Construction Orange

"You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Some weeks you feel like you must be living right ... or that you are just one lucky bastard. Probably the latter. This was one of those weeks.

A couple of days ago, I made $60/hr for 5 hours to stand around and eat donuts. A client of mine who owns a print shop was having a $100,000+ large format plotter delivered to his store and installed by the techs who brought it. It was one of the most complicated devices I've ever seen and took them until noon just to assemble.

Not to get too technical, but my sole purpose there was to make sure that the new device got an IP address from the network so that it could be accessed by all the computers. 5 minute job ... tops! But there was no way of knowing when that 5 minutes would be. So, my client wanted me to be there the entire day. And he wanted to pay me for the entire day. I tried to insist to him that we discount the amount of hours. He would hear nothing of it. He just felt more comfortable having his "computer guy" there while they were setting everything up. He'd had bad experiences in the past with other techs and wanted someone he trusted to watch over everything.

I get that he was not just paying for technical knowledge but also piece of mind. He appreciated the work that I've done for him in tough situations in the past and knows that I always go out of my way to be honest and thorough. And that I'd never overcharge (he's actually accused me of undercharging!).

So, forget all the technical crap, I was basically a DOT worker standing around on the side of the road, "supervising". I just didn't have the orange construction vest.



Speaking of undeserved benefits, one of my clients gave me his extra Palm Treo 700p yesterday. Broadband Internet, Palm OS, QWERTY keyboard, etc. Sweet. I am the master scrounger. This is a $500+ phone and less than a year old. It was bought for his dad, but the dad decided he wanted the iPhone instead.



Yeah, I'm really living the "simple" life. Sorry, but I dig all those crazy toys way too much.

In the past, clients have given me football tickets, baseball tickets - you name it. I mooch with the best of 'em.

Well, not really mooch. I don't seek out any of this stuff. I've just been fortunate. There are some regular clients that I've had for 8 years plus and who I would go do work for any time of the day, any day of the week. And I always bill them less hours than I work. You build a good relationship in any job and there is a lot of things that go above and beyond a normal business relationship. That's probably the biggest aspect of this job that I like -- the close friendships that I've built with a lot of my clients.

Hopefully, my good fortune has something to do with the way I run my business. I don't believe in karma in a mystical sense (I believe Shawn's our resident "karma" expert), but I do believe that in the grand scheme of things if you do good for others, it generally comes back around. But even if it doesn't, it's still the right thing to do.

"Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life." -- Steve Jobs

Opinions and Tats in the Workplace

I've been think pretty hard about getting a tattoo lately. I don't know if it's because of seeing Laura's great work (Tattoo Rd 2), because of early onset of a mid-life crisis, or just because. I've always wanted to get a tattoo but didn't want to slap just anything on my body. I'd prefer something philosophy, ecological, or human rights related. I've love to hear any great suggestions that you guys have.

It will most likely be on the upper arm or shoulder. I'd love to extend beyond that but I have to break in the wife gradually. She's not exactly thrilled by me even thinking about my first tattoo.

I'm not worried about the tattoo from a work standpoint at all. The only jobs that I've ever held were at extremely laid back places or self-employed. My tattoos would never be visible during work, but even if they were or if my client knew about my tattoo, I wouldn't let that be a deterrent. Anyone that judges me (or anyone) in that manner, I would not be afraid to lose. What should the role of tattoos be in the workplace? I read a fairly interesting piece in our local paper (re-printed from a national article: Tattoos Help Redefine 'Business Casual'). It tells how many jobs are becoming more lenient towards tattoos (and piercing), most notably academics, while others are being forced to revise their office codes to address them. I'm kinda curious to hear Laura's views and stories of her tattoos in the workplace.

I have three ear piercings and a nipple ring. At the last job that I had, I wore earrings to work but while I've been self-employed, I've chosen not to. Am I kissing the ass of "the man" or just making a conscious decision to be realistic and to cater to the sensibilities of my clientele? Is it subverting part of one's self or is it a smart business decision ... or both?

And is this only about physical manifestations of our personalities? Many of us will not bring up our political or religious feelings in a work environment. Personally, I don't feel that it is suppressing part of myself. I just don't feel that those are appropriate places to talk about those things. Actually, I will rarely bring up those subjects even in social settings unless directly asked about them. Obviously it's not because I don't have strong opinions, it's just that the people that look like the biggest asses are those that are all too free with dispensing of unprovoked wisdom.

"'Tis better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt." -- Abraham Lincoln

Concerning religion, I think a few of my clients would be surprised (and probably shocked) to know the truth. I've actually designed a website for one church, worked on a class presentation for a Christian school, and have done all kinds of computer work for a third church. Is it my responsibility to tell them of my religious views (or any views, for that matter)? Should my views really matter? My personal views have no bearing on how hard I will work for that client. I will do the job to the best of my ability and to their specifications. After all, they're not asking my to convert or to proselytize.

Regardless of whether it is a work or social settings, if I'm directly asked about anything - religious, political, etc. - I will give my honest opinion. There is a difference between not divulging information (that should not have any bearing on my ability to do a job) and bald-face lying.