Humbug?

Okay. I don't need any of you to tell me that the last post was rather "Scrooge-y". I guess to sum it up, I would prefer either cash or a dontation to charity in my name over being given things I don't want or need and can't use. At least, unlike in the past... it doesn't have to go to waste any more: there's always Freecycle!

No dice

Well, I guess they decided my portfolio was too slim to show my skills... and didn't want to take a chance on me. That's fine. I've since changed my posting on craigslist to say I'm not interested in a 9-5 "in-house" position.

Got my game plan in order... so I'll be going out on Monday to visit the first of the printers. I hope I won't have to go through the entire list before I find one that's interested. Once I have these brochures and biz cards in my possession, I'll move on to phase two... which will be to take them, in person, to local businesses. I think I'll get a better response that way than by mailing them out or choosing some form of media for advertising.

Any thoughts on this anyone? If there are any flaws in my thinking I'd prefer that they were pointed out before I hit the pavement...

Plan of action

Gosh! My blog is DEAD! Nobody comments anymore. I changed it back to public now that blogger has moderation for comments... but I guess it's going to take some effort on my part to write more and give people something worth stopping by here for.

Well... I think I've finally found traction, so to speak (no more spinning my wheels)

I can't say I'm not nervous, since I'm getting behind on the bills again, but since it's only by a few days so far, it's not too bad... just stinks that I'm so broke at this time of year. But I'll get over it.

I've interviewed with someone who got my resume from craigslist... and it's a job I'd take if it were offered, although I really hadn't planned to do the "9 to 5" again... it's close to home, looks promising (creative environment, interesting people and challenging work) and IS a steady paycheck. They also know I freelance so they won't be upset about that. We'll see...

I also went to see a guy today about working for him, but if he calls back, I will most likely tell him no. He was very annoying both on the phone prior to meeting him as well as in person. I can only imagine the ulcers he causes in those who must be around him from day to day. I have a choice: just say no to misery!

My primary client right now is mulling over the options I gave him for a maintenance agreement and I am working on secondary template sites that are related to the main project. I don't expect to obtain any further funds from that until after the first of the year.

So... what I have decided to do is work on getting the printing I need by bartering. To this end I have compiled a list of local printers who either do not have websites or whose websites could use a little "freshening up" (minor changes such as rollovers for the graphics, etc.)

I'll be pleased as punch if I can barter web services for printing what I need the way I want it to be printed. I'm quite sure my brochures will get me more work once I have them available to hand out.

I don't intend to mass market. I will visit businesses in person, and if they're not at all interested, I won't waste my brochures on them. My goal is to obtain more work than I can handle so I can start putting other people to work as well.

Wish me luck! Although I know my effort is worth a boatload of luck in the long run... luck might get me in the door, but it's my talent that will keep me there.

Ch ch ch ch changes

Well, I was starting to move my blog over to my own server, but realized that there's a lot of work involved, like fixing the archive links & so forth... so decided to just keep it there for backup right now. Might do something with it in the future, but don't know. Makes me feel better to know I have all my entries backed up in case something should happen, but...

If I don't get some work soon, I'm going to get ever more creative in making my sites look more appealing. Sooner or later that's bound to get me somewhere... right?

I think I'm LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG overdue for a serious return to my music... so my primary goal for 2006 is to publish my catalog properly so that Dolly Parton will sing "Take a Little Ginseng" or another artist (any artist) will record my material!

A little help here?

Okay. I've been doing my best online to find more work... but not really coming up with anything. Gotta pay the bills, and prefer not to be boxed into an office again if I can avoid it, since the kids like for me to be available for rides & such. (And I like to do it, so at least I can touch base with them here and there)

I'm going to start seeking some local business offline, but would like some suggestions from other business people how best to go about this. I've created brochures and business cards... but they're not coming out very nice on my home printer. So I'm going to have to go to the expense of having them printed professionally. Since this is a serious investment in my future, I don't want to waste it. I'll have a limited number to pass around to the public, and I want to make sure I choose wisely where they go.

Should I give them only to the businesses I'm most interested in designing sites for? Or should I look at local websites online, and go visit their owners in person to discuss how a redesign would improve their bottom line? OR should I look in the phone book or walk around to local businesses to find out who DOES NOT have a website... and might want/need one? Or... all of the above? A little bit of each? Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!

I haven't priced my print jobs yet... but the budget will most definitely be tight. However, I feel this is a move that I must make if I don't want to be forced back into another nightmare commuting situation or the like. I do hope I'll get a comment or two on this one that provides a bit of food for further thought!

Plug time...

I've been reading through a site that I feel deserves mentioning here. In fact, I'll probably list it on my links after posting this. The site is http://tor.cc and it is a wealth of information for those who are considering the purchase and rigging of a sailboat, as well as for those who are planning to purchase an RV for land-cruising. For example, one tidbit of information I found was this: many Walmarts allow people in RVs to park overnight for free! Read through Tor's fascinating adventures yourself and see if you don't agree that this fellow has a fabulous ability to paint a picture for you - a talent that I personally value quite highly. He's led an extraordinary life, and I'd love to hear what anyone who reads his material has to say!

Congratulate me!

Today I signed the contract and obtained the deposit for my first REAL freelance website design job. The others were not official... they were either under-the-table or for friends, and there's one that's for charity.... but this one is 20-30 page main site and later 5 - page affiliate sites. Of course, since I have had to fill out a W-9 for this one, I will have to report it on my taxes... but since it's November, it won't be a lot, and I hope to have Rainbow Websites completely legitimized by the time I'm ready to negotiate the next contract. (No later than January 1!)

Update

We had our power restored last Sunday at 5:30 pm, 11.5 hours shy of having been out for 2 weeks.

I'm still in a transitional period, since I left the distant job and have begun to acquire more freelance work. Delayed a bit on getting my new biz incorporated, but got a lot going on right now.

In addition to the NaNoWriMo novel, I'm also working on a nonfiction book and associated products that will be for sale. More about that as it develops!

Got my minivan repaired and next day it was dented by a football. No paint damage though, so I'll live with it. As long as there's no worries about rust!

Managing...

We have not had power since 5am on October 24th... and may not have it back for another week or more. My son's gf's family got theirs back so they lent us their generator.

Sigh. Nice to have power... but it's still not enough to run the washer & dryer, hot water heater or stove! Guess I'll be hitting the laundrymat tomorrow. I need clean shorts to wear... it's been nearly 90 degrees out lately!

Something I got from email... U do it 2!

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.

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.

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.

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!

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?

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.

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.

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

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...

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!

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)