design with a side of dialogue
what I think about what I make
104846 Curiosities served
put a wiggle in your stride
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Mood:
Pragmatic
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I should go wake up guru, since he is going in to work today (I'm taking a day off) at least for the morning. It's of course good to be home - though I now feel I should start wresling with the future and some decisions that need to be made.
The Players:
My Job - So my job could basically do itself. It is good money, but it is venture capital money - and with the recent rash of layoffs in Pittsburgh, not as stable as it was before. All indicators seem to point to a company wide "holding of breath" as we wait to see what the future will bring. My view is that even if we do go under - between closing the office and serverence I should have money coming in until july. The real question I have is will we make it past july. Obviously - if I get a graphic design job (even for less pay) this would be great timing-wise.
My Degree - As is often the case, my money-funny parents have decided they would be willing to fund one more year for me at aip, which would give me another bachelor's degree, this time in Graphic Design. Now talent-wise, this would be great. I need another year at this to bring my skills to a really tight fit (think of wood-working) and that, NOT the additional degree, would make me a very attractive canidate. I've already got a BA, so to some extent I am already hirerable - but this would give me a chance to be really hot, get more experience in the field and all in all improve my chances of getting a real job initially, instead of working as a lacky that gets coffee and does the company newsletter. But, if I have to work 2 minimum-wage jobs to make ends meet will I get anything out of this additional year?
My Career - So this is the big Opportunity Knocking question aka "Will she or won't she?"
Opportunity is knockin',
but you can't answer
'cause its not your house.
It ain't Opportunity anyway
I've heard her calling card before.
- one of my internal conversations
This one, if it comes, will be hard to judge - it will have to be eyeballed, and weighed against our plans. I'm setting myself up to take the first bone (or grizzle) I'm thrown - which is never a good way to go into a job opportunity. *insert grasping for objectivity*
Our Livelihood - Among all this sceming, we do have to worry about a bottomline. Somebody needs to be bringing in Something so we can eat, drink, and have dsl. We, unfortunately, were not as wise as other js folks, we have no savings to fall back on in times of trouble. We gotsa debt though. The biggest trade off we have in our house is the trade between money and dreams. I try hard to fund our dreams as much as possible, as well as feed us, and so far we have been lucky. Eventually, though, we might loose our momentum and fall off one of these hairbrain scemes.
Our Debt: Though our credit rating doesn't reflect it, we own a LOT of money. To the Government for education and to a certian bank for a credit line. We will never be free until this is no longer over our heads. We are living pretty good right now, with 1.5 salaries. We eat and pay off some of our debt, slowly each year. We have talked about killing off a good portion of our debt if Guru found a good - non educational job and we had 2 incomes again. But we are back to the dreams vs. money trade off again. Shouldn't guru have the time and space to discover if he really wants to teach? Shouldn't I have enough room to toy with being a graphic artist? Is it worth it to waste these few years on money, when we could be working on our long term goals? We are still moble, and we don't have kids yet - it's now or never.
Our dreams/hopes aspirations - When asked if he would rather have a laptop or go to Japan, guru said laptop. (given it would be a nice laptop) I personally would have said Japan - or Europe. I've always wanted to haul him around the globe so he can see some of the things he has read about. I guess to me this is the "put your money where your mouth is" issue. I'm notorious for daydreaming. I'm always happier thinking about a party then going to a party. We are very internal people. If we are serious about going anywhere to track or hunt our dreams down - we need to be ready to go in the next 2 years. This could be to Milwakee, Japan, Africa, Europe, New York, Seattle, Chicago, etc. This could be staying right here. We are throwing out ideas to see which one Opportunity latches on to and presents to us. We are nothing if not intuitive. My point is, what ever happens - I want to be sure we have enough money to do it.
Our Future - Should we try to gather as much money as we possibly can so we can live as two hermits - locked in a house on Perrysville, creating and destroying, cyclicly? Should we get enough of a nest egg together so we can run away 3 weeks a year to all these glorious places, the rest of the time working like beavers? Is a 2nd depression upon us, and we will be scrounging for food just like everyone around us? Having children and wearing flour-sack aprons? In the end, we are subject to the events in our environment, and only time will tell how bad this recession will get. I'm a bit nervous, since some of my most solid friends have been given notice, and are now faced with the difficult decision of "following the money" or "taking a shit job" to stay here.
And I'm at an internet company.
It's only a matter of time.
*sigh*
2.5 hours, multiple edits, and a bad wrist later, I think these are all the weird money/aspiration issues that are rolling around in the dark of my brain. There are a few others that are not tied in to this - this is a theme entry after all, but this entry is long enough all ready.
I think we will be ok - what ever happens, and half of what momentum is is positive thinking. Any advice would be welcomed, or at least read.
"Mr. Jones
Put a wiggle in your stride.
Lossen Up
I believe he will be alright."
-Mr. Jones Talking Heads
The Players:
- my job - will it be here in sept?
- my degree - now that I've found the money - do I want to go on for the ba in graphic design?
- my career - will I find a graphic design job that pays, and if so, will I be willing/able to leave wb?
- our livelihood - what happens if I lose my job but don't find a gd job right away? Do I ask guru to work (more)?
- our debt - do I ask guru to work anyway so we can kill off our debt for a year?
- our dreams/hopes aspirations - Lots of ideas have been thrown around here and offline. Are we actually chasing these ideas (to Japan, or to Africa) or are we just day-dreamming.
- our future - "And you do....what exactly?" What are we doing? Where are we going? Do we have enough money to get there?
My Job - So my job could basically do itself. It is good money, but it is venture capital money - and with the recent rash of layoffs in Pittsburgh, not as stable as it was before. All indicators seem to point to a company wide "holding of breath" as we wait to see what the future will bring. My view is that even if we do go under - between closing the office and serverence I should have money coming in until july. The real question I have is will we make it past july. Obviously - if I get a graphic design job (even for less pay) this would be great timing-wise.
My Degree - As is often the case, my money-funny parents have decided they would be willing to fund one more year for me at aip, which would give me another bachelor's degree, this time in Graphic Design. Now talent-wise, this would be great. I need another year at this to bring my skills to a really tight fit (think of wood-working) and that, NOT the additional degree, would make me a very attractive canidate. I've already got a BA, so to some extent I am already hirerable - but this would give me a chance to be really hot, get more experience in the field and all in all improve my chances of getting a real job initially, instead of working as a lacky that gets coffee and does the company newsletter. But, if I have to work 2 minimum-wage jobs to make ends meet will I get anything out of this additional year?
My Career - So this is the big Opportunity Knocking question aka "Will she or won't she?"
Opportunity is knockin',
but you can't answer
'cause its not your house.
It ain't Opportunity anyway
I've heard her calling card before.
- one of my internal conversations
This one, if it comes, will be hard to judge - it will have to be eyeballed, and weighed against our plans. I'm setting myself up to take the first bone (or grizzle) I'm thrown - which is never a good way to go into a job opportunity. *insert grasping for objectivity*
Our Livelihood - Among all this sceming, we do have to worry about a bottomline. Somebody needs to be bringing in Something so we can eat, drink, and have dsl. We, unfortunately, were not as wise as other js folks, we have no savings to fall back on in times of trouble. We gotsa debt though. The biggest trade off we have in our house is the trade between money and dreams. I try hard to fund our dreams as much as possible, as well as feed us, and so far we have been lucky. Eventually, though, we might loose our momentum and fall off one of these hairbrain scemes.
Our Debt: Though our credit rating doesn't reflect it, we own a LOT of money. To the Government for education and to a certian bank for a credit line. We will never be free until this is no longer over our heads. We are living pretty good right now, with 1.5 salaries. We eat and pay off some of our debt, slowly each year. We have talked about killing off a good portion of our debt if Guru found a good - non educational job and we had 2 incomes again. But we are back to the dreams vs. money trade off again. Shouldn't guru have the time and space to discover if he really wants to teach? Shouldn't I have enough room to toy with being a graphic artist? Is it worth it to waste these few years on money, when we could be working on our long term goals? We are still moble, and we don't have kids yet - it's now or never.
Our dreams/hopes aspirations - When asked if he would rather have a laptop or go to Japan, guru said laptop. (given it would be a nice laptop) I personally would have said Japan - or Europe. I've always wanted to haul him around the globe so he can see some of the things he has read about. I guess to me this is the "put your money where your mouth is" issue. I'm notorious for daydreaming. I'm always happier thinking about a party then going to a party. We are very internal people. If we are serious about going anywhere to track or hunt our dreams down - we need to be ready to go in the next 2 years. This could be to Milwakee, Japan, Africa, Europe, New York, Seattle, Chicago, etc. This could be staying right here. We are throwing out ideas to see which one Opportunity latches on to and presents to us. We are nothing if not intuitive. My point is, what ever happens - I want to be sure we have enough money to do it.
Our Future - Should we try to gather as much money as we possibly can so we can live as two hermits - locked in a house on Perrysville, creating and destroying, cyclicly? Should we get enough of a nest egg together so we can run away 3 weeks a year to all these glorious places, the rest of the time working like beavers? Is a 2nd depression upon us, and we will be scrounging for food just like everyone around us? Having children and wearing flour-sack aprons? In the end, we are subject to the events in our environment, and only time will tell how bad this recession will get. I'm a bit nervous, since some of my most solid friends have been given notice, and are now faced with the difficult decision of "following the money" or "taking a shit job" to stay here.
And I'm at an internet company.
It's only a matter of time.
*sigh*
2.5 hours, multiple edits, and a bad wrist later, I think these are all the weird money/aspiration issues that are rolling around in the dark of my brain. There are a few others that are not tied in to this - this is a theme entry after all, but this entry is long enough all ready.
I think we will be ok - what ever happens, and half of what momentum is is positive thinking. Any advice would be welcomed, or at least read.
"Mr. Jones
Put a wiggle in your stride.
Lossen Up
I believe he will be alright."
-Mr. Jones Talking Heads
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