This has been a fairly intense week. I spent a fair amount of time on site related stuff, but did not write a single line of code. That's the first time I've done that I think since getting back from the honeymoon in April.
The week began with the house stuff and that stress, then some other more personal stress that was worse (which I'll probably talk more about next week), and then a strange positive streak that has led me to push harder toward certain goals.
First, there have been actual job prospects as of late, and not shitty code monkey contract work either. Right now I'm chasing two gigs that are competitive, but it's kind of invigorating even to be in the process. It's one of a number of signs that lead me to believe that we've at least turned a corner, even if we're not in economic recovery mode.
And truth be told, I actually have positive cash flow right now, give or take a few bucks, which seems like something of a miracle. It shows me that mastering my own destiny is possible, which is something I think I give a lot of lip service to, but don't always believe. I still want to go back to work though, for a number of reasons, which I'm sure I'll also talk about in the coming weeks.
The second thing is that I have a strong urge to cover IAAPA in a big way. Yes, the Blue Man Group tour is certainly a motivator with that, but there are several challenging aspects to it that drive me as well. The first is the fund raising challenge, to score enough advertising or sponsorship or room trades to make it financially viable. I've broken into a network of people I didn't know a week ago, and I feel good about the possibilities. Because I want to do serious video work around the coverage, I've also been thinking about hiring someone to help, who has actual experience producing Web-based segments. I'm talking with someone now who might be interested, and I think she would be a good fit for the gig, given her impressive credentials. And the Dippin' Dots are free.
The IAAPA thing also comes on the heels of what I can only call the CoasterBuzz renaissance. I've not seen a rise in traffic like this in a long time, and the fact that I can link it to specific actions I've taken is gratifying in ways I can't even begin to express. I really let the site slide during the "in between years," and refocusing, particularly working for myself, gives me the confidence in this chaotic career environment that I have a clue after all. When I say that page views are up 50% over April, and 20% up over the same month last year, yeah, I'm going to take some pride in that.
Life has been so up and down lately, but this is the most positive I've felt in awhile. I look at my calendar, and I see a lot of positives. And I'm working hard to see that this very moment is one I should be enjoying.
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