She Works Hard for the Money

Let's face it, extra money is always welcome. Before I became EIC, I would contrib to other mags--Total Girl, Candy, Preview, Men's Health, Smart Parenting, Yummy, Martha Stewart Weddings...I think the only ones I haven't contributed to are FHM and Top Gear! Someone once joked that I should win the Golden "Raket" Award (a play on an internal award called the Golden Rocket). There aren't big bucks in editorial assignments, but my rakets--by virtue of sheer volume--were able to pay for my trips abroad and my wedding--my share of it, at least! So I ain't complaining!

But now, my editorial rakets are few and far between. People (rightfully) perceive that I'm busy, so they hardly approach me for styling work or four-page articles. Sigh. Luckily, this past week brought two unexpected sources of Christmas money.

First, I had a hosting gig!

Outfit explained below!

Friends would sometimes ask me to emcee their weddings, and I did host a couple of events at my old office. I'll be the first to say that I'm not spectacular at it, but I think what I have going for me are 1) my fluency in English, and 2) my ability not to panic in front of a large crowd. (If you've danced wearing nothing but a nude-colored leotard in front of an auditorium full of people, or done a routine in a packed Araneta Coliseum where half the crowd is from a rival school, then I suppose saying some lines in front of a ballroom full of people isn't that intimidating!)

This last event was MC2's Wild Wild West-themed Christmas party in SMX, and it marked my first paying gig. I mostly did it for my friend, Czar (shown in photo), who was the organizer, but it was awfully nice being compensated. While I don't intend to actively pursue a career in hosting, I'd still welcome opportunities that may come my way. But first, I gotta work on my ad libbing skills. And figure out how to stand in my ouch-y five-inch heels for four hours!

Second, I was asked to choreograph a number for our company Christmas party! And I'm getting paid for it. Yay! The theme? Glee! I was initially asked to be Brittany S. Pierce, but I declined. (It wasn't as bad as being asked to be Darna for a production number before. But I digress...) I love dancing, but this required a bit of singing. And I just don't do solo numbers. Eventually, they scrapped the Britney bit and just asked me to choreo a Glee mashup. So I spent the better part of the evening looking at videos like these for ideas...

My neck is going to hurt tomorrow from copying all the super fast hairography moves-on-crack!

I got really cute steps from this live bit.

And this non-Glee clip pretty much took care of the whole "Like a Virgin" routine!

It's pretty cool getting paid to do non-boring work. But I'm not quitting my day job any time soon--thankfully, I've got a steady income from a job I actually love!

What are your own money-making schemes? Share!