I’ve just had a corporation tell me I’m not worthy to have a job, now someone is questioning my merit as a parent of two.”  

I considered removing the comment from the board or posting a scorching reply in the comment section on that video. Ultimately I decided to just let it stand as is – and here’s why:

First, if I’m posting information on the Internet – either on You Tube or here in my blog, I have to be open to the fact that not everyone who stumbles into my corner of the cyberworld will agree with what he sees or reads. I guess my philosophy here is – If I can’t take the Internet Heat, I should get out of the Internet Kitchen.

I’ve never hidden the fact that I’m a less than perfect parent. My goal as a parent is to try to learn from the many mistakes I make and get better over time – my mantra is continuous improvement.  

Since becoming a parent, I’ve encountered a lot of parents who won’t settle for anything less than perfection – perfect children living the perfect life in a perfect home run by perfect parents. I wish them well on that quest. I have neither the time nor the desire to set my sights that high.

If people in the cyber world are offended with my honest observations as an imperfect parent – then so be it.  Likewise, if they think that I’m too overweight to parent healthy slim daughters or too old to raise such small children, or too unattractive to have been blessed with such beauties or too Caucasian to raise children born in China or too single to make sure my children have proper male influences – then so be it.

I learned long ago that everyone is not going agree with me or with the choices I’ve made in my life.

Second, I feel the frustration in the words of the poster and I empathize. I waited 16 years – first with my husband and then out on my own – to become a parent. I know how much anguish I felt during those years. I remember many times when I thought children would never come into my life. I remember how sad and empty I felt at the prospect of a childless life. So if this post was the result of the horrible wait that parents adopting from China have been facing for the last few years, why not let this commenter have an outlet to express those frustrations on my You Tube commenting space?

I honestly hope that everyone who wants to be a parent is able to fulfill this dream. To me children are the greatest blessing that is bestowed on us during our lifetime. 

I also hope that every child is raised in a loving, caring home. And as long as there are children (both here and abroad) who are not in safe and/or loving families, I hope that adoption can find permanent loving families for these children.

Where I probably differ from the poster is that I personally don’t think that there is a formula to identify what a loving permanent family should look like.  I think that there are great parents who are young or old, married or single, rich or poor, gay or straight, religious or not, skinny or fat, highly educated or not. I also think that there are average and even poor parents from each of these groups, too.

I realize that many people may not agree with me. These people have a vision of the “perfect family” and feel that people who meet this ideal profile are more worthy than others and deserve to go to the front of the line – or in some cases -- be the ONLY people in line for parenting.

If the poster is saying that since I don’t fit an ideal profile of a family that I don’t deserve to be the parent of Little Zo Peep and Libby Doodle Doo, I 100% disagree. PERIOD.

I’ll close with the observation about how many people choose to express their opinions. I DO wish that people -- whether in-person or in the anonymous world of the cyber world – would learn how to express their disagreements with others in a diplomatic and respectful way. Especially on the Internet, I’ve encountered too many incidents of uncivil, impolite behavior.

To be fair, the commenter above was not as rude as he/she might have been. Also, the commenter had no idea that this message delivered to me in my current state could sting as much as it did. With those caveats, I believe the poster may have selected words more carefully to express the frustration around the long wait many couples are experiencing without vilifying me (if that was his/her intent) for having already completed my family.

Of course, that’s my opinion.

Chick Flick Friday -- Rockin

I don't know about you, but I needed a video that made me smile this week. Here's some footage I shot at my sister's house last week.

It shows the sometimes feisty interplay between Libby Doodle Doo and Little Zo Peep. It also features Miss Libby's very cute dimples, round Buddah-belly and her very flat/not even there bum.

Chick Flick

As promised every Friday I plan to post a video of the girls.

This week I've fast forwarded from the Gotcha video from last week to show the progress of Libby Doodle Doo has made to become a full- fledged Toddler.

The Doodle started walking on April 1st and this video was taken the following Saturday during Zo Peep's Mandarin class (Zo Peep's class was doing a craft while Libby and I took over the play area). The poor dad in the background of some of the shots got to watch the Doodle and her over-enthusiastic mama try this walking thing over and over and over again.

Enjoy.

Chick Flicks -- The Homecoming

Here's the first of many (I hope) videos from my trip. My brand new video camera created high definition video, but my iMovie program on my Mac won't import it. I have to resolve that issue asap. So the only video I could create this weekend was the moment that Little Zo Peep met her sister for the very first time and was reunited with me after 14 days.

I mentioned before that my babysitter was having problems with my old video camera that I left behind. I used her video (plus some snippets taken on my digital still camera) to cobble together this piece. The quality isn't great, but the sentiment is there.

I hope you enjoy

A Christmas Valentine to Little Zo Peep

I've put together a photo montage of Zo Peep for my next movie -- kind of a Christmastime Valentine for my First Born.

The slideshow is set to the K.T. Tunstall song "Suddenly I See." I was first introduced to this song and songwriter by my niece Monica who worked as a babysitter for me in the Summer of 2006. Zo Peep loved this CD so much that Monica gave me a copy of the CD before she went back to college.

We played it almost everytime we were in the car. Sometime between my 173rd and 174th hearing of this song, I realized that its lyrics could apply to Zo Peep and myself and how she taught me to be comfortable in the role of Mommy.

From a techinical standpoint this project taught me how to insert photos into video and also how to synch up a audio and visual track. Enjoy.

Zo Peep and the 3 Christmas Trees

I am committed to learn how to edit videos before I leave for China. This is my first solo effort.

Zo Peep's only other experience with a class performance happened 2 years ago. That time she froze in the first 3 seconds of the performance and provided me with 28 minutes of a "deer in the headlights" gaped-mouth video. This time she did much better.
I inter-cut her official performance with some at-home rehearsals so everyone can see her acting range.

I'm so proud that I figured out how to attach music to the clip and add some titles. The quality on You Tube is much worse than on my computer, I have one bad transition and I may have lost the opening title slide -- I'll need to figure out how to fix those items next time.

Lights, Camera, Referral Day Video

Thanks to my nephew Kevin for helping me with the editing and upload. Enjoy.