Bold all those that you ever were guilty of doing. When you are done, add one thing that is true about yourself to the end, then post the list to your blog. (In my case I'm also changing the font color, because bold wasn't showing up on my blog)
I’ve run away from home.
I listen to political music.
I collect comic books.
I shut others out when I’m sad.
I open up to others easily.
I am keeping a secret from the world.
I watch the news.
I own over 5 rap CDs.
I own an ipod.
I own something from Hot Topic.
I love Disney movies.
I am a sucker for hair/eyes.
I don’t kill bugs.
I may kill anything that crawls (Bugs)
I have “x”s in my screen name.
I’ve slipped out a “lol” in a real conversation.
I love Spam.
I bake well.
I would wear pajamas to school/work. (I work primarily from home now, so why not?)
I own something from Abercrombie.
I have a job.
I love Martha Stewart.
I am in love with someone.
I am guilty of tYpInG lIkE tHiS.
I am self conscious.
I like to laugh.
I smoke a pack a day.
I loved Go Ask Alice.
I have cough drops when I’m not sick.
I can’t swallow pills.
I quit smoking.
I have many scars
I’ve been out of this country.
I believe in ghosts.
I can’t sleep if there is a spider in the room.
I am really ticklish.
I love chocolate. (But it has to be rich, creamy and preferably DARK)
I bite my nails.
I am comfortable with being me.
I play computer games/video games when I’m bored.
Gotten lost in the city. (Which city? I've been lost in a few!)
Saw a shooting star.
I have had 2 serious surgical procedures.
I have kissed a stranger.
Hugged a stranger.
Been in a fist fight with the same sex.
Been arrested.
Laughed and had milk/soda come out of your nose.
Pushed all the buttons on an elevator.
Made out in an elevator.
Sworn at my parents. (Mother)
Kicked a guy where it hurts.
Been skydiving.
Been bungee jumping.
Broken a bone.
Played spin the bottle.
Gotten stitches.
Bitten someone.
Been to Niagara Falls.
Gotten the chicken pox.
Crashed into a car.
Been to Asia.
Ridden in a taxi.
Shoplifted.
Been fired.
Had feelings for someone who didn’t have them back.
Had a crush on a teacher/coach.
Celebrated Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
Been to Europe.
Slept with a co-worker.
Been married.
Gotten divorced.
Saw someone dying.
Driven over 400 miles in one day.
Been to Canada. (For about 15 minutes... long story)
Been on a plane.
Seen the Rocky Horror Picture Show. (At home on DVD)
Thrown up in a bar. (Does outside the bar's door count?)
Eaten Sushi. Only JB rolls and Pad Thai... do they count?
Been snowboarding.
Been skiing.
Been ice skating.
Met someone in person from the internet.
Been to a car show.
Gone to college.
Done hard drugs.
Taken painkillers.
Met a celebrity.
I like playing practical jokes.
Seen all nine seasons of the X-Files.
Once swore Disco would never die.
Seen a ghost.
Attended a professional sporting event.
Attended a live rock concert.
Stayed up all night.
Lied about my name.
Thrown something at a spouse
After a night out, have gone straight to work without going home. (I don't remember if I did or not!!!)
I cut all the wires in my husband's car for spite.
Had sex on a boat out on a lake.
Smoked weed at a rock concert.
Left a "paycheck" job to work from home.
Saturday, October 22, 2005
Friday, October 21, 2005
The ABC's of employment in web design
A is for attitude. I was told I got the job because of my attitude, and apparently my attitude was the primary reason for my leaving as well. However, while I was told that "bad attitudes are not allowed in the office, they must be left at the door" my boss did not practice what he preached. (Who truly does?)
B is for business. I learned a lot about how to run a web-design firm while I was there... but not how to run a business. In fact, quite the contrary: I learned how NOT to run a business. For example: taking one long weekend a month to go sailing when you have clients whose problems you're ignoring (and whom you haven't even informed of your absence) is a no-no.
C is for Clients. Clients are the backbone of a service-oriented business. Without them: you have no business. It is not good PR to let clients think you're ignoring them. (Or to blame it on your secretary when it's really YOUR fault that you didn't get back to them or whatever)
D is for determination. I have been propelled forward in my determinaton to run my own business and not have to put up with someone else's malarkey again.
E is for Example. I believe that if you're going to sell websites, first and foremost your own should be a shining example. To this end I created a new site devoted solely to that purpose. Clients are put-off by a crappy site.
F is for fun. If you're having fun with what you choose to do for a living... it's not as strenuous as it is if it reaches a point where you're not anymore. I could not live for long with a job that was mundane and routine. When it's no longer enjoyable, it's time to consider a change of strategy. (Like a ship must change course on occasion!)
G is for guts. You have to have guts to make it in any business... if you don't: you'll never get out of the gate.
H is for happiness. Happiness is not as elusive as many profess. The truth is we are all as happy as we choose to allow ourselves to be. Working at a job we hate is a sure-fire way to avoid happiness.
I is for ineptitude. It cannot be hidden, and is only magnified by any attempts to do so. Ignorance should not be confused with ineptitude, as ignorance can be remedied with sufficient education, but ineptitude is often an ingrained ambivalence revealing itself through disinterest in one's work... leading to sloppiness.
J is for J.O.B. This has been defined as "Just Over Broke" which is truly what most paychecks leave you after all your concentrated effort. Rather than make what you can then figure out how to live on it, why not choose how you want to live, then do what you must to support that lifestyle? When the rewards are satisfying it's much easier to maintain discipline and press forward.
K is for kind. It is essential that you be kind to yourself, or you will be less inclined to do likewise for others. When you have treated yourself well, it extends to the world around you, and makes you want to treat others with kindness also.
L is for lies. Lies are never good... and when you tell others that you didn't do what you told them you would because of your secretary, that's just plain lame. Own up to your inadequacies, and overcome them. When you lie, you're truly deceiving yourself more than anyone else.
M is for management. Management must be applied, not implied. Someone has to take control of the situation, and if no one does, everyone loses.
N is for necessity. The old adage, "necessity is the mother of invention" could not be more accurate. In fact, if it were not true: you would not be sitting at a computer reading this right now.
O is for office. While offices are important, it is essential that more office space than necessary be avoided. The extra expense of the additional space could be put to much better use paying someone to telecommute for more hours than you would be able to afford to pay them if you had to maintain another office and its ancillary equipment.
P is for payroll. If you have fewer than five employees, it's ludicrous to have a payroll company or an employee devoted exclusively to payroll. It makes much more sense to hire each individual as independent contractors, responsible for their own taxes, etc. until the business can support the additional expense a payroll entails.
Q is for quick. When you're in the business of creating and maintaining complex web-stores for high-end clients who are accustomed to raking in thousands of dollars daily through their sites, it's not an option to be "unavailable" in case of emergency. For those people, every minute their site is inoperable has dollar signs attached to it.
R is for reliable. Set a schedule and stick to it. If people feel that they can never find or reach you when they need you, they'll move their business over to someone else. If not now... eventually. Loyalty only stretches so far!
S is for style. Style can often compensate for lack of talent to some degree... but all style with no talent will get you nowhere. If you have a lot of style but no talent, your best bet is to partner up with your opposite: someone who has lots of talent but no real style.
T is for tools. We all know that there are special tools for every job. If you have a preference for what you want someone to use, make sure they have it. Don't skimp on this, because it will give you headaches in the end if you do.
U is for unreliable. If your clients continuously get the run-around every time they try to reach you, they'll soon peg you as unreliable, and before long they will be someone else's clients.
V is for vision. It requires vision to propel a successful business through the murky depths of consumer demand and market saturation.
W is for willingness. With willingness to put forth the required effort, an incredible amount of cooperation can be obtained.
X is for the variable x. Your income is x. X can be big or little... but it will not grow without either dedicated effort or unbelievable luck. The latter is so rare it's not likely enough to rely upon.
Z is for zero. Zero is the number of times someone has ever succeeded without making any mistakes. You may want to re-read that. The fact is: we all make mistakes. We're only human. But focusing on the mistakes rather than the solutions will get us nowhere.
B is for business. I learned a lot about how to run a web-design firm while I was there... but not how to run a business. In fact, quite the contrary: I learned how NOT to run a business. For example: taking one long weekend a month to go sailing when you have clients whose problems you're ignoring (and whom you haven't even informed of your absence) is a no-no.
C is for Clients. Clients are the backbone of a service-oriented business. Without them: you have no business. It is not good PR to let clients think you're ignoring them. (Or to blame it on your secretary when it's really YOUR fault that you didn't get back to them or whatever)
D is for determination. I have been propelled forward in my determinaton to run my own business and not have to put up with someone else's malarkey again.
E is for Example. I believe that if you're going to sell websites, first and foremost your own should be a shining example. To this end I created a new site devoted solely to that purpose. Clients are put-off by a crappy site.
F is for fun. If you're having fun with what you choose to do for a living... it's not as strenuous as it is if it reaches a point where you're not anymore. I could not live for long with a job that was mundane and routine. When it's no longer enjoyable, it's time to consider a change of strategy. (Like a ship must change course on occasion!)
G is for guts. You have to have guts to make it in any business... if you don't: you'll never get out of the gate.
H is for happiness. Happiness is not as elusive as many profess. The truth is we are all as happy as we choose to allow ourselves to be. Working at a job we hate is a sure-fire way to avoid happiness.
I is for ineptitude. It cannot be hidden, and is only magnified by any attempts to do so. Ignorance should not be confused with ineptitude, as ignorance can be remedied with sufficient education, but ineptitude is often an ingrained ambivalence revealing itself through disinterest in one's work... leading to sloppiness.
J is for J.O.B. This has been defined as "Just Over Broke" which is truly what most paychecks leave you after all your concentrated effort. Rather than make what you can then figure out how to live on it, why not choose how you want to live, then do what you must to support that lifestyle? When the rewards are satisfying it's much easier to maintain discipline and press forward.
K is for kind. It is essential that you be kind to yourself, or you will be less inclined to do likewise for others. When you have treated yourself well, it extends to the world around you, and makes you want to treat others with kindness also.
L is for lies. Lies are never good... and when you tell others that you didn't do what you told them you would because of your secretary, that's just plain lame. Own up to your inadequacies, and overcome them. When you lie, you're truly deceiving yourself more than anyone else.
M is for management. Management must be applied, not implied. Someone has to take control of the situation, and if no one does, everyone loses.
N is for necessity. The old adage, "necessity is the mother of invention" could not be more accurate. In fact, if it were not true: you would not be sitting at a computer reading this right now.
O is for office. While offices are important, it is essential that more office space than necessary be avoided. The extra expense of the additional space could be put to much better use paying someone to telecommute for more hours than you would be able to afford to pay them if you had to maintain another office and its ancillary equipment.
P is for payroll. If you have fewer than five employees, it's ludicrous to have a payroll company or an employee devoted exclusively to payroll. It makes much more sense to hire each individual as independent contractors, responsible for their own taxes, etc. until the business can support the additional expense a payroll entails.
Q is for quick. When you're in the business of creating and maintaining complex web-stores for high-end clients who are accustomed to raking in thousands of dollars daily through their sites, it's not an option to be "unavailable" in case of emergency. For those people, every minute their site is inoperable has dollar signs attached to it.
R is for reliable. Set a schedule and stick to it. If people feel that they can never find or reach you when they need you, they'll move their business over to someone else. If not now... eventually. Loyalty only stretches so far!
S is for style. Style can often compensate for lack of talent to some degree... but all style with no talent will get you nowhere. If you have a lot of style but no talent, your best bet is to partner up with your opposite: someone who has lots of talent but no real style.
T is for tools. We all know that there are special tools for every job. If you have a preference for what you want someone to use, make sure they have it. Don't skimp on this, because it will give you headaches in the end if you do.
U is for unreliable. If your clients continuously get the run-around every time they try to reach you, they'll soon peg you as unreliable, and before long they will be someone else's clients.
V is for vision. It requires vision to propel a successful business through the murky depths of consumer demand and market saturation.
W is for willingness. With willingness to put forth the required effort, an incredible amount of cooperation can be obtained.
X is for the variable x. Your income is x. X can be big or little... but it will not grow without either dedicated effort or unbelievable luck. The latter is so rare it's not likely enough to rely upon.
Z is for zero. Zero is the number of times someone has ever succeeded without making any mistakes. You may want to re-read that. The fact is: we all make mistakes. We're only human. But focusing on the mistakes rather than the solutions will get us nowhere.
Quit my job
Well, I decided it was time to give up the agony of schlepping 50 miles round trip sometimes for less than two hours' worth of work. My boss made it really easy. If I don't get too buried in work here... I'll log in later and post some more on the subject.
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Just droppin' in...
And hopefully will be able to do so more and more now that I'm working on shifting to freelance (is it still called that when I finish incorporating my business?) work from home rather than the 50-mile round-trip schlep I have to take to work at my official "job".
Still gonna work for him and the other PT boss for the foreseeable future... but not every day. Wish me luck!
Still gonna work for him and the other PT boss for the foreseeable future... but not every day. Wish me luck!
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Rainbow Websites
It's finished and online at http://www.rainbow-websites.com. I'm so thrilled with the way it turned out. I still need to add content to a few pages, but I'm at work right now, so it will have to wait. Comments?
Sunday, October 09, 2005
New Website
I'm building a new website for marketing my web skills. It's cleanly coded and not at all like my experimental octopus of a site that I currently have. I intend to break down my sites into separate categories, each having its own unique flavor. Stay tuned for the URLs... I'll put them up as soon as I've secured my hosting and such.
Monday, October 03, 2005
BTW...
I've noticed that there are several things I mis-edited on this blog. I'm planning a complete site overhaul... and this will probably be on the back burner for a long time as a result. Sorry.
Thursday, September 08, 2005
Shelter from the Storm
Are you looking for a song that will help raise money for charity? Do you need lyrics? I want to help the disaster victims... and the best way I can do that is through offering my unique talent.
I don't know who might stumble upon my blog, etc. but I hope someone who might be able to use my lyrics finds this. I am willing to assign all rights to this song to a relief organization, but I don't currently have the wherewithal to record it properly. If anyone is interested, I can record a rudimentary version to give an idea of the melody.
This song is very deep and meaningful. It took me seven years of rewrites to complete. Encompassing all five senses, I had originally hoped to join it with news footage from disasters and wars, famines, etc. to produce a flash movie or some such for charitable release. Please, if you have any interest in using it... let me know!
Shelter from the Storm
I don't know who might stumble upon my blog, etc. but I hope someone who might be able to use my lyrics finds this. I am willing to assign all rights to this song to a relief organization, but I don't currently have the wherewithal to record it properly. If anyone is interested, I can record a rudimentary version to give an idea of the melody.
This song is very deep and meaningful. It took me seven years of rewrites to complete. Encompassing all five senses, I had originally hoped to join it with news footage from disasters and wars, famines, etc. to produce a flash movie or some such for charitable release. Please, if you have any interest in using it... let me know!
Shelter from the Storm
Friday, September 02, 2005
Perceptions
Katrina caught us off-guard here in South Florida. Seriously... we did not give it a second thought. No one here boarded up, put down their shutters, nada. Zip, zero, zilch. At least, if they did: I didn't see it.
A category one hurricane, she gave us a few headaches but moved along swiftly, unlike her sluggish but nasty sister Frances last year... whom we thought would never leave!
THEN Katrina hauled ass into the Gulf to marshal her resources, where she had the optimal conditions to strengthen for her next assault.
I believe the Gulf Coast was somehow as skeptical as we were when they beheld the approach of this monster storm. After so many false alarms and near-misses, when the boy cried wolf, too few were willing to heed that call.
And now? It boggles the mind to consider that the dead are now being projected to top ten thousand. Yikes. In a "civilized" society.
Oh, but they say "who died"? "The bums. Prostitutes. Junkies. People who were too 'busy' to bother saving their own butts". Maybe. But also the elderly and feeble-minded... CHILDREN and the weak whom those of us who are stronger are allegedly foresworn to champion. Or is it all just a grand illusion? Who is really looking out for your best interests. Tell me.
Is it the Federal Government? Charities? Ourselves? God or whom/whatever you deem your "higher power" to be?
Tell me.
You know what I think? There is no use in playing any kind of a blame game. That will not improve the situation, nor will grandstanding. We all know that the only true way to help these people right now is not to just give them a bite to eat and a bag of diapers... although those will help to ease the transition.
Remember the old adage: "give a man a fish, feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, feed him for life"? Well, in a nutshell, we need to teach these poor folks to fish.
We have, in essence, the equivalent of a moderate-sized city, now homeless. Charity can keep them from falling completely flat, but they need to move swiftly beyond that to the next step or the situation will snowball into the worst fiasco the world has ever seen.
What I would like to see here, in my comments section, is concrete, feasible ideas on how that humongous group of refugees can not only survive, but thrive. Hit me! I'm waiting...
A category one hurricane, she gave us a few headaches but moved along swiftly, unlike her sluggish but nasty sister Frances last year... whom we thought would never leave!
THEN Katrina hauled ass into the Gulf to marshal her resources, where she had the optimal conditions to strengthen for her next assault.
I believe the Gulf Coast was somehow as skeptical as we were when they beheld the approach of this monster storm. After so many false alarms and near-misses, when the boy cried wolf, too few were willing to heed that call.
And now? It boggles the mind to consider that the dead are now being projected to top ten thousand. Yikes. In a "civilized" society.
Oh, but they say "who died"? "The bums. Prostitutes. Junkies. People who were too 'busy' to bother saving their own butts". Maybe. But also the elderly and feeble-minded... CHILDREN and the weak whom those of us who are stronger are allegedly foresworn to champion. Or is it all just a grand illusion? Who is really looking out for your best interests. Tell me.
Is it the Federal Government? Charities? Ourselves? God or whom/whatever you deem your "higher power" to be?
Tell me.
You know what I think? There is no use in playing any kind of a blame game. That will not improve the situation, nor will grandstanding. We all know that the only true way to help these people right now is not to just give them a bite to eat and a bag of diapers... although those will help to ease the transition.
Remember the old adage: "give a man a fish, feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, feed him for life"? Well, in a nutshell, we need to teach these poor folks to fish.
We have, in essence, the equivalent of a moderate-sized city, now homeless. Charity can keep them from falling completely flat, but they need to move swiftly beyond that to the next step or the situation will snowball into the worst fiasco the world has ever seen.
What I would like to see here, in my comments section, is concrete, feasible ideas on how that humongous group of refugees can not only survive, but thrive. Hit me! I'm waiting...
Saturday, August 27, 2005
Katrina caught us by surprise!
We lost power for the last couple of days but didn't have any serious damage... heading to take my first hot bath in a few days. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Letter to the school board
I felt compelled to send the following email to our school district's superintendant last night. Can't believe it turned out to be so long! (I left out his name here, as well as the county... so it would be more generic)
The subject line on this letter read:
Saving trees and improving efficiency
(Personal letter from a parent)
Dear Sir,
I know you are terribly busy, and I will try to be as concise as possible.
I have five kids, and have not always had them enrolled in public schools, but I've noticed a few things over the course of my involvement with the school system, and feel I would be remiss in not mentioning them.
Primarily, as you may have deduced from my subject line, there are far too many papers which are required to be filled out OVER AND OVER AGAIN, AD NAUSEUM every year, even if the information is no different than it was the year before. I do understand the necessity for documentation... however, it stands to reason that there should be a "short form" i.e. a "nothing's changed" form, if you will... to expedite matters. In addition to this (and I would be pleased to assist in its creation if necessary) a database of this information should be easily accessible and updateable by parents online. Trees... hard to replace, and yet we could save so many by striving to streamline the manner in which our documentation is handled, kind sir.
In addition to this, I have noticed that the agenda books, printed at great expense to (I assume) the taxpayers, have calendars which begin when the school year does, yet the students never receive them prior to the school year's start, when they might prove to be the most useful. I propose that these be distributed earlier, so as to assist students in preparing themselves for the next school year in a properly organized manner. Likewise, the ubiquitous "school supply lists" which are not given out until "day one" could be distributed with the planners, or even incorporated *into* them (and/or the website) to help alleviate the "mad rush" of desperate parents who grow ever more sleep-deprived attempting to find all the (sold-out) items on Junior's list. If the lists were given out along with the planners *over the summer*, then the shopping could be done at (the parents')leisure and the aisles of local stores would not be crammed with maniacs searching for that stuff the teacher said their kid MUST have by tomorrow OR ELSE! (You know how it is with kids!) Never mind the fact that we could just keep ourselves stocked up on "the usual" and stay out of the melee.
Finally, just a thought (I looked for it on the School Board's website) does the district help to organize any car pools? I think it would work wonders for the average family if there were school-organized carpool groups.
I work two jobs and could use a third to help make ends meet in this tough economy. I hope you'll take my suggestions in the spirit with which they're offered... and with a smile. I'm really impressed by improvements I've seen in the past few years, and am pleased to currently have three of my children attending the district's Schools (it would be four, but there's no room in pre-K3).
Sincerely, and with the best of wishes,
Lydia Shelley
I forgot to mention the sold-out "gym" attire (which has to be certain colors for each school)
The subject line on this letter read:
Saving trees and improving efficiency
(Personal letter from a parent)
Dear Sir,
I know you are terribly busy, and I will try to be as concise as possible.
I have five kids, and have not always had them enrolled in public schools, but I've noticed a few things over the course of my involvement with the school system, and feel I would be remiss in not mentioning them.
Primarily, as you may have deduced from my subject line, there are far too many papers which are required to be filled out OVER AND OVER AGAIN, AD NAUSEUM every year, even if the information is no different than it was the year before. I do understand the necessity for documentation... however, it stands to reason that there should be a "short form" i.e. a "nothing's changed" form, if you will... to expedite matters. In addition to this (and I would be pleased to assist in its creation if necessary) a database of this information should be easily accessible and updateable by parents online. Trees... hard to replace, and yet we could save so many by striving to streamline the manner in which our documentation is handled, kind sir.
In addition to this, I have noticed that the agenda books, printed at great expense to (I assume) the taxpayers, have calendars which begin when the school year does, yet the students never receive them prior to the school year's start, when they might prove to be the most useful. I propose that these be distributed earlier, so as to assist students in preparing themselves for the next school year in a properly organized manner. Likewise, the ubiquitous "school supply lists" which are not given out until "day one" could be distributed with the planners, or even incorporated *into* them (and/or the website) to help alleviate the "mad rush" of desperate parents who grow ever more sleep-deprived attempting to find all the (sold-out) items on Junior's list. If the lists were given out along with the planners *over the summer*, then the shopping could be done at (the parents')leisure and the aisles of local stores would not be crammed with maniacs searching for that stuff the teacher said their kid MUST have by tomorrow OR ELSE! (You know how it is with kids!) Never mind the fact that we could just keep ourselves stocked up on "the usual" and stay out of the melee.
Finally, just a thought (I looked for it on the School Board's website) does the district help to organize any car pools? I think it would work wonders for the average family if there were school-organized carpool groups.
I work two jobs and could use a third to help make ends meet in this tough economy. I hope you'll take my suggestions in the spirit with which they're offered... and with a smile. I'm really impressed by improvements I've seen in the past few years, and am pleased to currently have three of my children attending the district's Schools (it would be four, but there's no room in pre-K3).
Sincerely, and with the best of wishes,
Lydia Shelley
I forgot to mention the sold-out "gym" attire (which has to be certain colors for each school)
Saturday, July 30, 2005
Long overdue update
Well, I'm busier than ever, and things have a way of working themselves out. Will post more when I have some time... but suffice it to say my bills for the next few weeks are covered, at least. Beyond that, I'm not so sure. However, I think it's going to be fine, because the balance between the two jobs is beginning to emerge.
That still doesn't excuse me from getting down to work on my music again, though. Grrrrrr
That still doesn't excuse me from getting down to work on my music again, though. Grrrrrr
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Advice, please...
I found myself to be somewhat distraught earlier today,which was further compounded by the lack of a nearby (and sufficiently wise) close friend or relative in whom to confide in for advice.
Running through the list of people I know, I could not think of anyone whose insight would be beneficial... until I thought of YOU... dear readers.
I value your opinions and viewpoints a great deal, and I'm sure you'll have something to tell me... so here is the long and short of it:
I have been working for several months now, steadily... but do not have a full time position anywhere yet. My hours are irregular... and my bills are about to increase due to the fact that I must soon begin to repay my student loan. Not to mention the fact that the kids need school clothes for next month...
I already quit the most distressing job, the one that paid the least and required little (if any) of the education I must soon pay for...
My primary job is shaky. I love the boss, have my own office with a lovely view of a small forest, and do work that I enjoy immensely (stuff that I went to school for). However, although he's a brilliant man from whom I have learned a great deal... he is not managing things well in many respects and I fear that I won't be working more than 20-25 hours/week for him at any time soon. Also, this job is a great distance from home... so it costs me a significant amount each month just to get to and from work. Let me add that when I took this job, it was as a paid internship, and that he agreed to pay what I was asking due to the long distance I have to travel.
My secondary job is questionable... as his ability to pay me rests with his sales... so if there are none he may have to abruptly call a halt to my employment, or I could be laid off until such time as his finances improve. He has given me no indication that any such thing might be likely, however, and recently has been hopeful that I can put in more hours for him (while the other boss is fretting that he's letting me work TOO many hours and that he may not be able to afford to pay me and his other bills) This man can be somewhat short-tempered, but he's not mean like the first one I worked for this year. HERE I must add that he gave me a $1/hour raise two weeks ago... and promises generous bonuses "if and when".
So, as you see, I find myself on the horns of a dilemma. What to do? What to do?
I have come up with several potential solutions, upon which I hope you'll freely comment, as well as offering additional ideas that may not have occurred to me.
1. Find a good-paying full-time job close to home, regardless of whether I like the boss or the work I'm doing.
2. Tough it out with things as they are and have faith that they'll improve.
3. Offer the following three options to boss #1:
a. Volunteer to stay longer hours (off the clock) so we can clear some of the backlog and forge ahead
b. Telecommute and let him pay me less per hour since the gas/tolls will no longer be a factor
c.Barter my time... in other words, stay longer, but work on my own projects, and ask his assistance where required, but in exchange, be available during that time to drop what I'm doing (on my own projects) and sink my teeth into something he needs done on the spur of the moment.
As you can see, I've given this a great deal of thought. I've shed a few tears over it, agonized, and do not want to jump from the proverbial frying pan into the fire.
I sincerely hope someone in the vast blogosphere can illuminate my path through this murky portion of my journey. Thanks for caring enough to read this far!
Running through the list of people I know, I could not think of anyone whose insight would be beneficial... until I thought of YOU... dear readers.
I value your opinions and viewpoints a great deal, and I'm sure you'll have something to tell me... so here is the long and short of it:
I have been working for several months now, steadily... but do not have a full time position anywhere yet. My hours are irregular... and my bills are about to increase due to the fact that I must soon begin to repay my student loan. Not to mention the fact that the kids need school clothes for next month...
I already quit the most distressing job, the one that paid the least and required little (if any) of the education I must soon pay for...
My primary job is shaky. I love the boss, have my own office with a lovely view of a small forest, and do work that I enjoy immensely (stuff that I went to school for). However, although he's a brilliant man from whom I have learned a great deal... he is not managing things well in many respects and I fear that I won't be working more than 20-25 hours/week for him at any time soon. Also, this job is a great distance from home... so it costs me a significant amount each month just to get to and from work. Let me add that when I took this job, it was as a paid internship, and that he agreed to pay what I was asking due to the long distance I have to travel.
My secondary job is questionable... as his ability to pay me rests with his sales... so if there are none he may have to abruptly call a halt to my employment, or I could be laid off until such time as his finances improve. He has given me no indication that any such thing might be likely, however, and recently has been hopeful that I can put in more hours for him (while the other boss is fretting that he's letting me work TOO many hours and that he may not be able to afford to pay me and his other bills) This man can be somewhat short-tempered, but he's not mean like the first one I worked for this year. HERE I must add that he gave me a $1/hour raise two weeks ago... and promises generous bonuses "if and when".
So, as you see, I find myself on the horns of a dilemma. What to do? What to do?
I have come up with several potential solutions, upon which I hope you'll freely comment, as well as offering additional ideas that may not have occurred to me.
1. Find a good-paying full-time job close to home, regardless of whether I like the boss or the work I'm doing.
2. Tough it out with things as they are and have faith that they'll improve.
3. Offer the following three options to boss #1:
a. Volunteer to stay longer hours (off the clock) so we can clear some of the backlog and forge ahead
b. Telecommute and let him pay me less per hour since the gas/tolls will no longer be a factor
c.Barter my time... in other words, stay longer, but work on my own projects, and ask his assistance where required, but in exchange, be available during that time to drop what I'm doing (on my own projects) and sink my teeth into something he needs done on the spur of the moment.
As you can see, I've given this a great deal of thought. I've shed a few tears over it, agonized, and do not want to jump from the proverbial frying pan into the fire.
I sincerely hope someone in the vast blogosphere can illuminate my path through this murky portion of my journey. Thanks for caring enough to read this far!
Friday, July 01, 2005
Gotta share!
Things have been topsy turvy, and I've been working all I can to cover all my bases, which I've done fairly well. Sometimes (like most folks) I get nervous about "keeping the hamster wheel going" and continuing to stay afloat.
This week I had two portentious omens, which I feel are significant to me. On my way to my first (primary) job at the beginning of the week, I saw a rainbow in the west. This job happens to lie west of where I do, so I felt that my week was truly blessed at that point... but didn't have any idea how that would play out.
Suffice it to say that despite a bit of concern over my boss's apparent disappearance on Monday (which was promptly cleared up on Tuesday) this week has been a pretty good one at that office. We are actually going to be written up in a local paper, part of an article about one of our clients that was sparked by a recent press release. As that boss says: "Life is GOOD."
On my second job, sometimes I don't work very many hours... but he has a lot of great ideas for future work, which may really turn out to be beneficial to me.
While leaving the second job yesterday, I saw a faint rainbow, then a glorious DOUBLE rainbow to the east. This job (as you may surmise) lies to the east of where I live...
Today, the east boss gave me a $1/hr raise. Right now that only amounts to about $10/wk... but he also mentioned some other work that he would like me to get involved in, he just wasn't sure if I could find the time for it. I told him I would make time for something particularly worthwhile.
Stay tuned for further developments.
I'm sorry I don't mention the names of my current employers or their companies, but I'm wary of being "Dooced" and prefer to protect them from association with my (ahem) colorful self through anonymity.
However, if one of them reads this and would like for me to add links to their sites and tell my readers who they are, I'd be happy to oblige.
: )
Oh... forgot to mention, I'm also tutoring a former coworker in Miami. I try to make it by there for a few hours every weekend. He had never had/used a computer, so I got him one, initially through Freecycle, then later traded up to a more useful machine when he began to progress. Now he's ready to speed up his 'net access (tired of dialup already) and we're getting him hooked up with broadband cable.
Wow! That was LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG! See what happens when I let my fingers do the talking?
This week I had two portentious omens, which I feel are significant to me. On my way to my first (primary) job at the beginning of the week, I saw a rainbow in the west. This job happens to lie west of where I do, so I felt that my week was truly blessed at that point... but didn't have any idea how that would play out.
Suffice it to say that despite a bit of concern over my boss's apparent disappearance on Monday (which was promptly cleared up on Tuesday) this week has been a pretty good one at that office. We are actually going to be written up in a local paper, part of an article about one of our clients that was sparked by a recent press release. As that boss says: "Life is GOOD."
On my second job, sometimes I don't work very many hours... but he has a lot of great ideas for future work, which may really turn out to be beneficial to me.
While leaving the second job yesterday, I saw a faint rainbow, then a glorious DOUBLE rainbow to the east. This job (as you may surmise) lies to the east of where I live...
Today, the east boss gave me a $1/hr raise. Right now that only amounts to about $10/wk... but he also mentioned some other work that he would like me to get involved in, he just wasn't sure if I could find the time for it. I told him I would make time for something particularly worthwhile.
Stay tuned for further developments.
I'm sorry I don't mention the names of my current employers or their companies, but I'm wary of being "Dooced" and prefer to protect them from association with my (ahem) colorful self through anonymity.
However, if one of them reads this and would like for me to add links to their sites and tell my readers who they are, I'd be happy to oblige.
: )
Oh... forgot to mention, I'm also tutoring a former coworker in Miami. I try to make it by there for a few hours every weekend. He had never had/used a computer, so I got him one, initially through Freecycle, then later traded up to a more useful machine when he began to progress. Now he's ready to speed up his 'net access (tired of dialup already) and we're getting him hooked up with broadband cable.
Wow! That was LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG! See what happens when I let my fingers do the talking?
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Update... short but sweet!
Okay, I admit it, I've neglected my blogging lately... but in exchange I've begun to have more of an offline life, so there you go. I'm sure if you look back... from September of 2002 'til June of 2004 I doubt I blogged much, since I was a full-time college student.
Anyway, should anyone wish me to return to blogging daily... I figure if I have a sponsor willing to put up about $1,000-1,500/month I could swing it, and have time to write the great American novel as well. Anyone interested?
I didn't think so. But you can't blame a girl for trying, can you???
P.S. I've had a few glasses of wine... does it show?
Anyway, should anyone wish me to return to blogging daily... I figure if I have a sponsor willing to put up about $1,000-1,500/month I could swing it, and have time to write the great American novel as well. Anyone interested?
I didn't think so. But you can't blame a girl for trying, can you???
P.S. I've had a few glasses of wine... does it show?
Thursday, June 16, 2005
Glory Hallelujah!
My son couldn't buy the Jeep he wanted, so he bought me a laptop for my birthday instead. Of course, I insisted on repaying him so that he can replenish his car fund, but I sure do love this machine! It has built-in wireless... and my city has free wireless access downtown. I stopped off today after work to try it... it was awesome to sit in my car and chat on an IM + check email, etc.
I think 2005 is going to go down in my books as a very good year. I just hope that doesn't mean that next year's gonna SUCK by comparison.
I'm thinking about buying a condo at the beach in a building where they rent them out for you as hotel rooms during the "season" and that pays your mortgage... so in "off-season" you and your family can enjoy it. (To be honest, I prefer OFF season at the beach anyway... because I like it when the ocean feels like BATHWATER.) Well... anyway, that's a plan for NEXT YEAR so maybe it won't suck so bad after all.
I think 2005 is going to go down in my books as a very good year. I just hope that doesn't mean that next year's gonna SUCK by comparison.
I'm thinking about buying a condo at the beach in a building where they rent them out for you as hotel rooms during the "season" and that pays your mortgage... so in "off-season" you and your family can enjoy it. (To be honest, I prefer OFF season at the beach anyway... because I like it when the ocean feels like BATHWATER.) Well... anyway, that's a plan for NEXT YEAR so maybe it won't suck so bad after all.
Saturday, June 11, 2005
Catching my breath
Well, it's been a while since I took the time to post, so here's the nutshell version:
Finally quit Telephone Takeout, working an average of 20 hours/week for a web design company ($15/hr) and avg of 10 hours/week for Venture Yachts.
Also still doing some tutoring on the side, so while I have a little more breathing space than I did while working for Telephone Takeout, it's by no means RESTFUL, LOL
My 40th birthday came on June 3 and I'm still a size 16 (American) about 160 lbs. Really need to get my ass back to the gym, thinking about trying it one day a week & work my way up from there. Not sure. Don't want to get sick and make things worse!
For my birthday I went to Sam Ash and bought myself a brand new guitar, so now I have an instrument that would be suitable for playing gigs. Stay tuned!
: )
Finally quit Telephone Takeout, working an average of 20 hours/week for a web design company ($15/hr) and avg of 10 hours/week for Venture Yachts.
Also still doing some tutoring on the side, so while I have a little more breathing space than I did while working for Telephone Takeout, it's by no means RESTFUL, LOL
My 40th birthday came on June 3 and I'm still a size 16 (American) about 160 lbs. Really need to get my ass back to the gym, thinking about trying it one day a week & work my way up from there. Not sure. Don't want to get sick and make things worse!
For my birthday I went to Sam Ash and bought myself a brand new guitar, so now I have an instrument that would be suitable for playing gigs. Stay tuned!
: )
Saturday, May 14, 2005
Sick. Very sick.
I've been so sick this week... working THREE jobs is killing me. I need to quit Telephone Takeout SOON.
: (
: (
Thursday, April 21, 2005
Never a dull moment!
I have been working two jobs... so I rarely have any free time. Just wanted to drop by here and let everyone know that I'm thinking about y'all even if I can't stop to smell the roses at the moment.
I'll catch up just as soon as possible. I hate that I haven't been blogging... because so many things that I would like to remember will be gone forever! Gotta find the time somehow.
: )
I'll catch up just as soon as possible. I hate that I haven't been blogging... because so many things that I would like to remember will be gone forever! Gotta find the time somehow.
: )
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
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