Category: Personal

I’m sorry I’ve been so absent of late. There are a few other things going on in my life. For one, next Tuesday, I’ll be returning to full time employment. I’ve decided to return to my pre-web-worker job in computer sales. I’ll be working Tuesday to Friday at my old employer, Computer Systems Centre, at College and Spadina in downtown Toronto. Stop by and say Hello. And, uh, yeah, buy something from me! I have to be honest and say that this was not my first choice for a return to employment, but months of shouting into the abyss and hearing nothing back have left me little choice and not much money either.

I’ll be continuing my writing for CanadaComputes.com and hope to expand that area of my employment. If anyone knows a good site for web design book reviews, please let me know. I’ve been writing a bunch. Speaking of my writing, the Content section is growing. I’ve added articles on Fray Day, Gaming Clans, and reviews of several recent web design books in the past few days, so don’t forget to check those out. I crave feedback.

5/31 – I’ve found a great way to write. I get out of my place, avoid the TV, the web, the email, the phone. I go to my favourite restaurant, where the only distractions are lunch and the beautiful waitress, and I can actually write. It’s amazing. Now I just have to explain this to the beautiful waitress, lest she think I’m there just to stalk her.

6/5 – In reading Steven Soderbergh’s fascinating book, Getting Away With It, I came across this interesting quote:

“Then I lay down for a few minutes, take a shower, get dressed, get something to eat, then head for a series of coffee shops, where I spread out my stuff and embarass myself into writing with the idea that it would be lame to sit in front of so many people without actually doing something.”

And he’s hit it on the head, entirely.

Update on my employment situation, for anybody who cares: I’ve applied to do a 3-4 month unpaid internship at a cool magazine, but won’t know if I got it until tomorrow or Friday, so I don’t want to say anything else for now. I’m also hoping to meet with the Director of New Media at TVO, a public television network in Ontario that’s similar to PBS. I’ve almost given up on applying for advertised vacancies. My skill set is far too nebulous to match up with some of the herculean attributes some of these employers are looking for.

I lost my job today. It wasn’t completely unexpected, and in some ways I’m relieved not to have to commute almost 3 hours a day. But, with the current economic climate, it’s going to be difficult for me to find another job in web development. I really don’t want to flip burgers. I am looking forward to using the time to seriously update my skill set. Believe it or not, this was difficult at work, even when we weren’t busy. Spending 12 hours of every 24 either at work or in transit tends to sap one’s energy. Let’s hope sudden unemployment has the opposite effect 🙂