Okay, so, here’s the deal.
An acquaintance of mine recently called me and left a message, asking me for a favor (she wanted me to drive her sister to the doctor). I heard her fumbling, trying to figure out how to hang up phone (she was using her sister’s).
When she thought she’d hung up, she continued to talk to her sister, whose phone she was using. I was amused that a geophysicist was having such a difficult time turning a cell phone off, so I kept listening to the message.
I was taken aback when she described me as her “unemployed friend.”
“Julia is unemployed… or she does a little bit of home business.”
Say what??? A little bit? How about 30-40 hours a week? How is that “a little bit”?
She said it several times, describing how, since I’m “unemployed,” I could possibly drive her sister where she needed to go.
Oh yes, I sit around all day eating bon bons and watching soap operas.
Right.
I guess the fact that I work from home, writing, editing, and moderating/community building on a freelance contract basis, isn’t very realistic to some people.
Or it could be that she just doesn’t understand the complexity of what I do.
Forget the fact that I’ve got a contract with a specific website (WEGO Health) that involves 30-35 hours a week of full-time work, which, I might add, I am enjoying immensely!
Yes, indeed. I’m unemployed.
In what world?
… I still love this friend, but I wish she’d take the time to listen and understand what I do.
Note to the people in the dark: Just because someone works from home doesn’t mean he/she is unemployed. A better description could be self-employed, or someone could indeed be employed by a company, and telecommuting from home! In my case, I’m a little bit of both: self-employed and contractor.
EDIT: No, I didn’t take her sister to the doctor. As it turned out, I had a conference call with WEGO Health that day.
Julia Temlyn is an 
