Murphy's Law, Miley's Song

This time was supposed to be different. I knew I was facing inevitable unemployment. Only this time, I was looking forward it.

Not only was I welcoming it with open arms, I was plotting a relaxing mini surfing escape to enjoy after it occurred. Then the unexpected happened – we were faced with the threat of shutting down a month early. After our first cast dropped out last minute, the casting department was told that if we didn't produce a new nuclear family to replace the other in one week, production on the show would cease.

Permanently.

That would definitely put a damper on my relaxing plans. Especially since I still have a bunch of wedding party expenses to pay for.

Fortunately, unlike the last time, this time I could actually help to prevent the lay off. If I worked smarter (AND harder), finding more outgoing ladies in debt with eager to help out parents I could continue planning the mini surf vacation I had been working so hard on earning.

But in order to fulfill my goal of paddling into the ocean, I have to first battle the waves at work. New deadlines keep rushing towards me one after the other. There is no time to rest. Because for every 50 girls that don't work out 1 will. If I actually set up an appointment to meet someone in person, it means that they have impressed me enough to work a full 13 hour day. Believe it or not- those are actually the days I love laboring through the most.

What I'm doing on a daily basis is finding/asking girls and their family members to put their situation out there just like I am now, but on national television. I understand that isn't an easy thing to do and hope that by being on the show, they can get the same positive feedback from girls in debt that I have received from people out of work. I also genuinely want them to get out of debt. Debt blows.

Hard to cast shows like this are a time consuming challenge and I haven't worked with any of the production team members before. Those were the reasons that I picked this job over the other ones suddenly offered to me over a month ago. Professionally this is just what I needed – an environment where I would be able to improve my basic camera skills while demonstrating my rock star work ethic to new contacts. So far my rusty skills have been brushed off and tested, brutally criticized, then tested again. A lot of extra dirty martinis have been drank along the way.

My theme songs are currently a mix of “The Climb,”and the WOO! Song, Infinity (happy birthday Courtney!). On another random note, I have no idea where the time goes when I'm casting. One minute it's 4:30 and the next it's 7:10. All I can do is hope that I have something to show for those few hours.

But here is the thing- I have a job. And despite the crazy stress, this is what I have been fighting for. No matter how hard work gets, at least I have something to work on. I can't complain or give up, because if I stop trying then the show will be pulled due to a lack of cast, and then about 100 people will loose their jobs. That would suck.

So I need to keep riding these challenging times out like a Maverick. Because when it's over this time around I want it to be on MY terms. This way, I will once again feel like I earned a vacation... otherwise known (by freelancers) as unemployment.