Olivia has needed a bit of work lately. Today I got to work on her in a "professional" environment, as opposed to the front yard!
Our local Landy expert kindly suggested I sort out what needs sorting under his watchful eye. His exact words were "We'll fix it, but you're going to WORK!".
So me, my tools and my truck headed down there this afternoon to do just that.
I suspect I was a bit of a novelty. He told me that the other mechanics had started to ask if there was a new one starting training.. and one came up to inform me he'd never seen a woman work on her own car.
But hauling out a carb is one thing I've done a lot of. I know what goes where, and got stuck in with a will. Yes, it's hard and dirty work. I ended up with a kinda large area of skin taken off my thumb where I had to dislodge a stubborn nut. I frightened a few womenfolk at the shops later with my grubby paws that were fresh from the engine. And I ended up poised butt in air a number of times over the engine bay, hoping the jeans were not creeping south while shirt crept north... :-)
There's nothing as satisfying as putting it all back together again, having it fire up perfectly the first time and driving off though. I have the experts to thank for that - they showed me exactly what needed doing and then let me at it. I know more now than I did when I walked into that garage.
But I also realized I had a huge amount of fun. It was actually rather cool working on my Landy surrounded by other people working on other Landies, the inevitable radio going in the background, the tools moving from one vehicle to another, and various people popping by to discuss their trucks.
I guess if ever I need to change careers (yet AGAIN!), I could actually consider mechanic. :-)
Showing posts with label cool stuff. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cool stuff. Show all posts
All grown up
History was made today. Jason Bainbridge, my rapidly growing up son, FINALLY passed his learner's test for both car and motorbike!!! Third time lucky... :-)
Quite frankly, we were all not sure he would - but he studied hard, and built on correcting the questions he'd got wrong last time. This time around I waited outside the test centre, armed with my trusty emergency book (a fixture of Olivia's safe box for any times requiring a long wait). Couldn't concentrate on reading though, as I was more nervous than he was I'm sure.
But an hour and a half later, he popped out the door with a thumbs-up and the whole world went YAY!
So what's the next step?
To get a driving instructor. Both Favourite Man and I could of course teach him, but we're also likely to instill bad habits that will have him retaking the driving test again and again. (I hear at least one of us sneaks past a certain traffic circle on the wrong side if there's no cars coming) Yes, we'll provide practice sessions, which may have us sprouting more grey hairs than is necessary. And if J learns to drive in Olivia, he'll be able to drive anything!
The bike licence? That will come eventually. We're on the lookout for something mid-size and affordable in the near future.
First step is done though. Official papers in hand, giving one more teen free reign to terrorize the adults.
Quite frankly, we were all not sure he would - but he studied hard, and built on correcting the questions he'd got wrong last time. This time around I waited outside the test centre, armed with my trusty emergency book (a fixture of Olivia's safe box for any times requiring a long wait). Couldn't concentrate on reading though, as I was more nervous than he was I'm sure.
But an hour and a half later, he popped out the door with a thumbs-up and the whole world went YAY!
So what's the next step?
To get a driving instructor. Both Favourite Man and I could of course teach him, but we're also likely to instill bad habits that will have him retaking the driving test again and again. (I hear at least one of us sneaks past a certain traffic circle on the wrong side if there's no cars coming) Yes, we'll provide practice sessions, which may have us sprouting more grey hairs than is necessary. And if J learns to drive in Olivia, he'll be able to drive anything!
The bike licence? That will come eventually. We're on the lookout for something mid-size and affordable in the near future.
First step is done though. Official papers in hand, giving one more teen free reign to terrorize the adults.
Late night escapades
Wednesday is dustbin day in our area, and it's my son's job to take our bin down to the pick-up area on Tuesday night. Inevitably he leaves this as late as possible unless prodded. This week we managed to get him off on his duty by 10... only to have him come running back with tales of a small snake he'd seen on the road, that hissed at him when he tried to get close!
Now Favourite Man knows snakes and has handled a good few large and dangerous types in his days, so off we all trouped to go see what it was.
And found this.
Definitely a snake, and apparently a juvenile Cape Cobra! Well Favourite Man had an appropriate stick and it was quickly decided this little character needed to be relocated to a safer place. Neighbours were marching up and down with bins, and most were not quite as fond of legless slitheries as the three of us are! So he coaxed snake onto stick while I ran for a bottle to house it temporarily. During the coaxing process little snakey spat out a decent amount of venom - as small as he is, he's still a Cape Cobra, and fiesty!
Back with the bottle, we finally got snake safely on the other side of glass and wacked on the lid.
He's truly a beautiful creature!
But what to do with him? Over the wall of the complex? Too close to roads, random passers-by and a train line. We marched down instead to a neighbour who works at the nature reserve, hoping to get her to release him on the morrow - but she was already tucked up in bed and fast asleep.
Only one thing for it. We hopped in the Landy and drove up the hill to a wild place, near a dam, with long grass and natural vegetation - a good place for little snakes to find food and water and learn their place in the world. Carefully let him out and within seconds he was gone to his new environment.
I hope he grows up to be a nice big snake. Much better than being smacked over the head by a clueless human in a cement-and-brick housing development.
Of course, little snakes come in batches - we're keeping an eye out in case his brothers and sisters make an appearance.
Now Favourite Man knows snakes and has handled a good few large and dangerous types in his days, so off we all trouped to go see what it was.
And found this.
Definitely a snake, and apparently a juvenile Cape Cobra! Well Favourite Man had an appropriate stick and it was quickly decided this little character needed to be relocated to a safer place. Neighbours were marching up and down with bins, and most were not quite as fond of legless slitheries as the three of us are! So he coaxed snake onto stick while I ran for a bottle to house it temporarily. During the coaxing process little snakey spat out a decent amount of venom - as small as he is, he's still a Cape Cobra, and fiesty!
Back with the bottle, we finally got snake safely on the other side of glass and wacked on the lid.
He's truly a beautiful creature!
But what to do with him? Over the wall of the complex? Too close to roads, random passers-by and a train line. We marched down instead to a neighbour who works at the nature reserve, hoping to get her to release him on the morrow - but she was already tucked up in bed and fast asleep.
Only one thing for it. We hopped in the Landy and drove up the hill to a wild place, near a dam, with long grass and natural vegetation - a good place for little snakes to find food and water and learn their place in the world. Carefully let him out and within seconds he was gone to his new environment.
I hope he grows up to be a nice big snake. Much better than being smacked over the head by a clueless human in a cement-and-brick housing development.
Of course, little snakes come in batches - we're keeping an eye out in case his brothers and sisters make an appearance.
Fear of Failure
I don't know if it's hereditary, or if it's merely the inbred voices of 37 years, but in the back of my mind there are whisperings...
You see, I'm slowly but surely putting a new project together - one that's been percolating for a long time, gaining momentum then sitting back to consolidate, exploring and planning, and now coming to fruition. It's not the next big money-making scheme, it's not the next big business deal. But it's something good and something that can make a difference. Big-time.
Or at least I think so.
And that's where the doubt starts to come in. I've been told so many times over the years "you can't do that, you'll never make it, you're a woman - what do you know". I spent a good few years working in a male-dominated environment that ground those kind of opinions into all their female worker's heads. Until you started to believe them....
Inherited come other thoughts, passed down from grandmother to mother to me. That a woman's place is there, not here, doing that, not this. Subservient, self-sacrificing, slave to all, not striding ahead to make big changes on your own - until somehow, some way, you get that spark of confidence that sends you out into success. You suddenly see that you are, in fact, very good at what you want to do. Naysayers be damned. I saw it change my mother, and I've seen it change me.
Yet still back there in the brain lurk the in-pounded observations that you can't actually accomplish your dreams. And now and then they surface, and then you get to beat them down.
I should have learnt by now to reverse those voices, to permanently still them. I've proved that I do, in fact, have a head on my shoulders that can think through things, come up with stuff that works (really well) and make a big success of a project against all odds. In spite of what the general public says.
I guess it's the pattern of self-doubt that comes with starting anything new. Wondering if you're on the right track, if you can ignite the same passion for what you want to do in enough other people to gain momentum, if it will work out how you envisioned it.
And there the trick is simply to dream bigger when the voices come. To imagine more comprehensively, work harder and smarter and better to reach those goals.
Do that, and the voices will quickly be proved very very wrong.
You see, I'm slowly but surely putting a new project together - one that's been percolating for a long time, gaining momentum then sitting back to consolidate, exploring and planning, and now coming to fruition. It's not the next big money-making scheme, it's not the next big business deal. But it's something good and something that can make a difference. Big-time.
Or at least I think so.
And that's where the doubt starts to come in. I've been told so many times over the years "you can't do that, you'll never make it, you're a woman - what do you know". I spent a good few years working in a male-dominated environment that ground those kind of opinions into all their female worker's heads. Until you started to believe them....
Inherited come other thoughts, passed down from grandmother to mother to me. That a woman's place is there, not here, doing that, not this. Subservient, self-sacrificing, slave to all, not striding ahead to make big changes on your own - until somehow, some way, you get that spark of confidence that sends you out into success. You suddenly see that you are, in fact, very good at what you want to do. Naysayers be damned. I saw it change my mother, and I've seen it change me.
Yet still back there in the brain lurk the in-pounded observations that you can't actually accomplish your dreams. And now and then they surface, and then you get to beat them down.
I should have learnt by now to reverse those voices, to permanently still them. I've proved that I do, in fact, have a head on my shoulders that can think through things, come up with stuff that works (really well) and make a big success of a project against all odds. In spite of what the general public says.
I guess it's the pattern of self-doubt that comes with starting anything new. Wondering if you're on the right track, if you can ignite the same passion for what you want to do in enough other people to gain momentum, if it will work out how you envisioned it.
And there the trick is simply to dream bigger when the voices come. To imagine more comprehensively, work harder and smarter and better to reach those goals.
Do that, and the voices will quickly be proved very very wrong.
Announcing...
Cape Connect now has a hotspot / access point in Strand!
Find us diagonally opposite the Pick 'n Pay centre near the beach or on-screen via your wireless device.
.JPG)
Find us diagonally opposite the Pick 'n Pay centre near the beach or on-screen via your wireless device.
.JPG)
Saturday, September 12, 2009
0
comments
|
Labels:
business,
cape connect,
cool stuff,
technology,
work
Two Years
Two years ago today, Favourite Man walked through my front door - and changed my life forever. For the best? You betcha! There's a lot I could say about how wonderful he is, but let me say this - he's made me a better me in every way and I love him immensely.
Happy 2 years, FM!
Happy 2 years, FM!
Arty
James Delaney has to be my favourite South African artist. (Eish, when did he update his Facebook profile image to that!? )I first spotted his work in a House & Leisure magazine ages ago - a series of small skyscapes grouped together in a big block. Every mood of sky you can imagine in his signature style - abstract yet not too much so.
I know you're supposed to match art to building / decor / mood, but if I ever have anything to do with it, one day one of his paintings is going to hang on one of my walls.
All in a Day's Work
Before:
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
After!
Also known as "how to fit one high site tower into a Land Rover". The other Landy took the delicate stuff seen at the top, and one of the helper-elfs seen below.
Way cool.
We're not done yet - tensioners to straighten the local galvanizer's stuff-up will be installed tomorrow.
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
After!
Also known as "how to fit one high site tower into a Land Rover". The other Landy took the delicate stuff seen at the top, and one of the helper-elfs seen below.
Way cool.
We're not done yet - tensioners to straighten the local galvanizer's stuff-up will be installed tomorrow.
Do you see what I see?
Got an experiment set up this weekend - daylight hours only, provided my computer's on...
Spray 'n ... ?
Just back from the voting thing, Favourite Man noticed a glob of prestik (blutak for some of you, except ours isn't blue) on the car carpet... Eish! That stuff's horrible to get out of anything, and short-pile vehicle furnishings are one of the worst.
Nevertheless, had to be done - so I turned to Google. Which was semi-helpful with hints, but being hard-headed I had to try it my way.
Cue the handy can of Spray 'n Cook.
I use the stuff quite a bit - instead of oil in the pan when making pancakes, to line the usual baking dishes, and yes, for cleaning.
I've used it a couple times to take off sticky labels from computer cases. Spray it on, wait a bit, wipe and scrape and wipe until it's off - repeat as necessary.
Tried it on the prestik - voila! It's off, after some scrubbing.
Zapped the patch with Vanish Carpet spray, and we're good to go. Even if we do smell like something should be baking in the back.
Nevertheless, had to be done - so I turned to Google. Which was semi-helpful with hints, but being hard-headed I had to try it my way.
Cue the handy can of Spray 'n Cook.
I use the stuff quite a bit - instead of oil in the pan when making pancakes, to line the usual baking dishes, and yes, for cleaning.
I've used it a couple times to take off sticky labels from computer cases. Spray it on, wait a bit, wipe and scrape and wipe until it's off - repeat as necessary.
Tried it on the prestik - voila! It's off, after some scrubbing.
Zapped the patch with Vanish Carpet spray, and we're good to go. Even if we do smell like something should be baking in the back.
Addictions
This:
(bring on Season 2!!!)
...and this:
...and some of this:
...definitely this!
... and this:
...don't forget this!
Who says there isn't good TV out there?! :-) Just gotta look for it.
(bring on Season 2!!!)
...and this:
...and some of this:
...definitely this!
... and this:
...don't forget this!
Who says there isn't good TV out there?! :-) Just gotta look for it.
Still not over it
Forgive me if I sound like a stuck record, but I ended up grinning in traffic again mid-way through today. I'm still not over enjoying being able to plan my day, dash out somewhere at a moment's notice and not be tied down to an office job and working hours.
However, on the other side of the coin, I do spend so much time going places, doing things and working my hands off in a variety of tasks that I don't have time to sit down and take care of the office side of this job..!
That's not a good thing. Running a business or so requires paperwork from all involved, keeping records, dealing with emails and calls and such. There's a fine line to walk between out-and-about and never seeing the sun. There's also a bit of adjusting when you share office space, a phone and business-running responsibilities to ensure you're not treading on toes or keeping your partner from doing what they need to do. Though I do like that I get to kiss the boss on coffee breaks.
After three months working for myself I'm still finding balance between out and in. If I could blog and drive at the same time you'd end up with 8 hours of straight verbosity - so count your blessings! But at the same time, I often wish I were mentally internet-enabled while out and about. By the time I get home I've clean forgotten everything I wanted to do or say online, or more often than not simply have run out of energy to do it.
Nevertheless, you'll still find me grinning randomly in traffic - feeling like the naughty kid bunking school, when in fact I'm simply running around and doing what I love for a living. Free as a bird, bound only by the need to pull in the required amount of cash.
Don't think I'll ever get over that.
However, on the other side of the coin, I do spend so much time going places, doing things and working my hands off in a variety of tasks that I don't have time to sit down and take care of the office side of this job..!
That's not a good thing. Running a business or so requires paperwork from all involved, keeping records, dealing with emails and calls and such. There's a fine line to walk between out-and-about and never seeing the sun. There's also a bit of adjusting when you share office space, a phone and business-running responsibilities to ensure you're not treading on toes or keeping your partner from doing what they need to do. Though I do like that I get to kiss the boss on coffee breaks.
After three months working for myself I'm still finding balance between out and in. If I could blog and drive at the same time you'd end up with 8 hours of straight verbosity - so count your blessings! But at the same time, I often wish I were mentally internet-enabled while out and about. By the time I get home I've clean forgotten everything I wanted to do or say online, or more often than not simply have run out of energy to do it.
Nevertheless, you'll still find me grinning randomly in traffic - feeling like the naughty kid bunking school, when in fact I'm simply running around and doing what I love for a living. Free as a bird, bound only by the need to pull in the required amount of cash.
Don't think I'll ever get over that.
Slog
It's been a bit of a day, and quite frankly I'm exhausted.
And sunburnt.
And dirty, dusty, worn out, blinking away the remaining grit in my eyes, and pondering which muscles will be sore in the morning.
I've been up a mountain since an unearthly hour with my Cape Connect team, putting the finishing touches to our high site. It's 35 degrees out there, not a whole lot in the line of cooling breezes, and we were working on a very steep slope.
While all you plebs sat in comfy chairs at airconditioned desks and wished you were outdoors :-)
For once the injury toll is minimal. No alcohol swabs were employed, no plasters stuck on cuts and scratches. It's just sunburn, heatstroke and dehydration in spite of copious amounts of awesome borehole water being drunk through the day.
The two Land Rovers took a bit of a beating though. By the end of the working day they were crying out for a rest. Favourite Man's taken his off to the spa for a thorough washing, as white paintwork tends to show brown powder-dust up quite nicely. Mine limped home and is awaiting a bit of love.
But we're done with a good deal of the fetching and carrying work, the hard physical slog of mixing cement, toting water, transporting sand and stone and metal up an impossible slope with two vehicles and all hands on deck (10 hands, two per worker). Now we wait for things to dry, the top bit goes on and we're all done, ready to blast forth uncapped wireless broadband to everyone in (line of) sight.
Tonight though we get to sit still and apply Fridge to the burnt bits... and count our many blessings that we could spend our Tuesday in such spectacular surroundings.
Yup, just another hard day at the office... :-)
::update::
There is one injury to report... Favourite Man burnt his hand badly opening a coolant cap on his truck to top up the water - a very nasty steam burn if ever there was one. He's now all bandaged up wrist to fingertips, and liberally slathered in a burn shield dressing, putting on a brave face. At least there's no blood or bone sticking out anywhere.
And sunburnt.
And dirty, dusty, worn out, blinking away the remaining grit in my eyes, and pondering which muscles will be sore in the morning.
I've been up a mountain since an unearthly hour with my Cape Connect team, putting the finishing touches to our high site. It's 35 degrees out there, not a whole lot in the line of cooling breezes, and we were working on a very steep slope.
While all you plebs sat in comfy chairs at airconditioned desks and wished you were outdoors :-)
For once the injury toll is minimal. No alcohol swabs were employed, no plasters stuck on cuts and scratches. It's just sunburn, heatstroke and dehydration in spite of copious amounts of awesome borehole water being drunk through the day.
The two Land Rovers took a bit of a beating though. By the end of the working day they were crying out for a rest. Favourite Man's taken his off to the spa for a thorough washing, as white paintwork tends to show brown powder-dust up quite nicely. Mine limped home and is awaiting a bit of love.
But we're done with a good deal of the fetching and carrying work, the hard physical slog of mixing cement, toting water, transporting sand and stone and metal up an impossible slope with two vehicles and all hands on deck (10 hands, two per worker). Now we wait for things to dry, the top bit goes on and we're all done, ready to blast forth uncapped wireless broadband to everyone in (line of) sight.
Tonight though we get to sit still and apply Fridge to the burnt bits... and count our many blessings that we could spend our Tuesday in such spectacular surroundings.
Yup, just another hard day at the office... :-)
::update::
There is one injury to report... Favourite Man burnt his hand badly opening a coolant cap on his truck to top up the water - a very nasty steam burn if ever there was one. He's now all bandaged up wrist to fingertips, and liberally slathered in a burn shield dressing, putting on a brave face. At least there's no blood or bone sticking out anywhere.
From Scratch
This weekend I did something I've been threatening to do for a very long time. I hauled out my favourite whole-wheat bread recipe and whipped up a loaf.
Yup, it's that easy. This is a no-knead, rise-once bread that turns out absolutely incredibly. It's filling, it's delicious, it's very very good for you.
I know EXACTLY what's going into my bread. No preservatives, no mystery ingredients like the shop-bought stuff has. It's low-fat with a mere tablespoon of sunflower oil per loaf. Yet it stays fresh for a few days - if it lasts that long. It's customizeable - you can add whatever nuts or seeds or raisins etc you want and turn it into something fancier. Me, well I had some linseed and sunflower seeds lying around, so stuck those on top. But that's it.
Saturday afternoon's loaf is long gone. Ingredients cost about the same as a normal shop-bought loaf, but half what I'd pay for "seed loaf". Now that I'm working from home I actually have time to mix it up, let it rise and bake it while doing other things. I'm very seriously considering making this our daily bread.
Give it a try, tell me what you think.
RECIPE: WHOLEWHEAT BREAD
1 kg Nutty Wheat (whole wheat) flour
2 c digestive bran
3 tsp yeast granules
4 c warm water (1 boiling to 3 cold) - approximately
1 tsp sugar
2 Tbs sunflower oil
2-4 Tbs honey
2 tsp salt
Sesame seeds, Sunflower seeds etc to top
1. Mix flour and bran
2. Sprinkle yeast over 1 c of the warm water, add sugar, let rest until frothy
3. Add oil, honey and salt to the flour mix, stir in yeast mix and gradually add remaining water until dough has a heavy dropping consistency (depends on your flour, I used more water).
4. Divide the dough between two greased loaf pans, sprinkle with seeds and cover with a tea towel. Allow to rise for one hour or until doubled.
5. Bake at 180C for 35-40 minutes or until loaves sound hollow when tapped.
6. Leave to cool in pans for a few minutes before turning out onto racks to cool completely.
Yup, it's that easy. This is a no-knead, rise-once bread that turns out absolutely incredibly. It's filling, it's delicious, it's very very good for you.
I know EXACTLY what's going into my bread. No preservatives, no mystery ingredients like the shop-bought stuff has. It's low-fat with a mere tablespoon of sunflower oil per loaf. Yet it stays fresh for a few days - if it lasts that long. It's customizeable - you can add whatever nuts or seeds or raisins etc you want and turn it into something fancier. Me, well I had some linseed and sunflower seeds lying around, so stuck those on top. But that's it.
Saturday afternoon's loaf is long gone. Ingredients cost about the same as a normal shop-bought loaf, but half what I'd pay for "seed loaf". Now that I'm working from home I actually have time to mix it up, let it rise and bake it while doing other things. I'm very seriously considering making this our daily bread.
Give it a try, tell me what you think.
RECIPE: WHOLEWHEAT BREAD
1 kg Nutty Wheat (whole wheat) flour
2 c digestive bran
3 tsp yeast granules
4 c warm water (1 boiling to 3 cold) - approximately
1 tsp sugar
2 Tbs sunflower oil
2-4 Tbs honey
2 tsp salt
Sesame seeds, Sunflower seeds etc to top
1. Mix flour and bran
2. Sprinkle yeast over 1 c of the warm water, add sugar, let rest until frothy
3. Add oil, honey and salt to the flour mix, stir in yeast mix and gradually add remaining water until dough has a heavy dropping consistency (depends on your flour, I used more water).
4. Divide the dough between two greased loaf pans, sprinkle with seeds and cover with a tea towel. Allow to rise for one hour or until doubled.
5. Bake at 180C for 35-40 minutes or until loaves sound hollow when tapped.
6. Leave to cool in pans for a few minutes before turning out onto racks to cool completely.
HotStuff
After a day spent in the ceiling (me) and on the roof (two others) and fiddling with wiring and cables (Favourite Man) and shouting instructions up ladders (the kid), Cape Connect Internet has a wireless hotspot blasting forth from the roof!
Yup, a blerry powerful antenna, that thing - with access speeds to die for.
Niiiice.....
Yup, a blerry powerful antenna, that thing - with access speeds to die for.
Niiiice.....
Detox
I wonder how long it takes to detox from the 9-to-5....
This morning Favourite Man and I had a busy run-around day, organizing repairs to Olivia, dropping things off here, picking things up there, checking in on various works-in-progress and grabbing a few items off the grocery list.
Come lunchtime I was walking the local mall - and feeling the smallest tinge of guilt. A bit like a truant schoolchild, meant to be sitting in a classroom but bunking instead. Or like a truant adult, booked "off sick" but taking a "personal day" to shop and hoping no-one would recognize them.
There's still this ingrained feeling that I should be chained to a desk from 8 to 5. That I should be trudging the commute and knocking off with the rest of the factory workers.
Instead I'm free as a bird - free to make decisions about how to do the day, free to choose what to focus my attention on, whether e-waste processing, e-waste collection, web design work or a spot of Cape Connect stuff. Or perhaps just a few meetings with potential clients, lunch with Favourite Man, or time spent under a Land Rover doing a gearbox oil topup.
The days are free to use as I will, free to be insanely profitable or merely tick over. I now have an assistant on a casual basis who is making us cash even if I'm out and about, struggling along through the roadworks on the N2 or dealing with admin and phonecalls. I can line up my e-waste clients' collections without having to plan around an office clock-in, or have those collections eat into Favourite Man's schedule. I can spend two hours at the bank, or five hours on the road.
It's something I'm still getting used to, this immense freedom to forge my own way. It's something I'm completely and utterly loving. I'm learning a lot about me (and my innate strength that has yet to fully show itself), about the many businesses in operation around here, about the possibilities and connections that jump up and hit you in the face every day, and about what I want for the path ahead.
It's very very cool - even if it's taking a little while to detox from Employee Syndrome.
This morning Favourite Man and I had a busy run-around day, organizing repairs to Olivia, dropping things off here, picking things up there, checking in on various works-in-progress and grabbing a few items off the grocery list.
Come lunchtime I was walking the local mall - and feeling the smallest tinge of guilt. A bit like a truant schoolchild, meant to be sitting in a classroom but bunking instead. Or like a truant adult, booked "off sick" but taking a "personal day" to shop and hoping no-one would recognize them.
There's still this ingrained feeling that I should be chained to a desk from 8 to 5. That I should be trudging the commute and knocking off with the rest of the factory workers.
Instead I'm free as a bird - free to make decisions about how to do the day, free to choose what to focus my attention on, whether e-waste processing, e-waste collection, web design work or a spot of Cape Connect stuff. Or perhaps just a few meetings with potential clients, lunch with Favourite Man, or time spent under a Land Rover doing a gearbox oil topup.
The days are free to use as I will, free to be insanely profitable or merely tick over. I now have an assistant on a casual basis who is making us cash even if I'm out and about, struggling along through the roadworks on the N2 or dealing with admin and phonecalls. I can line up my e-waste clients' collections without having to plan around an office clock-in, or have those collections eat into Favourite Man's schedule. I can spend two hours at the bank, or five hours on the road.
It's something I'm still getting used to, this immense freedom to forge my own way. It's something I'm completely and utterly loving. I'm learning a lot about me (and my innate strength that has yet to fully show itself), about the many businesses in operation around here, about the possibilities and connections that jump up and hit you in the face every day, and about what I want for the path ahead.
It's very very cool - even if it's taking a little while to detox from Employee Syndrome.
HomeWork
Working from home, self-employed means:
* you get to hang up washing and do the dishes between tasks (or make lunch, or make breakfast, or make coffee)
* you take two cellphones, a notebook and a pen with you when you have a toilet break... just in case one of your clients calls
* you can pet the dog or kiss Favourite Man anytime during the working day
* you change outfits 4 times in a day to work, have a meeting, work some more, and then do the shopping - with work clothes requiring a daily wash once done
* make-up is optional
* work attire varies from old jeans and holey shirt (the dirty work) to new jeans and company-branded t-shirt (the non-dirty work). With takkies, either way - uncomfortable fancy office shoes not in sight.
* you get a tan - at least on your arms and face (see "jeans" above...)
* every day is different, and you never get bored
* you win some, you lose some - but generally you come out on top
* you get to hang up washing and do the dishes between tasks (or make lunch, or make breakfast, or make coffee)
* you take two cellphones, a notebook and a pen with you when you have a toilet break... just in case one of your clients calls
* you can pet the dog or kiss Favourite Man anytime during the working day
* you change outfits 4 times in a day to work, have a meeting, work some more, and then do the shopping - with work clothes requiring a daily wash once done
* make-up is optional
* work attire varies from old jeans and holey shirt (the dirty work) to new jeans and company-branded t-shirt (the non-dirty work). With takkies, either way - uncomfortable fancy office shoes not in sight.
* you get a tan - at least on your arms and face (see "jeans" above...)
* every day is different, and you never get bored
* you win some, you lose some - but generally you come out on top
Honda take 2
Remember that Honda hydrogen-powered car I like? Treehugger has a "there's a problem" post to give perspective.
And here's the Top Gear clip - what do you think? Thumbs up or thumbs down?
And here's the Top Gear clip - what do you think? Thumbs up or thumbs down?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
.jpg)
Posts
