Yup...same old Meg, but with a brand new job!
So it's not really brand new. In fact, if you're reading this, it means you know me and therefore know all about the job so it would be really pointless to describe in vivid detail what I do every night while you're all asleep. But I'll nutshell it for you, since random people read this too (why you people do it, I don't know) and also because I have a printed job description so I could tell you offically what it is, even if is far from what I actually do.
So QVC hired me as a Studio Assistant, although the position was formerly called Product Coordinator (which Tracey thinks sounds much cooler and probably describes what I do a little better than Studio Assistant). Essentially my job is to set up all of the products that we sell and make occasional on-air appearances for random reasons such as holding up a menu sign, singing along with a dancing singing Santa or modeling a pair of boots I decided to put own for my own amusement.
While it's not quite what I want to do in the field of production, it's a great way to pass the time and I really do love it. In fact, I've gotta love it to be working night shift. That's right, I'm working the hours of a gerbil. 10:45PM-9:15AM four days a week. It's not that bad, although usually by the last day, I'm thankfully its dark in the studio so that my puffy eyes and dark circles blend in the surroundings. Compared to the control room, there is a huge social aspect to this job, which I love. I have a whole clan of guests who I love to work with and it's given me a new appreciation for the backstage side of the live show.
I also have discovered that my pants are against me.
Because being an SA requires constant mobility, we use little boxes that we plug our headsets into, which clip to our pants. This was actually one of the most exciting things to me when I first came to QVC "Hey Steph! I can go almost anywhere and still be able to make a smart-ass comments on headsets!" These boxes are about 2"x3" and contain four batteries and all kinds of wiring and crap that make them slightly on the heavier side. For people who have pants that fit them, this is no problem. For people like me with a small waist, muscular thighs and long legs, this equals constantly hiking my pants up to avoid a plummer crack.
Don't even tell me I should get a belt.
Belts are a bunch of crap. I hate belts. I look stupid in belts and for a belt to effectively hold my pants up, it bunches my pants up and I look like I have an elastic waist band or more like I should be riding a little yellow bus and having the kids at the "normal school" beat me up for my lunch money.
These pants fit me just fine when I'm not wearing a box...okay, so they're still a little big but in no way are they about to reveal the fact that yes I do have underwear on and how about that, they're black or striped or whatever they have going on. And I wear low rise underwear at that.
I thought I would be smart. I put a safety pin on the sides of one pair, which was great till I was in the middle of a show, bent the pin and spent the next few hours hiking my pants up. So I took another pair and busted out my sewing skills and made the waist a little smaller, which seems to help.
But every day is a challenge. What pants should I wear? What shirt should I wear? What shirt should I wear so that if my pants fall down I have a little coverage? Didn't I just wear those pants yesterday? Will anyone notice if I take the waist in some more. Does this make me look poor/tacky/like a hobo? Scott (my SA partner in crime) suggested tying a piece of rope around my pants, which is what led to the aforementioned hobo comment. Actually, Scott keeps swearing he's going to buy me a belt. Scott is fashionable and dresses well (100% straight too, I might add) and I'm sure I drive him crazy with my falling down hobo pants and lack of dressing well skills.
So I know they say the "real world" is tough, but I gotta tell you, I think once I get a pair of pants that fits me without any extra alteration, I should be all set.