Keeping Busy

Chances are that if you run into me and ask how I’m doing I’ll respond with “I’m keeping busy”. This is usually accurate. Lately I’ve been setting up in cafes while I work. I have rented a new place for myself outside of town, though I do miss it sometimes. Andrew had been working remotely on design work. I think that will wind down.

Speaking of design work: I am not a designer. I just happen to own a company that historically marketed itself as a design company at some points in time. I primarily research and find solutions for a diverse number of clients involving such things as: finding someone to support a legacy UNIX application, building a cost-saving SMS marketing application, data forensics, attack mitigation, technical ghostwriting, and systems maintenance. I typically won’t say no to a job if it’s profitable and I know I can find the solution. However, I do say no a good amount of the time especially if taking on the project would adversely impact my existing customers.

I have been self-employed since 2010 and employed by my company since 2012, it’s been a roller-coaster. I spent almost half my time living in Canada between 2012 and 2014 while maintaining work between. This was a stressful time for me and the company because it’s very difficult to project strong involvement when you’re physically not there.

One thing that annoys me is some of the first perceptions of my work. There are two sorts of insults that bug me. The first is the assumption that I work part-time; when in actuality work is slow or I feel like taking on less to spend time living. The other is the suggestion that I should get a more lucrative corporate job. I do like what I do and I like to be challenged by new things daily. I think monotony and not being able to research the areas I want to learn

This might change eventually. There’s quite a few opportunities I can pickup but most don’t allow remote work, so it requires a move. That’s pretty much what’s going on right now. There are now 5 drafts in the queue, I just wanted to throw this up to show I’m still alive.