It's the end of the year
... and boy, everybody seems to be happy about that! I don't think I've ever seen so many LJ posts about how crap the past year has been, and how people hope it will all go better next year - this trend has been evident for at least the past month, but obv today is garnering more posts on the topic than previously. Well, I'm all for 2009 being a good one, of course, but I can't say that I've got any major gripes with this year.
I've spent most of it trying to figure out where I'm going career-wise, boinging between temp jobs and doing my own thing, finally settling on the freelance stuff I've been writing about so much. It's going well; I've had my moments of feeling annoyed that I've had to work when others haven't (but then I've also had time off when others have worked, and I've been smug about that, if somewhat lonely - lazing about on your own only goes so far!), and I have to say I'm a little scared of the admin / co.sec. stuff, as it's all a bit neglected from previous years and will require some concentrated effort on my part to set right. I've done the biggest and scariest part of that though, talking to the tax man. I say talking, I should say: I've communicated, and I'm waiting for an answer! But I'm hopeful that it's going to be ok, rather than the car crash it's been to date.
Yesterday, I opened a new business bank account (it's with Lloyds, for one reason and another... no, instant transfers aren't yet possible, but what the hey). My personal finances are going to require a few more injections to stop them from falling over and kicking their legs in the air, but I hope it'll all stabilise soon enough. I have to carry on writing my business plan, and setting up the book-keeping, too. Then, I've also got a lot of reading to do about business in general, from all manner of sources. And I need to get my paperwork in order, but that's rather tied in with sorting out the house in general, hence on the slow burner.
But all that extraneous stuff aside, I can say that the task of translating itself is good. I'm good at it, I'm fast when I have to be, and it's the kind of thing I can focus on completely - all features of work that I've been looking for for some time. While I may be good at secretarial work, it bores me to tears, and it's never absorbed me the way this does. I like using my brain, applying not just my innate feel for language but also the experience I've gained working for other people. I have no idea whether I'll want to base my entire business just on me, but it's good for now - I expect I'll eventually get used to it, and start looking for new things to pick up, but that time's not now. And it probably won't be next year, either - for 2009, I've promised myself that no matter what, I will not work in someone else's office doing admin, so I've got to make this work!
After my bank appointment yesterday, I found the library tucked away in the corner of the Blue, so I got a replacement member card, and browsed their offerings - this prompted me to think that I should structure my reading somewhat. I'm pleased that, while I haven't quite managed to read 50 books in a year, I've read substantially more than in previous years. So now the task is to make sure I keep doing that, keep reading for pleasure, but also leave time for professional and personal development. I'm still knitting, albeit sporadically; not having a daily commute means I have to find other pockets of time for it. But I still enjoy it, so that's good. I can't think off-hand that I have any other hobbies, as such, but that's ok - my time is spent on things I want to do, so I don't need to fill it with activities just to pass time. I guess in some ways that makes my work-life balance relatively skewed, but I'm not so much looking at it in those terms right now.
As for the rest of my personal life: my relationships seem to be going ok-to-great - as well as can be expected when everything else is shifting, anyway. Sometimes, I have much more time for my partners (and friends) than before, but sometimes I have to run off at odd times and do something, or my mind is preoccupied with work things, and I can't quite switch off like before. I get stressed about different things, I need different kinds of support, and we're all adjusting to that, as well as changes in others' lives. Sometimes, that means that less time is taken to just enjoy each other, and that's something I miss (even when I'm the one to blame!). Money being tight at times doesn't exactly help either. I would, for example, dearly love to go on a proper holiday again, but it's just not possible at present. Hell, it's even difficult to take time off and stay at home. But I feel that we're all committed to making things work, and that, once things are more settled, there will be nice times ahead again.
I don't seem to have gained more time to see friends, as such; and there's been a change in me, too, in that I feel like being on my own more than I used to. I've got properly cranky at times for not having time to myself, and I've had to run away from people and situations, and sometimes it's been because I've got stressed about work and wanted to deal with it. But that's not the whole story; I've also met some great new people, got to know old friends better, and often had a great time, too. I'm not sure I want to change anything here, although something like a network of freelancers would be cool - it would be good to share experiences, and have people around to spend time with when work's quiet. I think this is going to emerge over the next year or so, though.
Benjy and I have carried on dancing this year, but have switched styles / teachers. The new style is good fun and makes sense; however, we both get tired easily, and have not always been as committed to it as before - see above for reasons why. I've noticed that fast dancing is hard for me to do, so I'm wondering what I can do to improve that. I'm thinking I may need to focus on cardio-based activities more than I have, something of a change of tack. I've been lazy about attending the gym, so maybe that's what I should be doing next. I've also noticed that this is something that slips down the priority list all too easily, doubly so when it comes to urgent work. Proper nutrition is the same. On busy days, I'll fall out of bed, have something caffeinated, start working, eventually realise I haven't got dressed yet and am freezing cold, or hungry and haven't got anything sensible in the house to eat, much less the energy to assemble food, so I just snack on whatever comes to hand, then overeat when proper food is available, as I'll be so hungry by then. I feel like I need to structure my days better, but it's a real weak point with me, since I'm not given to routines, preferring to throw myself into whatever's occurring at that moment. I'm very unsure what I should do about this.
One thing I've done that seems helpful, and may be more useful if I pay more attention to it, is an overall list of priorities. I've pinned it up by my desk, and the idea is that whenever I do something, I can check the list, and if the activity contributes to one of my priorities, I carry on, and if it doesn't, I pick something else. It doesn't always work, of course; I don't always stop doing something unproductive, but at times, it's helped me to think of what to do next. The other thing that's helped at times is a good To-Do list, but I haven't used them much lately (not that you need them when your day goes: 1. Get up, 2. Translate, 3. Sleep!). I think these two things may be helpful in aligning my activities with what I want to do, until I've established new structures and just do them automatically.
Funny, I wasn't going to write a review of 2008 or a preview of 2009 at all. It just came out when I started writing, so I'm evidently thinking about it on some level. I also evidently regard this as a year-end (I'm aware that it's arbitrary, but I haven't got any strong reasons for placing it elsewhere). At least there won't be any New Year's resolutions; all the plans I've listed above are part of continuous developments.
Well, to come back to the original point: I hope the coming year holds good things for everyone, and, where 2008 hasn't been nice, 2009 is better. I hope I'll catch up with some of you in person soon.
As for tonight, I plan on going to some house parties, possibly as many as three (two of them are linked already, by dint of the hosts' decrees).
Happy 2009!
I've spent most of it trying to figure out where I'm going career-wise, boinging between temp jobs and doing my own thing, finally settling on the freelance stuff I've been writing about so much. It's going well; I've had my moments of feeling annoyed that I've had to work when others haven't (but then I've also had time off when others have worked, and I've been smug about that, if somewhat lonely - lazing about on your own only goes so far!), and I have to say I'm a little scared of the admin / co.sec. stuff, as it's all a bit neglected from previous years and will require some concentrated effort on my part to set right. I've done the biggest and scariest part of that though, talking to the tax man. I say talking, I should say: I've communicated, and I'm waiting for an answer! But I'm hopeful that it's going to be ok, rather than the car crash it's been to date.
Yesterday, I opened a new business bank account (it's with Lloyds, for one reason and another... no, instant transfers aren't yet possible, but what the hey). My personal finances are going to require a few more injections to stop them from falling over and kicking their legs in the air, but I hope it'll all stabilise soon enough. I have to carry on writing my business plan, and setting up the book-keeping, too. Then, I've also got a lot of reading to do about business in general, from all manner of sources. And I need to get my paperwork in order, but that's rather tied in with sorting out the house in general, hence on the slow burner.
But all that extraneous stuff aside, I can say that the task of translating itself is good. I'm good at it, I'm fast when I have to be, and it's the kind of thing I can focus on completely - all features of work that I've been looking for for some time. While I may be good at secretarial work, it bores me to tears, and it's never absorbed me the way this does. I like using my brain, applying not just my innate feel for language but also the experience I've gained working for other people. I have no idea whether I'll want to base my entire business just on me, but it's good for now - I expect I'll eventually get used to it, and start looking for new things to pick up, but that time's not now. And it probably won't be next year, either - for 2009, I've promised myself that no matter what, I will not work in someone else's office doing admin, so I've got to make this work!
After my bank appointment yesterday, I found the library tucked away in the corner of the Blue, so I got a replacement member card, and browsed their offerings - this prompted me to think that I should structure my reading somewhat. I'm pleased that, while I haven't quite managed to read 50 books in a year, I've read substantially more than in previous years. So now the task is to make sure I keep doing that, keep reading for pleasure, but also leave time for professional and personal development. I'm still knitting, albeit sporadically; not having a daily commute means I have to find other pockets of time for it. But I still enjoy it, so that's good. I can't think off-hand that I have any other hobbies, as such, but that's ok - my time is spent on things I want to do, so I don't need to fill it with activities just to pass time. I guess in some ways that makes my work-life balance relatively skewed, but I'm not so much looking at it in those terms right now.
As for the rest of my personal life: my relationships seem to be going ok-to-great - as well as can be expected when everything else is shifting, anyway. Sometimes, I have much more time for my partners (and friends) than before, but sometimes I have to run off at odd times and do something, or my mind is preoccupied with work things, and I can't quite switch off like before. I get stressed about different things, I need different kinds of support, and we're all adjusting to that, as well as changes in others' lives. Sometimes, that means that less time is taken to just enjoy each other, and that's something I miss (even when I'm the one to blame!). Money being tight at times doesn't exactly help either. I would, for example, dearly love to go on a proper holiday again, but it's just not possible at present. Hell, it's even difficult to take time off and stay at home. But I feel that we're all committed to making things work, and that, once things are more settled, there will be nice times ahead again.
I don't seem to have gained more time to see friends, as such; and there's been a change in me, too, in that I feel like being on my own more than I used to. I've got properly cranky at times for not having time to myself, and I've had to run away from people and situations, and sometimes it's been because I've got stressed about work and wanted to deal with it. But that's not the whole story; I've also met some great new people, got to know old friends better, and often had a great time, too. I'm not sure I want to change anything here, although something like a network of freelancers would be cool - it would be good to share experiences, and have people around to spend time with when work's quiet. I think this is going to emerge over the next year or so, though.
Benjy and I have carried on dancing this year, but have switched styles / teachers. The new style is good fun and makes sense; however, we both get tired easily, and have not always been as committed to it as before - see above for reasons why. I've noticed that fast dancing is hard for me to do, so I'm wondering what I can do to improve that. I'm thinking I may need to focus on cardio-based activities more than I have, something of a change of tack. I've been lazy about attending the gym, so maybe that's what I should be doing next. I've also noticed that this is something that slips down the priority list all too easily, doubly so when it comes to urgent work. Proper nutrition is the same. On busy days, I'll fall out of bed, have something caffeinated, start working, eventually realise I haven't got dressed yet and am freezing cold, or hungry and haven't got anything sensible in the house to eat, much less the energy to assemble food, so I just snack on whatever comes to hand, then overeat when proper food is available, as I'll be so hungry by then. I feel like I need to structure my days better, but it's a real weak point with me, since I'm not given to routines, preferring to throw myself into whatever's occurring at that moment. I'm very unsure what I should do about this.
One thing I've done that seems helpful, and may be more useful if I pay more attention to it, is an overall list of priorities. I've pinned it up by my desk, and the idea is that whenever I do something, I can check the list, and if the activity contributes to one of my priorities, I carry on, and if it doesn't, I pick something else. It doesn't always work, of course; I don't always stop doing something unproductive, but at times, it's helped me to think of what to do next. The other thing that's helped at times is a good To-Do list, but I haven't used them much lately (not that you need them when your day goes: 1. Get up, 2. Translate, 3. Sleep!). I think these two things may be helpful in aligning my activities with what I want to do, until I've established new structures and just do them automatically.
Funny, I wasn't going to write a review of 2008 or a preview of 2009 at all. It just came out when I started writing, so I'm evidently thinking about it on some level. I also evidently regard this as a year-end (I'm aware that it's arbitrary, but I haven't got any strong reasons for placing it elsewhere). At least there won't be any New Year's resolutions; all the plans I've listed above are part of continuous developments.
Well, to come back to the original point: I hope the coming year holds good things for everyone, and, where 2008 hasn't been nice, 2009 is better. I hope I'll catch up with some of you in person soon.
As for tonight, I plan on going to some house parties, possibly as many as three (two of them are linked already, by dint of the hosts' decrees).
Happy 2009!