Ramblings on work, Marvel, Harmontown, Reddit, my sabbatical, job hunting, money
750 Words — Day #10
I’m gonna do a random selection of things today because I’m working on this and I only have a couple of productive days this week, after the Bank Holiday and with a trip to Milan planned on Thursday.
Here’s what I’m working on at the moment.
It’s all about my Post-Laptop crusade. I still have a good long list of things to do, so I’m really pushing.
Let’s see, what did I do this weekend though. I saw Guardians of the Galaxy 2 which was pretty much a straight-up comedy in space. Jokes and jokes. I was surprised at the lack of Infinity War stuff shoehorned in there too — they talked about a couple of things but the film was pretty much entirely devoted to its own story. Maybe Kevin Feige is relaxing a bit since it’s so clear that there’s no real competition. (Suicide Squad… yeah right). If that is the case then it’s a shame he didn’t realise sooner and let Edgar Wright do Ant Man the way he wanted. (Instead, we got great moments of Wright — the whole lip synced flashback — diluted by repetition, and a horribly shoehorned trip to the Avengers’ facility).
I’ve been listening to non-stop Harmontown recently. I started back on episode one — there are about 260 two hour episodes so they’re keeping me going. It’s like a soap opera at this point — I’ve been back to discovery of Spencer and the trials of Dan and Erin. I’ve heard an unexpected Eric Idle cameo, and a surprise Robin Williams appearance. I’ve been listening to their games of Dungeons and Dragons and finding it all quite entertaining (and soporific at night time).
I don’t know how to break into Reddit. I want to post my stuff on there but apparently I need to be posting on other stuff with a ratio of 10:1. I’ve subscribed to a few subreddits but I feel like I just don’t know these people and I’m not sure how to contribute — I want my own subreddit really, but I doubt it would let me create one until I’ve got more than like 0 reputation.
I’d planned a three month sabbatical. I’m coming up to six months without working. I thought I’d find a contract within a couple of weeks when I started looking in February. This was a mistake, because I was also trying to make my way into a specific place that wasn’t necessarily hiring — i.e. the better the job you want, the more you’re likely to have to wait. I have an interview tomorrow with some agency that needs someone like NOW so I guess I’m gonna have to take it, despite the 45 minute cycle each way. I’ve racked up some debt so I really need to start putting money in the bank again. I was supposed to be moving out of my expensive flat but they don’t seem to be finding anybody to take it. Some people are using Brexit as an excuse. I don’t know about that. The London property market has always been pretty resilient.
I need to find a studio once I’ve moved out — I’m considering Canalot Studios on the canal but it’s a bit overpriced. I can’t really talk to anywhere until I’ve sorted out my cashflow issues anyway.
It’s all going a bit slowly, but it’s so tantalising — I can see the prospect of being able to work on my own projects and make enough money that way — to finally escape the “middle class trap” where you spend as much as you earn so you always have to keep working to maintain your lifestyle. Rich people don’t have this. They can try ventures in the knowledge that they don’t actually have to work, and this gives them a great advantage.
Money is a pain — it means everything when you don’t have enough, but quickly becomes meaningless when you do. When you have a lot, it’s just numbers — it’s ugly to watch a billionaire fixate on dollars and interest and trades and markets and all that rubbish. I guess it’s pretty addictive to want to keep raising your ‘score’, in competition with the other few people in the 1%. I’d rather create something meaningful myself. I’d rather find real ways to improve things rather than worrying about whether or not I have the poshest yacht. But it’s tempting. But it’s hollow.
