A few weeks ago I set out to write about being a freelancer for COVEN’s current theme LABOR OR LABOR. I wanted to share a sample of my workday, or maybe some highlights from my workweek, and then analyze them. I ended up writing down everything that I could remember from that week. It was surprisingly exhilarating because I did not expect look back and see so much work as well as so much privilege.
As freelancers, especially as freelance artists, it is important to understand that everything you do, either directly or indirectly, feeds the trajectory of your life and your career. Everything I listed below is work. But living a life where the line between doing things to cover your rent and doing things to inspire you is as transparent as nude pantyhose is a privilege. Having time is a privilege, living in a cheap city like Berlin is a privilege, and both those things allow me to be inspired and to care for myself. Nevertheless, caring for yourself and living creatively are possibly two of the most important things you can do from a political standpoint, I’d argue. So, shit’s confusing.
If you are triggered by this and are a freelancer of some kind please do the same exercise and share your workweek with COVEN. It’s a vulnerable thing to share because it says so much about your financial situation – privileged or not – and we would be honored. We also understand that these workweeks are not a “sample” or a template at all. Rather, they are snapshots of a highly irregular lifestyle that varies greatly from month to month or even week to week. Instability/precarity is the premise of freelancing and we want to see how yours looks RIGHT NOW, regardless of your side job, backup plan, long-term plan, your CV, or whether this is an unusually fruitful or unusually dry moment in your work life.
Monday 18th Jan 2016
9:30 woke-up, pulled tarot card – 4 of pentacles? Card about worry.
10:30 edited my bio
11:00 researched how to get money to fund a big dance project I want to do in 2016—scrolled through 200 pages of funders listed on on-the-move.org
13:00 tried to make sweet potatoes for lunch but ran out of time so had tuna salad instead
14:00 walked with Jassem to get some sunlight and check out ace & tate
14:10 called mom to see if she would buy me some new prescription glasses because the ones from ace & tate are only 98 euros and German health insurance doesn’t cover optical and this could be like the last hurrah in terms of her helping me finance my life
14:30 stressed out about money because mom said no and that I had made certain choices with my life and that if she bought me these glasses it would be like she was infantilizing me
15:30 felt indecisive about some really nice glasses at ace & tate on my way home
16:00 skyped with Nikima and Laura about meeting up either in Morocco or Copenhagen to either hang out in the desert or to work together or both
16:50 saw that this would not be financially possible and ran out of time to catch up with them but enjoyed seeing them anyways
18:30 worked on Step Beyond grant
19:00 made a sweet potato appetizer with leftover lentils, cooked chard, and leftover feta
20:00 dinner party
2:00 bed
Tuesday 19th Jan
9:30 woke-up, pulled tarot card- mother of swords
9:40 talked to Agne, she invited me to give a sermon or blessing at Poodle Bar on Thursday night—I tentatively accepted
11:00 went to Thelma’s place to help her with her writing in English—we are doing a skill trade. Drank cappuccinos with her and played with tapioca flour (a non-Newtonian fluid) (I posted a video of it on instagram)
11:45 looked at some of her raw text and talked about fluff words, clarifying the subject of each sentence, and active vs. passive sentences. Showed her the .pdf of “The Elements of Style” and she loved it J
12:30 talked about the massage I would be receiving on Friday, the alignment of my pelvis, and she showed me some cool exercises to help me move more like a cat and have a dynamic, fluid pelvic floor
13:30 realized my coffee date with Simo was postponed to Thursday or Friday morning
14:00 arrived home hoping to have lunch with my partner who turned out to be napping
14:30 ate leftovers out of the fridge
14:45 worked on the Step Beyond grant
16:00 skyped with Alina about the Step Beyond grant
18:00 ate a small dinner
18:30 went to COVEN meeting and read this weeks chaninicholas.com horoscope on the way there
19:00 COVEN meeting, some beer
19:20 discussed poetry reading mini series and decided to go for it
20:30 discussed writing the city tax grant for “queeries into collective feminisms” gathering at Ponderosa and decided to write it on Saturday afternoon
21:40 drank tea with Chris and Lucy at veggie Vietnamese place
22:00 worked on step beyond grant at home
00:30 received drunken texts and calls from partner and friends Ruairi and Cathy telling me they would pay for an uber for me to come down to Gneisenauerstr and drink margaritas with them
00:40 wrote in my diary in bed
Wednesday 20th jan
9:30 woke up, pulled tarot- 7 of pentacles?
9:40 skyped with Micheál about this week’s chapter of Rice, Beans, and Glitter: a community cookbook
10:30 headed to climbing gym but accidentally took the long route
11:00 climbed with Andrew, felt really strong and completed a few “reds” (level 4 of 6)
13:00 rushed to pick up Theodora at Kita and bring her to swimming class
13:22 only two minutes late- sweaty but relieved
13:45 arrived at Stadtbad Mitte
14:00 got told off by swim teacher for bringing Theodora too far into the swimming room with my street clothes on and that next time I should wait by the showers for her to come pick her up
14:10 walked to Oslo coffee shop
14:20 ate sandwich at Olso coffee shop
14:30 drank coffee to go from Oslo coffee shop on the way back to Stadtbad Mitte
14:46 found Theodora in the shower without a teacher even though I was only one minute late
15:07 left Stadtbad Mitte
15:35 dropped Theodora at home, received 20 euros
16:00 bought flowers for partner hoping we would hang out but it turns out he needed a nap
16:10 worked on Step Beyond application
18:40 skyped with Alina to work on Step Beyond application
19:25 woke up Jassem and rushed to leave to go see Bling Bling collective’s work in progress “10 attempts at seizing power” in the “public in private” space at Flutgraben e.V, drank a fritz cola left over from the dinner party on the way
20:00 enter Flutgraben
20:10 see “10 attempts at seizing power”
20:55 gave feedback and drank wine while feeling very hungry
22:15 left and went for burgers at White Trash
23:15 finished burgers and had amazing conversation about money and Ponderosa
23:30 Jassem pays for dinner
00:10 bumped into Rodrigo whose piece I had loved at Tanztage on the way to Schlesisches Tor
00:30 took bus home
01:00 arrived home
01:45 bed
Thursday 21st jan
8:00 woke up
8:15 started getting ready to submit the application for Step Beyond
8:30 Jassem brought me croissant and coffee from Nothaft Seidel
10:00 encountered several frustrating problems about the submission process
10:15 called the office of the European Cultural Foundation
10:30 successfully submited the application
10:35 ECF office called me back and was helpful but made me realize that I forgot something important about the travel grants: the ECF, counter intuitively, don’t like to be co-funded and half my travel is already paid for by Switzerland
10:40 pulled tarot- what was it?
10:45-11:45 hung out, did dishes, ran load of laundry, and stretched my body
12:15 had lunch/breakfast made by Jassem
12:45 went to LPG biomarkt for groceries
13:30 put away groceries at home
13:50 headed back to ace & tate with Jassem
14:50 we both ordered new glasses
15:30 wrote emails with people about the city tax grant and wrote emails looking for poets to read at the FALLOW poetry reading mini series
17:30 ate delicious lamb, onions and tomatoes cooked by Jassem with some white wine
18:15 almost started having sex but ran out of time because I need to shower before I perform at k77
18:20 showered, washed hair, conditioned with a hair mask
18:45 walked to k77 for prep for performance and wondered if I should write the sermon there or at a bar nearby
19:00 got there and waited for Agne to open the space
19:20 sat down in the cold basement bar and quickly wrote the sermon in my notebook
20:00 helped set up the place, moved chairs, lit candles, helped Kata with her lemon stick, drank beer
21:00 people started arriving and I started reading the ‘zines that Jess brought
21:30 decided to offer to swap my too-small leather pants for Rachel’s velvet dress
21:45 went to the bathroom with Rachel and did the exchange: both parties seemed happy with their new item of clothing
22:15 talked to Jassem who cannot come because he needs to keep napping
22:30 gave a sermon about this cold, quiet time of year, work, caring for each other, and how things are not going to get any easier. I tell the story of my mom refusing to buy me the glasses
23:30 bartending, drank many beers and ate lots of Agnes banana chocolate cake
00:07 home
2:00 took glowing post-coital selfie in my blue nightgown and send it to my girlfriends from college on instagram direct message
Friday 22nd jan
9:30 woke up before alarm feeling very tired
9:45 made amazing oatmeal with all my seeds from yesterday’s grocery shop
10:15 put on new velvet dress and feel pretty in it
10:30 left for my massage at Thelma’s and read Silvia Federici’s “Caliban and the Witch” on the way there
11:00 arrived at Thelma’s and hung out on the hammock while she bought milk downstairs
11:20 drank cappuccino with Thelma and talked about tons of interesting and inspiring stuff
11:35 learned that Thelma’s husband Nico has a publishing house where they publish queer theory and random art books: we go to their amazing bookshelf
11:45 texted Jassem saying that we really need to have dinner with them
12:00 laid down for my massage
13:15 felt amazing after my massage, talked to Thelma with a cup of herbal tea about bodies, turtles, and cats.
13:45 walked to the climbing gym, got a sandwich on the way
14:30 guy at front desk of climbing gym is ridiculously snarky
14:35 another great day climbing, practiced ‘release technique climbing’ and laughed about it, gave Desha and Milo tips on their first day
15:15 worked on a hard climbing problem with a group of refugees who are having a day at the climbing gym and laughed about how hard it is with them
16:30 laughed at this sexy guy who has his shirt off, wondered if his name is Lucas
17:00 went for a beer with Andrew, Desha, and Milo
17:10 told Desha that no I’m not a poet but that sometimes I write poetry and it’s usually a pretty intuitive process, and I rarely edit any of them, but sometimes I have fun with simple rhyme schemes
17:40 left kneipe and headed to Wedding to do some writing with Zinzi
18:15 arrived in wedding and hear all about the Labor Day Zinzi, Zwoisy, and Federica want to organize with COVEN
19:00 made a plan to write, edit, and then exchange texts
19:15 got the idea to write this schedule down
20:35 finished the workweek sample
Words by Louise Trueheart
Image by Lo Pecado
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