What I’m reading: The Pearl by John Steinbeck
What’s on the iPod: She Hates Me by Puddle of Mudd
It feels good to feel good again. The tightness around my scar has eased up (thanks to Bag Balm and Neosporin), and I’m losing that bruise and bruised-chest feeling. When I met my Vietnamese student for tutoring yesterday, she was shocked at how well I looked. It’s because I am well. Amen for that.
Not much happening workwise today. A few blog posts and lots of marketing going on. I’m trying to arrange things around the two-week break I’ll have in October. If you miss work in October, Christmas is lean. I’ve always felt September had to be packed with work, too, for the same reason.
I won’t be marketing all day and I’ve sworn I’ll stay off Facebook as much as possible. That leaves me time with my books and my poetry. Little gifts of time – how often do we wish for those? I’ll also spend some time later today battening down the hatches – the rain arrives tomorrow and is about to dump at least three inches on our thirsty yard. That means at least one inch will find its way down the window well, through the window, and into the basement. Why they built this house at the low point in the yard is beyond me. The foundation doesn’t leak – the window does. Weird, but the window well fills up with water, then the water trickles through the window where it opens and closes. We’ve tried those bubble-type plastic things to no avail. Water seeps in from underneath. Time for an engineer and a better plan.
I’m also thinking about replacing my all-in-one printer. It’s my second Canon, which I love, but I’m experiencing a problem where the ink just drains out of the cartridge and leaves a thick black line on the backside of the paper. I’ve done all the cleanings and checked the support site. The next step is replacing parts. Last time my Canon needed parts, the repair person said it was cheaper to buy a new one. I don’t think the new one will be a Canon. As much as I love the way it operates, I can’t keep replacing these things every three years. Though I will say the price is about as much as one round of ink, which is criminal, in my opinion. And all the printer manufacturers do it. Because they can. They know we have to have ink. Bastards.
I’m going to be chasing a couple of invoices today, as well. I know the one hasn’t come because I’ve expected it for two months now. Time to tack on more late fees and get tough. Worse, it’s the company that I’ve been with for years, the one that didn’t pay when they didn’t use the last project. I will not stand for that, nor will I work for anyone who doesn’t value my time.
I should get some small edits back on the large project today. I’m excited because we’re stress-free this year, all of us involved, and we’re going to finish early. That means a nice check in October/November. I want to count that toward my September earnings total because the work was done then, but I won’t invoice probably until next week. Today’s edits will decide it.
That’s it from here. How is your day shaping up?
10 responses to “Taking Advantage of Free Time”
So glad to hear you're getting back to your ol' self again, Lori!
I am getting my usual end-of-the month twitch I get for new gigs. It usually happens when I'm coming off being very busy to just busy. More marketing reduces more twitching – especially when it lands something.
I think it's the looming time off in November that has me a bit more concerned about being very busy right now so I can relax – as much as anyone can relax on a 3-day, 60 mile walk.
I'm finishing up an industry newsletter, some blogging, conducting a rescheduled interview for a white paper and a few ghostwritten articles-not all today
wish I was that productive.
I'm super busy with a million things, some involving work
I didn't get much sleep last night or really at all this week, so that's a struggle. But I'm hanging on so far. I have a presentation tonight for my class, and I need to make some follow up calls about someone who wants her novel edited. I haven't quoted a price yet, so we'll see how that goes.
I'm glad you're feeling back to normal, Lori!
This is turning out to be a glorious day for me. It's a beautiful sunny day with an expected high of 78 (weekend highs are supposed to be in the 50s, so enjoy it while I can).
Barely got any sleep since I was dreading the annual mammogram this morning. With my family history this is something I don't skip (already re-scheduled for one year from today), but it's also something you go into knowing your life could well change overnight. Luckily for me, I got the all clear. Woo-hoo! Suddenly the sun was shining brighter and the birds were chirping an even prettier song.
I like going this time of year because the facility I go to – the largest one in the region – has an annual basket raffle. For $1 per ticket or $5 for 6 tickets you can enter to win any of about 40 enormous gift baskets, most with a $200+ value, all donated by the health system's departments. The money raised goes to breast cancer charities. It's hard to choose (I went for Basket 16 – tons of neat at-home spa items "and more…"). It's fun leaving with good news and seeing everyone who'd been nervously awaiting their results with you out there happily "shopping" and trying to encourage people to choose baskets you don't want. There may have been a little trash talking involved.
In a few minutes I have an interview to do. This afternoon I have an article to knock out and a small side-project to squeeze in along with a much-anticipated doggie walk. (Tomorrow my sister's two dogs arrive for 5 or 6 days, and I wont' walk all three at once, so getting a doggie walk in today is very important.)
Good news. Good work. Good dog. Good day.
I am jealous of your free time, Lori! Although I may carve out some of my own in a little bit here — I've decided (belatedly) to read a challenged book for Banned Books Week, and I'm excited about getting started!
Do you have any vitamin E capsules? Bust those open & rub it over the scar. I used it on my c-section scar & it helped a lot with the healing.
Still a lot of irons in the fire with nothing to show. YET. Such is the life of a freelancer, right? I have a feeling it's all going to hit at once. Say, the beginning of November? That would be my luck. LOL!
But I am doing my best to follow up with people so they don't forget me — without being a pest. I *think* I'm succeeding so far.
I need to finish my review of a minivan & get that submitted for approval. That was a fun project!
And I need to take a very close look at my to-do list. Pretty sure I'm forgetting something. Can't let preggo brain get the best of me.
PS) I highly recommend HP. I have an all-in-one officejet that is still going strong after heavy usage. It was given to us by some friends who were moving and they used it for business. We don't use it nearly as much as they did, just mostly for faxing or scanning. Other than replacing the printheads, no real problems. Except for expired ink, which is a completely different topic.
I have a small laserjet that I use for a good portion of my day-to-day printing. MUCH more cost effective. BTW, the laserjet is also HP & I bought it when I was in school. Great little workhorse printer. Since I rarely need to print in color, it works for me.
I know some people on Twitter who work for HP & they are fabulous for helping with questions. I can introduce you if needed. No schilling at all. Just happy with their stuff.
Lori –
As a Mac user I echo Becky. I had my first HP all-in-one for at least 6 years until a tiny bit of broken plastic did it in. I got another (way cheaper!) HP maybe a year ago and so far so good. Due to my ancient OS, I'm limited to the models I can use, but the HPs interact well with Macs.
The thing with some printers and all-in-ones is sometimes it's cheaper to but a new machine than a couple sets of ink cartridges. Those companies all make way more money from the ink than the actual printers.
The twitch – that's a good way to put it, Cathy. And it's true, too. When we're really busy and things even out, we want more. Addicted to the rush.
Amen for the good news, Paula! That's a great idea of theirs. Anything to get one's mind off the impending results is a good thing.
Ooo, which book Katharine? That sounds like a great idea!
So can you work from the delivery room, Becky?
I have to agree on the HP. It was my first printer and they do work beautifully. The trouble then was the price of the ink. But now? I'd say it's all the same. Thing is I LOVE the performance of this Canon. I just can't afford to get it fixed or replaced every few years.
Lori, I'm reading The Awakening. I may have read it in school, but I don't remember it, and I'm enjoying it very much!
Cool. I'll try that one.