Weekend Update (A little late)
It was a very good weekend. Not only did I have a lot of fun, I actually got some stuff done, too.
OK, maybe not done, but started. Still puts me ahead of some previous weeks. :)
Friday was yet another birthday dinner with a great group of people. Though the restaruant didn't have the best service (or seating set up), the food was OK and not any more outlandishly priced than some other places I've been to. After that party, a handful of current and former coworkers and I went down the street to one of my personal favorite bar/pub/restaurants in Dupont Circle: The Childe Harold.
I have a handful of very happy memories of that place from when bunches of us would go there for, well, happy hour. It was good for venting and bonding and hearing stories that couldn't (or at least shouldn't) be told in the office. That spirit of bonding continued as I was (re)introduced to a totally cool person or two. Hopefully our paths will cross again--if nothing else, I think I've got more incentive to get one of my movie nights organized now.
When we all went our separate ways from The Childe, I hopped on the metro and made it to the Black Cat just after midnight. They were having their annual "Cry Fest" DJ night. On my way to the Cat, I ran into another couple of people from my office. Once we were in line, I got a call from enlightened77 who told me that her and raskalnikov had just driven past and found a parking space. They saw the hat and decided to wait out the slow moving line with me (the couple from my office didn't quite make it that long).
I've never waited outside quite so long at the Cat as I did Friday night. When we did finally get inside, I immediately ran into another half-dozen people I knew. Guess this means I officially have a social life in there here parts.
With less than an hour left before the main stage dancing stopped, it had cleared out enough that I dropped the cash and made my way up the stairs. It was good. It was fun. It wasn't worth the money for such a short time, but the guy ahead of me in the line had botched his attempt to get up for free so badly, there was no way I was going to be able to smooth-talk my way in for free.
Saturday I had the chance to hang out with fractalwoman and her man a bit. We caught Hostel (don't bother wasting your money, no matter what you're in to) and then got in some dinner and a few rounds of Chez Geek back at her place. I stayed up a little later than I should have, even knowing I had to get up early the next morning (well, early for a Sunday, at least).
Sunday I got my normal food shopping done early and spent the rest of the day wandering around Antarctica with spirit_o_fire, headcrashaddict and cromagnonman2k under the expert direction of dallendoug. The whole Starkweather-Moore Expedition (sme_coc) game is great. Can't wait to see what else it leads to.
Then there was the productive part of the weekend.
The job search is officially started. I did a bit of digging through some listing friends (like starsoup7) have pushed my way and some searches on Monster.com. With the new twist of responsibilities I've taken on at my current job, I'm finding that I'm almost qualified for a number of different listings. Things that are holding me back from seeing one that matches perfectly include my lack of programming skill and my lack of advertising agency background. As usual, I'm too much of some things and not enough of others to find a good fit without being stupid lucky or doing a lot of digging.
I am finding many poorly worded job descriptions and many more that just expect way too much out of an employee. Right now I'm still refusing to take any job that uses the words "some night and weekend hours required" or "must be on call" or mixes too many positions (design, layout, computer maintenance, plumber and oil rig shift manager are not a set of skills that should ever be put together).
The absolute most productive (and potentially lucrative thing) has to be the actual start of How to Crush Without Being Crushed. There are actually words on paper now that signal a real beginning. I've been talking up the project enough now--including a bit this past Friday--that I know I have a good handle on what it's all about. The outline has been started, lists are being made. There will be a finished article or two done and shopped around somewhere in time for some celebration soon (say in about mid-February... strikes me as a good time to celebrate a launch of some kind with a book idea like this). In another year (if not sooner), it should be almost publishable.
Anyone with any ideas for the book's companion website I'm planning should let me know. Work on that will start shortly after there's some actual content to put up. :)
And speaking of web sites, I'm once again re-visioning my freelance business, Dragon-Pen.com. It's not going to be just about writing anymore. It's going to be about wrangling those troublesome dragons of information, process, knowledge and service. Maybe a few others. The web site will reflect this change in focus as soon as I get around to digging up acceptable dragon images (and, perhaps, some wittier names for them).
All in all, an amazing weekend. Mostly thanks to amazing friends who know when to push just right and when to give creative gifts. (Not to mention the interesting people they all know--people who are willing to listen and laugh at my stories...) :)
Thanks, everyone!
OK, maybe not done, but started. Still puts me ahead of some previous weeks. :)
Friday was yet another birthday dinner with a great group of people. Though the restaruant didn't have the best service (or seating set up), the food was OK and not any more outlandishly priced than some other places I've been to. After that party, a handful of current and former coworkers and I went down the street to one of my personal favorite bar/pub/restaurants in Dupont Circle: The Childe Harold.
I have a handful of very happy memories of that place from when bunches of us would go there for, well, happy hour. It was good for venting and bonding and hearing stories that couldn't (or at least shouldn't) be told in the office. That spirit of bonding continued as I was (re)introduced to a totally cool person or two. Hopefully our paths will cross again--if nothing else, I think I've got more incentive to get one of my movie nights organized now.
When we all went our separate ways from The Childe, I hopped on the metro and made it to the Black Cat just after midnight. They were having their annual "Cry Fest" DJ night. On my way to the Cat, I ran into another couple of people from my office. Once we were in line, I got a call from enlightened77 who told me that her and raskalnikov had just driven past and found a parking space. They saw the hat and decided to wait out the slow moving line with me (the couple from my office didn't quite make it that long).
I've never waited outside quite so long at the Cat as I did Friday night. When we did finally get inside, I immediately ran into another half-dozen people I knew. Guess this means I officially have a social life in there here parts.
With less than an hour left before the main stage dancing stopped, it had cleared out enough that I dropped the cash and made my way up the stairs. It was good. It was fun. It wasn't worth the money for such a short time, but the guy ahead of me in the line had botched his attempt to get up for free so badly, there was no way I was going to be able to smooth-talk my way in for free.
Saturday I had the chance to hang out with fractalwoman and her man a bit. We caught Hostel (don't bother wasting your money, no matter what you're in to) and then got in some dinner and a few rounds of Chez Geek back at her place. I stayed up a little later than I should have, even knowing I had to get up early the next morning (well, early for a Sunday, at least).
Sunday I got my normal food shopping done early and spent the rest of the day wandering around Antarctica with spirit_o_fire, headcrashaddict and cromagnonman2k under the expert direction of dallendoug. The whole Starkweather-Moore Expedition (sme_coc) game is great. Can't wait to see what else it leads to.
Then there was the productive part of the weekend.
The job search is officially started. I did a bit of digging through some listing friends (like starsoup7) have pushed my way and some searches on Monster.com. With the new twist of responsibilities I've taken on at my current job, I'm finding that I'm almost qualified for a number of different listings. Things that are holding me back from seeing one that matches perfectly include my lack of programming skill and my lack of advertising agency background. As usual, I'm too much of some things and not enough of others to find a good fit without being stupid lucky or doing a lot of digging.
I am finding many poorly worded job descriptions and many more that just expect way too much out of an employee. Right now I'm still refusing to take any job that uses the words "some night and weekend hours required" or "must be on call" or mixes too many positions (design, layout, computer maintenance, plumber and oil rig shift manager are not a set of skills that should ever be put together).
The absolute most productive (and potentially lucrative thing) has to be the actual start of How to Crush Without Being Crushed. There are actually words on paper now that signal a real beginning. I've been talking up the project enough now--including a bit this past Friday--that I know I have a good handle on what it's all about. The outline has been started, lists are being made. There will be a finished article or two done and shopped around somewhere in time for some celebration soon (say in about mid-February... strikes me as a good time to celebrate a launch of some kind with a book idea like this). In another year (if not sooner), it should be almost publishable.
Anyone with any ideas for the book's companion website I'm planning should let me know. Work on that will start shortly after there's some actual content to put up. :)
And speaking of web sites, I'm once again re-visioning my freelance business, Dragon-Pen.com. It's not going to be just about writing anymore. It's going to be about wrangling those troublesome dragons of information, process, knowledge and service. Maybe a few others. The web site will reflect this change in focus as soon as I get around to digging up acceptable dragon images (and, perhaps, some wittier names for them).
All in all, an amazing weekend. Mostly thanks to amazing friends who know when to push just right and when to give creative gifts. (Not to mention the interesting people they all know--people who are willing to listen and laugh at my stories...) :)
Thanks, everyone!