For those of you who maybe aren’t aware, last year I got married and moved from the Boston area to the Atlanta area. The backstory is long and complicated (no, I did not mail-order myself a nice southern man; I simply ended up marrying one of my oldest friends), but when it came down to planning our lives together, the move was a no-brainer.

He works at a university. I work at my laptop. I was free to move because I can work wherever I am, whereas he’s rather attached to his students and colleagues and seems to think he needs to be here. Okay. I moved, and was glad to be able to do so more or less without a hitch where my career was concerned. Read the rest of this entry »

There’s no shortage of articles, books, and blogs to tell you all about why freelancing is the very greatest thing ever. I like reading those sorts of pieces because it’s nice to hear someone excited about what they do, in any event, and even moreso when they’re doing what you do. (Or—for some of you—what you want to do.)

And then there are also folks who want to tell you the “cold hard facts” about choosing freelancing as your way of life. I like reading those sorts of pieces because I’m a realist, and I want to know what I’m really look at, here. I don’t want my truth sugar-coated; give it to me straight.

And then there are the people who want to tell you how much it all sucks. Read the rest of this entry »

I, um, bought myself a little something this week.

You’ll never guess what it is! Ha!

And I know that I once said I’d never succumb, both due to financial and life-balance reasons, but obviously I managed to justify it for better or for worse. (Finances—I got a refurb on a ridiculously good deal. Life-balance—it’s gotten to where I’ve convinced myself that the ability to do a bit of work when I’m sitting in the car waiting for a kid or otherwise killing time while playing Mom’s Taxi would actually improve my overall stress level.)

Yeah. That’s right. I bought an iPhone, and I’m sitting here waiting for it to arrive. DHL, where aaaaaaaare yoooooouuuuuu? Read the rest of this entry »

Hey, remember that time when I had a whole week to myself and just couldn’t think of anything I needed/wanted to do? And I just wasn’t sure of how to just properly relax? Remember that? Wasn’t that funny? Gosh, that was a long time ago, though.

And by “long time ago” I of course mean last week.

It just feels like a long time ago, because this week, it’s back to business as usual. Actually, it’s more like business as all hopped up on speed. (Dude. Did you happen to spot my business over at Target buying multiple bottles of Sudafed, or anything?) Read the rest of this entry »

You know, I always sort of get a chuckle out of articles that purport to tell you things you should or should not do as a [fill in the blank here]. Nine out of ten times, those pieces can be extrapolated outwards to apply to human relations in general, particularly when you’re talking about how to interact with others (as opposed to how to design your web page or what to wear). And the saddest part is that our society desperately needs these sort of how-to pieces, because people in general are often either self-absorbed or just plain clueless.

Nevertheless, every now and then I see one of these articles that spells it out in a noteworthy way, so today we’re going to turn our attention elsewhere. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s Spring Break, people! Can’t you tell?

Wait. You can’t tell? Really?

Oh, yeah. That’s right. I don’t actually get vacation. All freelancer, all the time!

It is, however, Spring Break. My kids are off of school, and in fact, they’re out of the state. (They’re up visiting their dad for the week.) My husband is off of work. Our town is virtually deserted. Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday I could not get the phone to stop ringing. All of the standard clichés leapt to mind: The phone was ringing off the hook! (Except, of course, that it’s a handset and a base—no hook.) The phone was attached to my ear! (Actually, I usually do speaker phone with clients so that I can look at files at the same time.) And so on.

This was particularly aggravating, yesterday, because my son was home sick. He’s an easy sickie; he’s happy to lay on the couch and watch cartoons or doze. Still, it’s not the kind of day where I want to be talking to clients for hours on end, if I had my druthers. (What the heck are druthers, anyway? Apparently I didn’t have them, yesterday.) Read the rest of this entry »

I did something radical yesterday.

I took a long walk.

Oh, I know it doesn’t sound like much. But I have become so completely mired in my day-at-the-desk routine that it felt like a Great Big Major Deal to dig out my good sneakers and some workout wear. But I was caught up on work and we had an unseasonable and gorgeous day yesterday—70 degrees! Balmy!—and so I got myself together and headed out the door.

In the middle of the day. Like I owned the place! Read the rest of this entry »