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Going On Hiatus...
12 years ago
Ooooh, he used an ellipsis. This can't be good...
First of all, let me just say that all existing commissions are still coming out.
1. SwiftJames
2. Velemi
3. Drahor
4. Art-Act (in negotiations)
So no worries there.
Recently (pretty much since the middle of November) my office has been in a state of weird seasonal flux. Work slowed to a trickle, and I was essentially being paid to spin in my chair. Sweet gig, right? Yeah, not exactly. By mid-December, hourly reductions and layoffs were being talked about, but management said that as our branch was the only office to have beat the annual economic predictors, we were able to keep everyone on, because when work DOES pick up again, we will have a hard time re-hiring everyone we laid off.
And then in January, the layoffs started, since the big jobs that were supposed to come in failed to do so. I've been walking in to work since December, and ESPECIALLY since January 4th, expecting that I was going to be the one getting laid off. Half my department was. Several project managers. One of the division managers. And our branch got off light.
Now I know, a lot of people have had job woes, and mine don't seem that bad, but I just sold everything I own, including a house I loved which I lost about $25,000 on, and moved 10 hours north (in Canada, that's a lot) in order to pull off this job, and a chance at, FINALLY, in my mid thirties, an actual career. I've been struggling for the last five years or so just to stay afloat. Consider that the best job I've had in that time was selling hot dogs. This big move up North was pretty much "it". I have almost no savings, no capital, no equity... just a townhouse I'm locked into for six more months and a van on its last legs.
And last week, I get called into the Division Manager's office, and my department manager (direct boss) is already in there. They say that there's a lot of worry and confusion over the layoffs, especially since the guy who TRAINED me got laid off the week before (and he very conspicuously said goodbye to everyine in the department, except me, on his last day). I figure, OK, I'm boned...
... and they proceed to explain why they kept me, why I'm a good fit for the office, why I've got a future there, and why I'm going to start project manager mentoring to replace one of the guys that got laid off. I basically survived a crushing economic slowdown with a promotion. Some of it (as my wife is happy to point out) was probably because my salary is relatively low, but a lot of it was because of my extensive training in pretty much every engineering field imaginable, my near-completion of my bachelor's degree in technology management, and my personality (specifically, they've never had any designers who looked happy to come to work).
Since then, my workload has skyrocketed. I finished one semester of my degree and started yet another. I'm trying to get my own business off the ground. My wife has finished her upgrades and is now also going to college. We have a five year plan, and we're sticking to it.
Blah blah blah, I know, personal life crap, everyone has it.
GETTING TO THE IMPORTANT PART...
... I am also going to finish my first published novel in this time. I've got an expression of interest, and I really need to see this through.
My depression over the last season really screwed with my ability to work on commissions (sorry, Swift!) but I've been making a lot of progress lately now that I actually feel secure in my job for the first time since working at the Hasty Market in '98. Drahor and Velemi's stories are much shorter and simpler, and I've got them more or less sketched out. Art-Act might get one, things need to be discussed, but I always like my art trades.
After that... after that, I might be putting Dissident Love on hold for a little while, and just address the things in real life that need my attention.
Yes, Amber and Myles and Kimmi and all them will return, but I'm going to work on them in my spare time, when I need a break from writing 'straight' fiction. I'm going to write them, and then when I'm done I'm going to hold onto them, and proof-read them, and get them right. The way I see them in my head, not the way that 'desperate for attention and approval' DL lets you see them. He's kind of a needy jerk, ya know?
So... yeah, that's about it. It's not like it's a huge change in my production rate anyways, but I figured I should let people know.
Cheers.
First of all, let me just say that all existing commissions are still coming out.
1. SwiftJames
2. Velemi
3. Drahor
4. Art-Act (in negotiations)
So no worries there.
Recently (pretty much since the middle of November) my office has been in a state of weird seasonal flux. Work slowed to a trickle, and I was essentially being paid to spin in my chair. Sweet gig, right? Yeah, not exactly. By mid-December, hourly reductions and layoffs were being talked about, but management said that as our branch was the only office to have beat the annual economic predictors, we were able to keep everyone on, because when work DOES pick up again, we will have a hard time re-hiring everyone we laid off.
And then in January, the layoffs started, since the big jobs that were supposed to come in failed to do so. I've been walking in to work since December, and ESPECIALLY since January 4th, expecting that I was going to be the one getting laid off. Half my department was. Several project managers. One of the division managers. And our branch got off light.
Now I know, a lot of people have had job woes, and mine don't seem that bad, but I just sold everything I own, including a house I loved which I lost about $25,000 on, and moved 10 hours north (in Canada, that's a lot) in order to pull off this job, and a chance at, FINALLY, in my mid thirties, an actual career. I've been struggling for the last five years or so just to stay afloat. Consider that the best job I've had in that time was selling hot dogs. This big move up North was pretty much "it". I have almost no savings, no capital, no equity... just a townhouse I'm locked into for six more months and a van on its last legs.
And last week, I get called into the Division Manager's office, and my department manager (direct boss) is already in there. They say that there's a lot of worry and confusion over the layoffs, especially since the guy who TRAINED me got laid off the week before (and he very conspicuously said goodbye to everyine in the department, except me, on his last day). I figure, OK, I'm boned...
... and they proceed to explain why they kept me, why I'm a good fit for the office, why I've got a future there, and why I'm going to start project manager mentoring to replace one of the guys that got laid off. I basically survived a crushing economic slowdown with a promotion. Some of it (as my wife is happy to point out) was probably because my salary is relatively low, but a lot of it was because of my extensive training in pretty much every engineering field imaginable, my near-completion of my bachelor's degree in technology management, and my personality (specifically, they've never had any designers who looked happy to come to work).
Since then, my workload has skyrocketed. I finished one semester of my degree and started yet another. I'm trying to get my own business off the ground. My wife has finished her upgrades and is now also going to college. We have a five year plan, and we're sticking to it.
Blah blah blah, I know, personal life crap, everyone has it.
GETTING TO THE IMPORTANT PART...
... I am also going to finish my first published novel in this time. I've got an expression of interest, and I really need to see this through.
My depression over the last season really screwed with my ability to work on commissions (sorry, Swift!) but I've been making a lot of progress lately now that I actually feel secure in my job for the first time since working at the Hasty Market in '98. Drahor and Velemi's stories are much shorter and simpler, and I've got them more or less sketched out. Art-Act might get one, things need to be discussed, but I always like my art trades.
After that... after that, I might be putting Dissident Love on hold for a little while, and just address the things in real life that need my attention.
Yes, Amber and Myles and Kimmi and all them will return, but I'm going to work on them in my spare time, when I need a break from writing 'straight' fiction. I'm going to write them, and then when I'm done I'm going to hold onto them, and proof-read them, and get them right. The way I see them in my head, not the way that 'desperate for attention and approval' DL lets you see them. He's kind of a needy jerk, ya know?
So... yeah, that's about it. It's not like it's a huge change in my production rate anyways, but I figured I should let people know.
Cheers.
We'll see you every now and then when you have the time.