Life During COVID-19 (5/5/2020): Tutoring, Freelancing on Fiverr and Job Searching

In the past week I feel like I have finally made some progress. Varsity Tutors accepted my application and invited me to join their platform. I spent all day yesterday filling out forms, uploaded documents, and completing my tutor info. I also made a profile on Fiverr.com for freelance work.

Subjects I Tutor on Varsity Tutor:

College Application Essays Approved
College English Approved
Creative Writing Approved
English Approved
English Grammar and Syntax Approved
Essay Editing Approved
High School English Approved
High School Writing Approved
Introduction to Poetry Approved
Other Approved
Study Skills Approved
Study Skills And Organization Approved
Writing Approved

My Services I Offer on Fiverr.com:

  • Writing Article/Blog Posts (includes research, resources and citations, readability test)
  • Critiquing Your Poem, Short Story and/or Fiction (includes MS formatting and Minor Edits/Rewriting)
  • Beta Reader (I will read and review your MS/document/ebook and provide an in depth critique)

Applying for jobs everyday has become tiresome and repetitive so I have switched up my daily schedule. 

Mixing Up My Routine…

Usually I start job searching and applying right after breakfast but I have pushed those four to five hours for later in the day. Reading and completing my daily writing first has refreshed my motivation to search and apply for jobs. I have cast my net further into Remote Data Entry, Project Coordinator, and Administrative Assistant positions. 

I have rewritten and reformatted my resume and will be rewriting my cover letter this week as well. It is hard to keep up the momentum and not give up but I do not have a choice; I have to keep trying.

I have decided I will not be working in restaurants in the future and I am focusing on finding safer and more reliable work.

Opening Up Utah: COVID-19

It has not even been a week since Utah moved from Red to Orange (Moderate Risk) due to COVID-19. Surprisingly many restaurants have remained closed or only open for to-go orders. I think there are many local business owners that do not want to risk their employees or customers health and safety by opening prematurely.

I have also noticed from going to the store yesterday, wearing a homemade mask a friend made for me, that almost every single customer and employee was wearing face masks. It has been recommended by the Utah Department of Health that when in public you wear a face mask, it is good to see people following these recommended guidelines. Although we do not have more than a few thousand of case numbers and only 56 deaths, it is better to stay safe. The tension is still there, a frantic hurry in their eyes, as they shop quickly.

Homemade Masks My Friend Made for Me and My Boyfriend

Since the National Parks have reopened there has also been noticeably fewer parked cars and neighbors gone camping. I think this is great, considering so many people in Utah are “outdoorsy” people. I am hoping this trend continues because it has been considerably quieter in my neighborhood although I think there has been an increase in daily traffic.

Literary Internship for DLG Publishing Partners…

I have had an amazing first week of my Literary Internship. It has been fun and extremely informative. The skills I am learning are invaluable and I know that I will love being an Intern for DLG. I am so excited for this opportunity and I feel so fortunate. Although this Internship is unpaid it will be incredibly beneficial experience that I can add to my resume.

Another Day of Gratitude…

Everyday I think about what I am grateful for: a roof over my head, food in my fridge, and weekly unemployment checks that pay my rent and bills. I am so fortunate to be in my current situation and there are so many people that are worse off. Although I am unemployed right now and I still need to find full-time work and get health insurance, I feel like I can actually focus on finding work and staying sane during this strange time.

I am also deeply grateful for the people in my life. My boyfriend, friends, and family, their kindness, love and support is an incredible comfort.

Thank you for reading about my life during COVID-19. I hope you are well and safe.

Stay safe and stay well!

-Alina

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Life During COVID-19 (5/30/2020): Reflection on George Floyd, Protests Turned Riots and Growing Tensions in the U.S.(Opens in a new browser tab)

Why I’m Not Celebrating Independence Day This Year(Opens in a new browser tab)

My Stories on Medium: Poetry, Writing and Freelancing(Opens in a new browser tab)

A Wild Year: My Top Songs on Spotify, Currently Reading List and Reflecting on 2018

This year has gone by too fast and I feel like I am still trying to catch up. I have gotten a lot done this year from my graduation at the University of Utah with my BA (finally) to a PAID poetry reading at the Utah Arts Festival in June, to finishing the first rough draft of my book Ghost in the Woods for NaNoWriMo.

Since it’s the end of the year, I thought I would give a quick update on what I’m listening to and reading.

Spotify “Alina’s Top Songs of 2018”

IMG_20181209_233826_231

Goodreads “Currently Reading” List

Currently reading 1

currently reading 2

There are A LOT of books on my “Currently Reading” list and I am trying to widdle it down a bit before the New Year but I guess I’ll see how successful I am with that. One book that isn’t on this list that I’ve been reading every day now is Collected Sonnets by Edna St. Vincent Millay, my copy is really old and falling apart. I had to spend a good hour last week taping pages back together into the seam of the book. I’m about halfway through it and I love it, Millay is amazing with Sonnets and she makes it look so easy.

Highlight of my 2018:

Going to “An Evening with Neil Gaiman” last month was amazing. Gaiman had some great advice to give and thankfully many questions from the audience were geared towards writing and publishing. It was also so much fun to hear Gaiman read a little from some of his books.

Last Adventures: Discovering “Found Poetry

Last week I sort of stumbled on “Found” poetry. It’s a form that I am sure I’ve come across before but up until now haven’t given a second thought too. Found Poetry is a form where people can find poetry in everyday life, like text, billboards, magazines etc. For instance, I was inspired to mess around and try “finding” some poetry in a local newspaper at work this week.

FOUND POETRY on my Instagram story highlights

I was pretty surprised at what I found and now I am hooked. My hands are stained from newspaper ink, markers, pens, and I have already begun putting my found poems together in one notebook making a sort of hand-made chapbook. (I will make an official post about my Found Poetry soon)

Conclusion:

I am stoked for the New Year and I am working hard to set up my work and myself for an even more successful year. What am I working on right now? Submitting my best-polished work to literary journals and magazines, putting together a small chapbook of my poems to self-publish (maybe) on Kindle, and finishing my book Ghost in the Woods so that I can start submitting it to literary agents/publishers.

What do I want to accomplish in 2019?

Honing this blog into a more coherent and substantial literary blog, maybe even monetizing it, providing more content to my followers/readers that can actually help them.

Sidenote:

A couple months ago I finally set up a Patreon Creator Page. My Patreon is different from this blog in that it provides “behind-the-scenes” access to my creative process, work (including rough drafts), and special updates. This is a more personal online venue where my followers can show their appreciation for my work by becoming Patrons and giving a little bit of $ to contribute to my writing.

Right now I am offering Help/Tutoring to those that donate $20/month to my Patreon.

Be a PATRON! Subscribe to my Patreon for one month ($20) and receive one on one help with your writing for an entire month!

It’s been a great year and I can’t wait for 2019!

I want to say Thank you to all of my Followers, subscribers, and to any readers that stumble on this post. Thank you for reading!

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

Alina Happy Hansen October 2018

-Alina