News:

Got a few minutes to kill? Try the Doom Flash Challenge :afro: - http://www.cafedoom.com/forum/index.php/board,36.0.html

Main Menu

The good morning, good night thread

Started by Ed, October 22, 2007, 03:49:05 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 7 Guests are viewing this topic.

Ed

Have to say this self employment thing isn't all roses, you know. I got home from work tonight, dropped off my oppo, had something to eat, then spent the rest of the evening, up until now, doing paperwork :idiot: Now it's time for bed.
Planning is an unnatural process - it is much more fun to do something.  The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression. [Sir John Harvey-Jones]

delboy

This working for somebody else lark isn't all it's cracked up to be either. At the moment I'm working late into the evenings (9.00 last night - and up at 5 to head off to London this morning) and large proportions of the weekend just to try and keep my head above water. I don't get paid for any of those hours either so I end up getting annoyed with myself for ending up in this situation, too. It seems that businesses in the UK have screwed down everything so tight that those of us lucky enough to still have work pretty much have nothing else. It's an absolute "writing killer" and I'm genuinely questioning whether being a hard-working home-owner striving to stay out of debt (and failing slightly) is the way to go. Certainly the ones like me have neither the money nor the time to go out in the evening, yet somebody's going down the pub, buying Sky TV, driving new cars (any cars in fact), and generally having a good time!

Derek
"If you want to write, write it. That's the first rule. And send it in, and send it in to someone who can publish it or get it published. Don't send it to me. Don't show it to your spouse, or your significant other, or your parents, or somebody. They're not going to publish it."

Robert B. Parker

Ed

Have you looked into changing jobs, Del? Maybe even see if there's a promotion to go for within the same organisation you're currently in. It sounds like you're in a rut. I know how scary it is to change, but you owe it to yourself to look -- you never know, there might be the perfect job sitting somewhere waiting for you. Decent jobs are still out there, recession or no.

Employers like recessions, because they feel like they have the upper hand for a while, but it's only fear that keeps us down. That, and it seems easier to stick in the same rut. I'm really glad the recession ended my previous employment -- it forced me to make the leap and get work elsewhere. I moan about doing paperwork at midnight, but that would have happened before. Everything else seems better. I see the guys who still work for the previous firm, from time to time, and they are being treated very badly. They don't feel like they have any option, but there are still jobs out there working for better employers. Better money, better conditions.

Like I said before, there are some great mortgage deals around as well -- I bet you could get a two year fixed rate better than what you're currently paying.

Hopefully this is coming across as a pep talk, rather than me being patronising :grin: It really is worth looking around, though, Del.
Planning is an unnatural process - it is much more fun to do something.  The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression. [Sir John Harvey-Jones]

Geoff_N

I'm self-employed and love it. If the weather supports it I  go out cycling or hiking during the day then spend evenings writing and editing and other jobs. Luckily, I'm an insomniac so need or get little sleep. To be fair, I do have a teacher's pension, which isn't much but enough to buy the rabbit food I subsist on. And I have to get up early in order to push wife out the door so her part time job brings in the rest of the money. Editing and writing takes up a lot of time but not enough money to shout about.

marc_chagall

I'm also self-employed and loving it. At the moment I make just enough thanks to tax credit top-ups to survive (and buy budgie seed). I'd hate to go back to working for anybody even if it meant I had 'real' money. Spend most mornings writing/editing/illustrating and afternoons/early evening, giving music lessons. Need plenty of sleep, and pretty much always manage to get it. If I still had children at home I'd be worried about the lack of money, but as they've all left, it's not a problem. Finished paying off the mortgage some years ago, which is a relief. I'd hate to have that hanging over me. Car's twelve years old now, so I'll have to replace it at some point as things are bound to start dropping off it, but I'll worry about that when it happens.

delboy

Self-employment sounds like the way to happiness  ::)

That said, I can't imagine how the kids will be able to afford to leave home for years. Our mortgage extends for another 12 years anyway, and as we bought whilst house prices were high we're not really in a position to downsize and save money that way.

At the moment it's simply about keeping on keeping on...

Derek

"If you want to write, write it. That's the first rule. And send it in, and send it in to someone who can publish it or get it published. Don't send it to me. Don't show it to your spouse, or your significant other, or your parents, or somebody. They're not going to publish it."

Robert B. Parker

marc_chagall

#2946
You'd be amazed what kids can afford if they set their minds to it. My middle daughter, for example, after leaving uni went off and volunteered for environmental organisations in Spain for a while (for basic board and lodging plus minimal pocket money, but plenty of sunshine), then she went and lived in a medieval hovel in Corsica whilst working all hours in the local boulangerie, and now she's living in a hostel the mid-west of France, teaching English 12 hours a week in primary schools plus attending a university course at La Rochelle (which she has to pay for) to improve her French, the theory being she'll be able to apply to do a higher degree in a French university once she has the higher level language qualification. I have no idea how she affords to live, but she does, and she has a ball. Her degree is in philosophy, which possibly helps! My youngest left uni last year and immediately got onto a chartered accountancy course which pays just enough for him to afford to live in London. Eldest daughter's the best off financially, as she's entitled to loads of benefits due to her disabilities, so lives with a couple of other disabled young women and a team of helpers about 20 minutes drive away from me in a lovely house.

None of my kids have ever had any money to speak of, but none of them lived at home past age eighteen. If they want to move away and do stuff, they will. The two younger will have to pay off their student loans, of course, but that should be relatively painless. Just an extra bit of income tax, effectively, and only once they're earning enough to afford it.

So don't think your kids won't be able to afford to leave home. They will. You don't actually need any money at all to leave, as mine proved. (They do come home and visit regularly - they weren't forced out because I'm so horrible!)

Rev. Austin

I'm taking a teaching course so as to become self-employed later this year - my housemate has her own arts business, in that she teaches the Arts Award to kids, and is a qualified bookbinder (as well as being possessed of a plethora of other arty things) and the plan is for both of us (and a mutual friend) to pool our resources and see about teaching various workshops in schools/colleges/maybe adult ed.  My friend at work also wants me to do a kids' party business with her, but we need to do a lot of research on this before we can even think about doing it properly.
facebook.com/waynegoodchildishaunted
Stay in touch! I don't mean that in a pervy way.

Ed

So, what time was it when you realised the clocks were out of whack? I had forgotten all about it and was blissfully unaware until about 11:30am. Good job they don't mess with the time on a weekday, isn't it?

So much for the weather forecast, too. They said it was going to be cold and cloudy all weekend, here, but it was beautiful. My favourite type of weather. It was about 17C (68F?) and sunny. Not too hot, not too cold, but bright and cheerful. Long may it continue.

I hope you all had a good weekend :afro:
Planning is an unnatural process - it is much more fun to do something.  The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression. [Sir John Harvey-Jones]

jsorensen

#2949
Quote from: Ed on March 27, 2011, 06:42:22 PM

So much for the weather forecast, too. They said it was going to be cold and cloudy all weekend, here, but it was beautiful. My favourite type of weather. It was about 17C (68F?) and sunny. Not too hot, not too cold, but bright and cheerful. Long may it continue.

I hope you all had a good weekend :afro:

Woke up to a dusting of snow through the yard, but the sun came out and dried the streets...it was a beautiful day, bright and the daffodils nodded.  Made me rush out to buy a new Tom Waits album--"Bone Machine"--and now the day is almost perfect...wish my wife was back from her trip...even beautiful days can feel empty...
He had something to say. He said it. . . . He had summed up—he had judged. 'The horror!'

Geoff_N

The gpvernment messing with time meant my bike ride was an hour colder this morning. I had to choose a steeper gradient hill just to get warm.

Ed

Urgh... it felt like waking from the dead this morning. I'm all for sticking with GMT myself.
Planning is an unnatural process - it is much more fun to do something.  The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression. [Sir John Harvey-Jones]

Pharosian

I know what you mean. We went through the pain a couple of weeks ago, but those first few days were hard.

Ed

Taking the day off today -- going out for lunch with the missus, and taking the rest of the day to catch up with some paperwork. Have to do something to foil the jackdaws trying to nest in my chimney, too. They're persistent little shits. I keep knocking out their nest with a chimney brush, but the very next day they're back. I suppose I'm going to have to get up there and put a basket on it sometime, but they'll probably turn up with wire cutters next time ::)
Planning is an unnatural process - it is much more fun to do something.  The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression. [Sir John Harvey-Jones]

marc_chagall

Car needed scary amounts of stuff doing to get it through its MOT yesterday. I knew it needed a new wiper blade, but wasn't anticipating all the welding underneath and other stuff. Ouch. Just ouch. Mind, it's running like a dream now. Quiet and smooth and like a 'proper' car. Will need new tyres before the autumn, but considering it's twelve years old and still has its original tyres that's only to be expected.