…oh yeah. Being AWOL. Sorry about that. Really. Although I'm quite aware that y'all have lives and things to do, I like to think that occasionally I bring a little comic relief in through the ethernet cable. And so we move on.
anyway…
I'm back and I'm tired. I spent from midday Thursday until about 10 on Monday night working on two aforementioned projects. One was a freelance gig; a short project to bring in a little cash and potentially put me in line for some more work. Wasn't a hard job… kinda picky… but it only took me about six hours. Trouble is, I didn't have the software I needed already installed. When I bought the new computer, I was going to go ahead and get Creative Suite and finance it in. But then I thought, no, you likely won't get the use out of it. After all, you have no thought of freelancing. The very idea is repugnant. (Okay, not repugnant, but I really didn't want to. And didn't, at the time, think I would have to.) So I got iWork instead, which is pretty good, but low-powered.
So now here I am with work in hand and nothing to do it with. Shit.
It's Friday morning. I need something delivered asafp. So I went to a website that shall remain nameless, but had good reviews. Lots. They had what I needed at the right price. They had priority overnight service. I ordered the software. I got the tracking number.
I watched my software sit in a facility somewhere in Memphis for twelve effing hours.
According to the courier's website, priority overnight packages are fully deliverable on Saturday. And indeed, I watched the courier's truck go up and down my street without stopping at my house …on Saturday. While my software sat in Memphis and presumably ate barbecue before a show on Beale Street or something. I did what I could in Photoshop and … and remembered…
After checking the first company's website for return policies, I went straight to
Adobe and ordered the software. I qualified for an upgrade version, since I did own Photoshop. I downloaded it straightaway ('cause I'm just awash in cash right now. NOT.), and immediately got to work assembling all the bits I had.
Then I demanded a return authorization number from the other website-that-shall-remain-nameless. Who are only pleasant to do business with when you're buying something. If you're returning they get pretty surly. Fortunately, I do surly pretty damn well myself. I think it was me saying something like "Set down the Starbucks and get someone to their computer, surfer boy. The east coast is already three hours into the business day," that kind of set him off. Eh. Too bad. The world doesn't run on California time, no matter what they think.
I've also decided that I don't much like freelancing. I knew I wouldn't. However, I can do it, I may well need to do it, I now am outfitted to do it, and I will do it, because besides bringing in money it keeps my networks established. My major concern right now is the tax issues, plus making sure I'm doing this legally. The city is remarkably obtuse and complex about how to operate. The IRS is very good about spelling it all out, but I've yet to make sense of it all. The state isn't much help. I really don't want to hire a lawyer to explain, but I may yet have to. Right now, I'm hoping I can fly under the radar as an indie contractor, 'cause I know how to file that way. If anyone has any advice, I'm listening. Y'all are good at that stuff.
what else?
Well, I had two interviews. They went okay, but I definitely hope one calls me back and the other doesn't. We shall see. Ball's not in my court right now. It's good to have finally talked to real people, although after an hour and a half on the phone with someone, I almost expect an alien to walk in my back room and inform me that the anal probe is complete.
pppttptptttthhthththhpptpt.
Sorry. I didn't know you were drinking something.
But I'm serious. The one thing that pisses me off the most about the whole job hunt is that NO ONE gets back to you. Your applications and résumés vanish off into the ether with nothing that says so much as "thanks." I took the liberty of tracking down the HR department for a few of these places, and wrote them to ask if they'd even gotten it. Hello? Anyone there? The silence is deafening.
I remember when times were good and you'd answer ads and never hear. Usually this was an HR department fishing to pad files. Now, I assume if anyone's advertising it's because they seriously need someone. Most places are either laying off or freezing hiring. You'd think that now would be the time that someone would actually get back to you, even if it was just a form email that went out automatically. But there I go thinking again.
I did get one email back the other day. I sent off an email to a place that advertised for someone who knew Quark and Photoshop really well. My email was well-written, detailed, referenced my résumé several times, and made connections on a personal level. I sent it off and went to do laundry. Hizzoner called me back into the kitchen. "Hey -- you heard back from that place you wrote to already."
Kind of early for a rejection notice, I thought, but I went and clicked on the reply. It said,
"Thank you for your interest. Do you have a resume to show us?"
*headdesk*
Yeah, I did what you're thinking I did. Yes I did. I totally forgot to attach my frickin résumé file to the frickin email before I frickin clicked "send."
So I immediately wrote back, apologizing profusely, and made sure that the offending file was securely attached to the email. And pretty much wrote off that opportunity.
Hizzoner sez that they might well remember me better for the incident. He might well be right. After all, she did write back and ask instead of instantly clicking "delete." We'll see. I just can't believe I did something that stupid when it counted the most.
Hey, I made something! Behold!
Egg rolls. Actually, Thai spring rolls, from
Simply Thai Cooking. Got it from the library. So far, I've made the cucumber salad and the spring rolls. I want to make her pad thai, too, and there's a recipe for banana fritters that I must do. There used to be a Chinese restaurant in the mall near my first job that had a kick-ass buffet. I went mostly for three things: the fried tofu, the long beans, and the fried bananas. I have been looking for that recipe for seventeen frickin years. I now have it in my hot little hands. The egg rolls were really good, easy to assemble if you followed the directions exactly (and there's no good reason not to). However, the dipping sauce was a disappointment. I don't blame the book. It tasted good. I apparently overcooked it, and what should have been a tangy, spicy, syrupy sauce turned into hot pepper taffy. You wouldn't believe what I had to do to get it out of that bowl. Or maybe you would. I dunno.
knitting?
Oh yeah. Been working on that, too, although not so much this past week or so. The shawl grows noticeably, and in fact has been shifted off the 40" needle to the 24". So I've not that much left to go. This last section is fairly picky and easy to screw up (because I can't count to four that well), so I'm taking my time.
I frogged the Interlocking Leaves socks. They fit nice, but I couldn't get the heel right. I'm not an idiot. I know how to knit; know how to follow directions. Apparently this isn't enough. So rather than fight with the damn socks and lose all desire to finish the effing things, I frogged 'em. I'll start another pair (likely the Waving Lace socks from the
Interweave book) when I finish the shawl. I think I need a sock hiatus. Two pair started; two pair frogged. I don't need it tattooed on my forehead. Walk away from the socks for a bit, they say. I'm a-walkin'.
Okay. I've been staring at this screen altogether too much the last week, and will now go to bed. But before I do, please do me a favor and read
this. Please. Yes, it's a satire site, but this time the guy is serious, and I think he makes a valid point. Trouble is, I think it's too late.
Me for bed. Night, y'all.
