From August to October, 1996, I was working part time doing telemarketing for a company called DialAmerica, which contracts with publishers and non-profit organizations to sell magazine subscriptions and donate a portion of the proceeds to worthy causes. My cause was Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

From September through November, I was kind of in charge of in-house promotions for the Fenix, the best damn club in Seattle, if I may be so bold. By "kind of," I mean that -- were it not for the "day job" I got for a while -- I'd have been there every Thursday, Friday and Saturday, gathering names and addresses for the mailing list, and I'd be spending all my spare time making flyers and posters for the Industrial shows just like I used to do before I got that "day job." See, Thursday nights are Industrial/Gothic Nights, and the Fenix is the premiere club for touring Electro/Industrial and Gothic bands. So if you're booking a band and are interested, eMail me or Rick and we'll give you all the pertinent info). Anyway, this position did not exist before I came along, so we built it from the ground up. Kinda exciting, really. I mean, I spent every Thursday there as it was, and then I started getting paid to be there. Fridays and Saturdays, too. And my boss was way cool. Unfortunately, working nights AND days wore on me a bit too much, and I had to basically give up the glamorous club job (though I did do a little bit here and there over the next few months) and be responsible (yeah, right)....

So I started my "day job" (how I paid the bills) in October, and it was also pretty cool. I was doing technical support for Adobe PageMaker software. For a job -- like a "real" job -- I didn't mind it much. It was really a lot more like school than work, only I got paid to be there, rather than paying for the privilege of sitting there and being lectured. I hung out with friends during my lunch hour, and I had a crush on the cute boy who sat on the other side of the room from me (he's gonna kick me for this one). I learned a lot, but after a while, I felt like there wasn't anything more for me there. It wasn't a job where I could be creative... if you've ever done technical support or even just CALLED technical support, you'll understand what I mean.

So it was time to move on... I was going for a while living day-to-day, being creative... or at least TRYING to live day-to-day being creative. I opened the U.S. office of a Finnish Electro-Industrial record label called Cyberware Productions in January, so it was nice to be able to devote some time to that for a change. I started doing some work here and there for the Fenix again, and I was also doing a lot of freelance work for bands and such, and just trying to build my own business (Übel Engel Promotions) up a bit. Maybe one day, I won't NEED a day job... THERE's some wishful thinking...

So anyway, I was basically broke but happy for about two weeks, but then it started to sink in that I was just broke. And there were bills to pay. I had been submitting resumes everywhere I could, but nothing ever came of it. One day in April, I was at the Fenix with Chase, the drummer for Rosary Wall, a band I do freelance work for. Somehow, just by luck and coincidence, we ended up talking to Rick (my "boss") about me doing publicity for Rosary Wall, and Rick asked if I was still doing tech support. I said no and he said, "You don't know how happy I am to hear that!" Seems the guy that was doing the full-on advertising, publicity and promotions before (the guy I worked with on some of the promotional stuff I did previously) was on an *unexpectedly* extended hiatus, on tour with his band. Rick asked if I'd be interested in "filling in," and possibly taking over should the position become completely available. I said yes, started working there the following week, and within a month I was on full-time payroll.

It's not going to make me rich, but it pays the bills. I like what I do, I like the people I work with, the perks are amazing, and it's not such a dead-end as a lot of jobs I've had. AND I get to be creative, which has always been my biggest concern. I can't stand tedious, boring, cookie-cutter labor. *Yuck!*

We're starting Fenix Booking now, too, and I'm pretty heavily involved with that. If you want more info on any of the Fenix's activities, you can check our web page (which I also do). It's pretty new, so I'll be fleshing it out over the next few weeks, complete with info on Fenix Booking and the brand new Fenix Cigar Bar & Pool Hall, as well as the Fenix, Fenix Underground and Fenix Tattoo, of course. (Damn... The publicist in me never quits...)

Here's the current version of my resume, if you care...