Oh Alright

Here I am in the midst of yet another exciting week before I realized the date of my last post… actually wait, when was that again? [load page, skim, ohhhhhhh]. TWO WEEKS AGO – oh tragic expectations! You have been dashed once more.

Here’s the thing about blogging: it takes time.

You would think I’d have learned this lesson by now, having run two blogs at once, then watching them suffer enough neglect before a co-author had to finally write the epitaph. I now realize that this is the ‘marketing’ that people budget for because it’s not always a hobby but usually a chore. A rewarding one, if you write well and enjoy the subject, but a task none-the-less.

I think one of my biggest problems is my overt-concern of presentation. Especially in the early stages of being self employed, it’s hard not to write in that ‘professional’ tone so common in white-paper documents and case study critiques. Seriously? *Who wants to read that*. It’s mundane and tedious, and unless you have the time to read countless reiterated bland statements, then why should you bother reading what I have to say? After delivering a talk today on how to compete in the current design industry, I should probably take my own advice: anyone can sound professional, but there’s no one else like you (aw, thanks Mom!). Well, moms aside, it’s true. The difference between you and everyone else is your experiences, your attitude, your quirks. Your self. So here’s for new beginnings.

Tonight is the eve of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, and regardless of the myriad opinions on snow melt, commercialism, and politically incorrect kangaroo flags, I have to appreciate one thing the Olympics still strives for: to encourage us to be better people. This couldn’t be more obvious in both the competing athletes and the community at large, and I doubt that even the most curmudgeonly miser could ignore the happy faces in what some would call a desperate year of unemployment and bleak futures.

Looking back at reasons why I started to work on my own (I still struggle with calling myself ‘a business’…), it’s not enough for me to repeat what many Internet freelancers say: ‘you call the shots’, ‘work anywhere’, or my personal favorite, ‘flexible work hours’, are like siren calls to the forlorn company bound, but you learn pretty fast that these aren’t reasons enough to keep you afloat when times get tough. (more…)

Kindergarten.
“Wow, these scissors are really sharp, just feel them!”

College.
“We have no money, no experience, and no jobs – let’s move to Vancouver!”

Career.
“Blogging is good for self promotion, I’ll make it an end of January goal!”