zeekie: take two.

Lately it seems like every work email I send goes into the Internet space and then... disappears.

I had a fairly stable job writing for Gym Ticket a few weeks back. It's a website that tells people what gyms are in which areas, and my job was to punch up the descriptions of the gyms. Standard ad copy-writing; not very interesting, but not hard to write either. Then, two weeks ago, without warning, I stopped getting work from my liaison. I called him last week and he was very effusively apologetic, but up to today I still haven't heard from him (online or otherwise).

I don't think my work was unsatisfactory; he told me I was the company's best writer and I see no reason why he would lie to me. I mean, we barely know each other, and furthermore I'm just a freelance employee. I don't think it's a scam either, since the liaison is listed on Facebook and I have his personal phone number. In other words, I really have no idea what is going on.

And that's not the only application that seems to have been abducted by Internet aliens. I applied to a position writing ad-copy for adult toys, to another position as an ad-hoc reviewer, and to a third position writing press releases for a modeling agency. All three said they were interested, sent me work, and then abruptly ceased contact.

Now these three I can sort of believe were scams: perhaps there is some unspoken trick of the trade where freelancers get fleeced for one job so the companies never have to pay. But that this trick spans so many papers and industries seems a little far-fetched even to me.

And, in any case, besides of all these, I haven't even mentioned the other positions I applied for, including more risque ones (and yes, more risque than ad-copy for adult toys). These other positions were mysteriously terminated between 'we're interested' and the receiving of work.

All I can say is, I'm glad Urban Outfitters is hiring.