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Socks
Written on byIt was a particularly bad week for my laundry. I have three different kinds of socks for my workouts, and in one load of laundry I managed to lose one of each kind. I now have three mismatched socks, sitting on the dryer, looking forlorn and forgotten. I had a good run. I had whole […]
Phobias
Written on byI have one phobia in life. It lacks a name. It’s something between iatrophobia (fear of going to the doctor) and ommatophobia (fear of eyes). Really, it’s a fear of eye doctors. Yeah, it seems like a weird fear to have. Most people are afraid of the dentist, but I have a semi-paralytic fear of […]
Stranger in a Strange Land
Written on byI have always made it a point to be nice to tourists, and hope that others would extend the same courtesy to me. This isn’t always the case. I recently had an experience where I didn’t speak the language, and the natives quickly lost patience. The other day, I was forced by circumstance to meet […]
Social Surplus
Written on byI found a fantastic speech that discusses the role of television and our collective available time as a society. People often ask me where I find the hours in the day for freelance work, parenting a toddler, contributing time to a nonprofit, exercising and reading books. The answer is that I don’t watch TV. Don’t […]
Training
Written on byI frequently run into a woman at the gym. She’s talked about signing on with a personal trainer and wanted to know if I’d be interested in joining her in order to get a pairs discount. In spite of the fact that I really should be training for a half marathon, I’m just not terribly […]
Being Discovered
Written on byI am endlessly fascinated by two things: my web stats and my “Who’s viewed my profile?” area on LinkedIn. I don’t have a paid LinkedIn account, so I only get teasers like, “Someone in the Executive Leadership function in the Marketing and Advertising industry from Greater Philadelphia Area.” Clicking through, I can usually figure out […]
Finding Balance
Written on byThe hardest thing about freelance, for me, is work-life balance. I’ve got the work part nailed. I’m having a bit more challenge with the “balance” part. It seems that any time not devoted to working is given to my son, and probably rightly so. As the household toddler, his needs reign supreme. But as I […]
Mentoring or Grooming My Replacement?
Written on byI’ve recently witnessed an email exchange among professional writers that started innocently enough. Someone suggested that we, as writers, collaborate on a book — a sort of “why we do what we do” compilation. The idea would be that young writers would learn a bit about writing and what it takes to make it as […]
The Freelance Bubble
Written on byIt’s easy to forget that you’re in a bit of an isolated bubble when you freelance. That’s why today startled me. I usually get up early, check email and determine what new, burning projects need to be interspersed into my plan for the day. This morning I woke to only 5 emails, none relating to […]
Sinus Infections
Written on byA recent study reports that antibiotics do nothing for recurring sinus infections. One of my good friends will agree to that. She has suffered with chronic sinus problems for several years, and to the best of her knowledge the only thing that she’s gained from her many rounds of antibiotics is antibiotic resistance. If it’s […]