... I was at the gym, taking a two-hour cycling class. Ow. My butt. My regular trainer, Mo, was teaching and she brought in all this stuff for us to eat while we were riding. Mo rules.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
Good Fortune
There will be no more complaints in this space (or others) about not having gainful employment. I was made an offer last Friday, which I happily accepted. Today is the first day of the new gig.
I was out there looking in the market long enough to see that the current climate for job hunting is the worst I have ever seen. I am very lucky, not only to have gotten a reasonable offer for my services, but to have fallen into just about as ideal a situation as I can imagine. I get to work at home. I'm once again working for a small consulting firm, which is how I got started in the tech business in the first place. Ever since I got laid off from that job (in mid-2003), I've contracted at a lot of Very Large Software Companies, and while the jobs have been lucrative, they've become more and more soul-sucking, year after year. I think that has a lot to do with the nature of working for big companies, and has nothing at all to do with the people I worked with at those jobs; I have always been lucky to have really talented people to work with on jobs, people who have taught me an unbelievable amount.
Still. This work that I do for a living has gotten less and less fun every day since I started contracting.
This new gig: I'm actually looking forward to it. I want to deserve this good fortune. I'm feeling engaged by work in a way that I haven't in a very long time. And that feels great.
I was out there looking in the market long enough to see that the current climate for job hunting is the worst I have ever seen. I am very lucky, not only to have gotten a reasonable offer for my services, but to have fallen into just about as ideal a situation as I can imagine. I get to work at home. I'm once again working for a small consulting firm, which is how I got started in the tech business in the first place. Ever since I got laid off from that job (in mid-2003), I've contracted at a lot of Very Large Software Companies, and while the jobs have been lucrative, they've become more and more soul-sucking, year after year. I think that has a lot to do with the nature of working for big companies, and has nothing at all to do with the people I worked with at those jobs; I have always been lucky to have really talented people to work with on jobs, people who have taught me an unbelievable amount.
Still. This work that I do for a living has gotten less and less fun every day since I started contracting.
This new gig: I'm actually looking forward to it. I want to deserve this good fortune. I'm feeling engaged by work in a way that I haven't in a very long time. And that feels great.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Two Months
...is how long it has been since I last worked, for a living, that is.
I'd post more about it here, but it would be boring to read, and maybe even boring to type. And frankly the more I think about it, the more depressed I get. I continue to work on music for the 5240 project, and response to the songs has been great. I am keeping the tunnel-vision going for that. Music work, and working out at the gym are the things I am focused on.
Interestingly, the gym I go to wants to add a bunch of features to their Web site, and are interested in talking to me about doing the work. While I probably won't get any money for doing it, I'll probably get my membership taken care of for a while in exchange, which is a nice relief; my gym membership/training costs are not small. I was prepared to go into debt to keep that up, though. Continued focus on getting healthy and strong is one of the few areas of solace I have right now.
I have never seen a job market as tough as the current one is right now. Too bad I didn't take the full-time job offer the last company I worked for tried to give me six months in.
I also find myself with a somewhat rusty skill set for the work that is out there right now. I'm trying to motivate myself to work on that, another reason I'll be grateful for the gym site work; it's hard for me to get excited about maintaining my own Web sites these days.
There are no good movies out to go see, and with money as tight as it is, if there were I'd have to talk myself out of going anyway.
I want to believe that there is a different sort of light at the end of this tunnel; ironically, everything that's happening has a "be careful what you wish for" aspect to it. I've been feeling the need for big changes for a long time, but have been too snug in my (former) comfort zone to take any sort of action - now the Real World is going to force me. Mostly, I'm OK with that, but there are certain things that I wish I had handled before all this went down that I didn't.
I wish, I wish, I wish.
Alright, I'm gonna go watch the Appaloosa DVD.
I'd post more about it here, but it would be boring to read, and maybe even boring to type. And frankly the more I think about it, the more depressed I get. I continue to work on music for the 5240 project, and response to the songs has been great. I am keeping the tunnel-vision going for that. Music work, and working out at the gym are the things I am focused on.
Interestingly, the gym I go to wants to add a bunch of features to their Web site, and are interested in talking to me about doing the work. While I probably won't get any money for doing it, I'll probably get my membership taken care of for a while in exchange, which is a nice relief; my gym membership/training costs are not small. I was prepared to go into debt to keep that up, though. Continued focus on getting healthy and strong is one of the few areas of solace I have right now.
I have never seen a job market as tough as the current one is right now. Too bad I didn't take the full-time job offer the last company I worked for tried to give me six months in.
I also find myself with a somewhat rusty skill set for the work that is out there right now. I'm trying to motivate myself to work on that, another reason I'll be grateful for the gym site work; it's hard for me to get excited about maintaining my own Web sites these days.
There are no good movies out to go see, and with money as tight as it is, if there were I'd have to talk myself out of going anyway.
I want to believe that there is a different sort of light at the end of this tunnel; ironically, everything that's happening has a "be careful what you wish for" aspect to it. I've been feeling the need for big changes for a long time, but have been too snug in my (former) comfort zone to take any sort of action - now the Real World is going to force me. Mostly, I'm OK with that, but there are certain things that I wish I had handled before all this went down that I didn't.
I wish, I wish, I wish.
Alright, I'm gonna go watch the Appaloosa DVD.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Poor, Sad, Neglected
This poor, poor blog. I am neglecting it fully. For this, I apologize. 5240 is my life now, and for the next year, it will be so. I have been posting like a fiend over there.
I'm going to be an uncle in 2009. This cheers me to no end. I can't wait to write a song to my new nephew/niece (don't know which yet).
I am still unemployed, and won't be motivated to change that until after the Inauguration is over. Meanwhile, I will be writing as much music as I can manage. I meant to come down off the mountain in 2009, but 5240 ensures that I will remain on the mountain top for another year. I didn't mean for it to happen that way, but it did.
I am tipsy, and need sleep. Good night.
I'm going to be an uncle in 2009. This cheers me to no end. I can't wait to write a song to my new nephew/niece (don't know which yet).
I am still unemployed, and won't be motivated to change that until after the Inauguration is over. Meanwhile, I will be writing as much music as I can manage. I meant to come down off the mountain in 2009, but 5240 ensures that I will remain on the mountain top for another year. I didn't mean for it to happen that way, but it did.
I am tipsy, and need sleep. Good night.
Monday, December 8, 2008
The Lists, They Are A-Birthing
The Top 10 Lists are showing up.
I had forgotten all about this movie until I saw it mentioned here in Richard Corliss' 10 Best 2008 Movies list. It's really worth a watch, but pretty harrowing.
I'd say that Wall-E, Synechdoche New York, and Iron Man top my fave flicks of the year list, and there are a whole slew of movies that aren't playing here in Seattle yet that I expect to enjoy.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Economics: Ecumenical?
The title of this post makes no sense at all, but I just liked how the words went together.
Wurdz arr mye freyunds.
TWO MORE WEEKS until I am cast into the pit of the Unemployed Masses, and after seeing the new national unemployment numbers from last month, I at least know that I AM NOT ALONE. Come one, come all, Ye Unemployed, and let us all Sally Forth and acquire Lottery Tickets!
Since I first found out I've had time to go through the various phases of Joblessness Grief: Shock, Denial, uh, Boorish Drunken-ness, uhh... I don't remember all of them. You know what I mean. It wasn't fun to suddenly have to deal with the idea, even though I've kinda been waiting for the other shoe to drop on my job since, oh, last April. So that's a six-month long Shoe Drop, is what I'm saying.
I think I'm going to be fine. I think. Throughout the last year, we here in the Seattle area haven't been hit as hard as other parts of the country seem to be. I've still been getting recruitment inquiries the last two weeks, so apparently jobs are out there (whether I'm qualified to do them or not, we shall soon find out). I don't think I really have to WORRY worry until say, April or May, if I'm still unemployed. Then, I think I'm pretty well screwed.
Fun! Fun for the WHOLE FAMILY!
I'm about done with my contributions for this year's Holiday Economy, now I've just gotta get stuff wrapped and boxed and shipped. I tried to be good and hold back a bit on the spending for that stuff, and I guess I sorta did, but... well. If this is to be the last Decent Christmas for a while, I figured I might as well go for it.
Now I'm off to design my witty cardboard sign, and then I'll be staking out good street corners to stand on with it. You know, just in case. Contingencies.
ONE MORE THING: The new movie Doubt, with Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman, is pretty darn good, but IT IS NOT, I repeat, NOT, A DATE MOVIE. There. You have been warned.
Wurdz arr mye freyunds.
TWO MORE WEEKS until I am cast into the pit of the Unemployed Masses, and after seeing the new national unemployment numbers from last month, I at least know that I AM NOT ALONE. Come one, come all, Ye Unemployed, and let us all Sally Forth and acquire Lottery Tickets!
Since I first found out I've had time to go through the various phases of Joblessness Grief: Shock, Denial, uh, Boorish Drunken-ness, uhh... I don't remember all of them. You know what I mean. It wasn't fun to suddenly have to deal with the idea, even though I've kinda been waiting for the other shoe to drop on my job since, oh, last April. So that's a six-month long Shoe Drop, is what I'm saying.
I think I'm going to be fine. I think. Throughout the last year, we here in the Seattle area haven't been hit as hard as other parts of the country seem to be. I've still been getting recruitment inquiries the last two weeks, so apparently jobs are out there (whether I'm qualified to do them or not, we shall soon find out). I don't think I really have to WORRY worry until say, April or May, if I'm still unemployed. Then, I think I'm pretty well screwed.
Fun! Fun for the WHOLE FAMILY!
I'm about done with my contributions for this year's Holiday Economy, now I've just gotta get stuff wrapped and boxed and shipped. I tried to be good and hold back a bit on the spending for that stuff, and I guess I sorta did, but... well. If this is to be the last Decent Christmas for a while, I figured I might as well go for it.
Now I'm off to design my witty cardboard sign, and then I'll be staking out good street corners to stand on with it. You know, just in case. Contingencies.
ONE MORE THING: The new movie Doubt, with Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman, is pretty darn good, but IT IS NOT, I repeat, NOT, A DATE MOVIE. There. You have been warned.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Knew It Would Happen Someday
Wow. After over two-and-a-half years on my current contract, they are finally going to let me go ("roll me off") as of December 19.
Contracts typically don't last 30+ months. Before this one, my longest one was 10 months. So, I've been lucky.
Of course, I've never finished a contract in the middle of the biggest economic crisis in a century before.
I'll take the rest of 2008 off after the 19th, and start looking for a new day gig the first week of January. I have some savings, so I'll be OK for a while. Unemployment insurance is an option if I have to.
It's a good thing. But... I hate looking for new jobs, and I have to wonder how things are going to look two months from now.
I'm not going to think about it, but I'm gonna sock some extra money away in the meantime.
Contracts typically don't last 30+ months. Before this one, my longest one was 10 months. So, I've been lucky.
Of course, I've never finished a contract in the middle of the biggest economic crisis in a century before.
I'll take the rest of 2008 off after the 19th, and start looking for a new day gig the first week of January. I have some savings, so I'll be OK for a while. Unemployment insurance is an option if I have to.
It's a good thing. But... I hate looking for new jobs, and I have to wonder how things are going to look two months from now.
I'm not going to think about it, but I'm gonna sock some extra money away in the meantime.
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