Underployment, its misgivings, and the skin of my teeth

As an academic, or a critical thinker anywhere, it's important to define your terms (see recent post here). Recently I found a lengthy post on dealing with unemployment on Moose in the Kitchen, skimmed it, gave it a comment vote of confidence, and digested it later. Having been severely busy but underemployed for close to two years now, I have some seasoned reflections.

It is true that having a family makes you look at the possibility of poverty differently. When I was fresh out of undergrad working my first couple of jobs, being poor was nearly a point of pride. I am, on some days, a closet socialist. If that sounds too noble, I'm at least a material minimalist. I prefer experiences much more than things. However, being responsible for the success, happiness, and occasional enlightenment of beautiful, small, innocent creatures, makes you downright terrified about being without money.

More on single-parenthood, the divorce process, and academic paralysis in another post. Here are some ways I have been able to make (or imagine that I can make if I really need to) money since I voluntarily left my last post that included health benefits, seasonal vacation time, and the socially-frilly though confidence-inflating title of "real job".

Elance: I have looked hard at it for months. I don't do well jumping into things that I don't know; I have to build familiarity. However, it appears that someone who can write, edit, program, design, translate, or provide other corporately valuable skills, could make go of things there. I will be throwing my hat in the ring shortly. Currently they are hosting a competition themed around "The New Way to Work" that sounds pretty interesting.

New Media Consultant: For the last several months I have worked with the textbook company Bedford/St. Martin's on its online course space for composition instructors, CompClass. This has meant many things, but among them: providing curricular support for instructors new to using the tool at my university, promoting its use to new teachers, writing chapters for a "Best Practices" guide, and serving as a test user for the newest generation of the space. Because I bill consulting hours, I can complete the work more flexibly than if I were having to show up at a desk every day.

Scriptwriter: I have written about this briefly before, but I have been working with a co-author on a script, spanning half of the 20th century, about the bootlegging and outlaw culture of a small town in North Georgia. The meetings have reawakened a passion for script work that I developed years ago as a creative writing student and launched us both on an exciting project. I won't have any official news about marketing the script until it's finished next spring.

Freelance editor: I served as the editor for a self-help book being published next year through Author House. They appear to provide other freelance opportunities that I have yet to pursue.

In my memoir and culture writing, I am trying to stay flexible, relevant, and grounded in narrative. As a freelancer, I just want to keep the lights on, gas in the tank, and food in all our mouths. As far as my research, I just want to make a lightening rod argument about the place where art, religion, and history mingle.