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The 2010 20K: Day 45 - Even More Job Tips

I can feel it - the PHP flowing through my fingers as my templates come to fruition - it's good times over here in Caseyville as "the plan" starts to show a bit more of its true colours! I'm really glad that I have coding gurus like Kev and R.T. who can help steer me right when I make rookie moves like not declaring values in an array or forgetting to close a brace when declaring some properities in CSS. But I'm better for it, and things are progressing because of the helping hands, so thank you guys!

As usual, the t.o.night paper has plenty of good tips on landing that job you want, for all my seekers out there. Et pour vous who're currently employed, please note that it's never a bad idea to keep your skills honed and make sure that you're always marketable - you never know what nasty surprises could be around the corner!

References and how to answer "What is your greatest weakness?":



Standing out in phone interviews and setting "SMART" career goals:



Otherwise, just working in the lab. Though, earlier this week, my dreams of making my dream MacBook Pro system actually affordable were shattered by an old friend who informed me that I was completely incorrect in thinking that the student discount for Mac systems is at 10%. In fact, and I'm sure thast everybody but me knew this - they take a fixed amount off of the full price for a system - about $100 or so. Factor in how much the upper level systems are and include tax, and BAM! That's about 3% at best. So, Stevie boy, I can wait. You're forcing me to be patient, and I don't like it, but for the sake of me buying a computer and not throwing a fit of rage when I find out a newer, faster model has come out the next month, I'm going to wait. I may as well get the other components I'm looking for while my discount's still valid, though...

I hope the posting less frequently, but posts with a point system is helping you guys out there - I want to make sure I'm giving you info that's both relevant and useful in your lives. But I guess the best way to really figure this out... is with a poll!

Righto, the bed's a-callin'. Drop me a line! Let me know what's on your mind!

The 2010 20K Running Total = $192.14 (as the dust's a-setllin' on the number)

Later all,

--case p.

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The 2010 20K: Day 44 - The Costs of Doing Business

A certain poll informs me that one of the things my readers would like to see is more interesting stories...


...so ask and ye shall receive - I've got one for you.

Sometimes a business deal just doesn't go how you think it will. I'm posting this because I anticipate that there may be some stories sent around that paint a situation in hues that may not be entirely accurate. If the parties involved happen to come across this, I hope this will provide a better understanding of what went down.


So, a month ago, Rami and I were hipped to a potential opportunity - a restaurant that wasn't doing all that well and could use a boost in order to get it up and going again. Sounded interesting. The owner was giving himself two months to get it up and running, or else he was going to call it a wrap. Hm, challenging.

So, after getting the details from a mutual friend, Ram and I went to the restaurant to pay a visit and get a feel for the place. It was interesting - roomier than I'd expected and in a prime location. The food's prices were low and it offered a good variety of lunch items. A good mix of factors for a successful venture if handled correctly!

So we chatted with the owner, briefly going over what it is that Team R&C could do for his business and how we could go about helping him get where he wanted to be. He introduced us to his chef, we exchanged digits, all seemed well. We even sent out an email that night to thank him for meeting us and to say we were looking forward to discussing things further with him at a later time.

This is when things took a turn for the worse, though we wouldn't know it at the time.

HIS BAD: He didn't reply to our email.

That's fine, I guess - but after spending the time to send out a courtesy email, if you were actually interested in pursuing a business opportunity with someone, you'd likely try to keep the channels of communication open, no?

OUR BAD: Taking too long to get in touch with him,

To give us a little credit, we'd originally stated that we'd get back to him in two weeks - which we did. It was on Family Day, however - a statutory holiday up in these parts - and didn't realize that his shop would be closed, as most restaurants are open every day except on Christmas. Also, there was no voicemail so that we could let him know that we'd tried to reach him and would get back to him later. Past there, our paths wouldn't manage to cross again until this week.

In the time that had passes, Ram and I had generated a plethora of ideas that could be customized accordingly to whatever amount of money was available to him for marketing and promotion. I think I remember us working about 4-5 hours straight just blue sky braimstorming and getting all of the ideas down into a document that we'd be able to provide if the client was genuinely interested in moving forward.

HIS BAD: His reaction to the situation at hand.

Since both members of Team R&C weren't able to both be present to contact the client through a conference call, I decided to touch base last night to see how he was doing and whether or not he was interested. After reminding him who I was, he was a little miffed that he hadn't heard from us in a bit and to pitch him whatever it was that we'd come up with. I informed him that it would be better if we could discuss further with him the next day - either I would come in or we could give him a call together to sort it all out, to which he rather curtly agreed.

When we called today, he was pretty dismissive. Perhaps it was the way we worded it or perhaps he had already made his mind up, but when we brought up the ideas of wanting to sit down with him to go over the business and how it operated to make sure that we were giving him the best possible solution and that we'd prepared ideas at different costs, he somehow interpreted it as that we were unwilling to share our ideas unless he put some money on the table first. He quickly dismissed us and hung up, obviously wanting nothing to have to do with the entire ordeal. I don't know if he was having a bad day, or if his money was even tighter than I'd speculated, but it was a quick end to a brief discussion.

LESSONS LEARNED:

  • If someone wants to cut to the chase without wanting to sit down and have a decent conversation over things, they're likely far past the point where they want to deal with any niceties and you're already facing opposition. You can't MAKE someone listen to you if they're making an active effort NOT to.
  • Keep your content from falling into the wrong hands. You worked hard on it, it's yours. This could easily have turned into a situation where content was provided prior to a contract being signed, an idea gets used without consent, and then it turns into a battle of the client's word vs the consultant's, and that's a sticky and possibly expensive legal situation that no one wants to get involved in.
  • Never see a defeat in one area as the be all and end all of a situation. For every 10... every 100 people who shoot you down, that's experience. That's content that you're developing that with further work and diligence can be used in another situation. You did your research. You've seen what doesn't work. That only means that you're one step closer to finding something that does.
All in all, I'm not pleased that it turned out the way that it did and I'm happy to shoulder some of the responsibility for it all, but no matter how it turned out, it's off of my plate, and I'll just move forward as I always do - one task at a time.

The 2010 20K Running Total: $192.14

--case p.

 

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The 2010 20K: Day 43 - February Wrap-Up

Alright, so let's start this entry with a shout-out to Sharon for keeping me accountable on the 2010 20K by asking frequently if I'll be posting an entry on any given day. Rain or shine, she's always checking up on me to make sure that I'm not losing my edge :) Much appreciated!

So another month down, some more dollars made, but still a long way to go. The 2010 20K is an idea spawned from a random plan made near the end of 2009 - it can be said that without proper planning, a plan is doomed to fail. If I went with that perspective, I wouldn't keep at the 2010 20K like I have. You may not always see it in blog posts, but there's always something going on behind the scenes. With two months and $192.14 down, there's just over $1,980 to be made monthly over the next ten months in order to hit my goal. That's a lot different from the $1,667 I'd originally stated on January 1st - almost as if I need to pack in almost an extra week of work into the remaining months. The slower I make progress, the harder the journey will be - I totally accept that.

Some of the stumbling blocks I've been finding include:

  • My aversion to the cold - I'm a real wuss when it comes to the cold to the point where I haven't even cut my hair in five months (or more) just to keep my head warm. The sooner the spring comes along, the better. Eventually, it's either I adapt (and yes, I've lived in Canada my whole life, so you'd think I should've got this covered already), or I hold out until I'm ready to have the world face more Casey, more of the time :P
  • Keeping too busy - I've touched on this before - work, friends, girlfriend, commuting - all important factors of my life. They take up a lot of time, and while money isn't everything, it really doesn't leave too much time outside of work to make extra dollars. However, I'm not above juggling as much as necessary to do so, and as the days go on, it seems that this is a skill I'm going to need to figure out how to master :)

For example, I didn't really find enough time to enter the Toronto Star Short Story Contest - I did start fleshing out my ideas in order to really get the stories down...

 

...but just didn't find the time to get everything done. Maybe I should blame the Olympics on this one, but really, it's all on me :)

With that said, February definitely wasn't a total bust. I have been learning new things, working on different projects and trying to just keep improving and developing things for what I anticipate to be a massive upswing in 2010 20K activity as the months continue on. Things I've been up to include:

Time management - an area in which I'm sorely lacking. Too many deadlines have been missed this year (so far) due to not being able to find the time to get things done. It's unfortunate, because I think there are several decent ideas I have for contests, side jobs, etc., but it's really a question of how much I can realistically manage with my current workload taken into consideration.

Web design and architecture - we're in a day an age where having a solid set of web skills can ONLY be seen as an asset. Companies need better websites to communicate information to be public; individuals seek to better express themselves and what they do - and often, the standard templates from cookie-cutter sites just don't... well, cut it. At the moment, I'm learning more for my own purposes and sites, but eventually I'd love to get good enough to offer services to and collaborate with others. Currently I'm refreshing and refining my skills and understanding of PHP, but I'd love to eventually get into AJAX, jQuery and ActionScript (unless, you know, Flash dies off or something due to CSS3/HTML5...)

Wordpress - okay, Kev? In some ways I think I was better off designing my websites with Notepad++ and a self-compiled reference book - it was easier to figure out how all the pieces out when I do it from scratch. However, I'm still trying it out, though some developer friends are whispering Drupal in my ear...

Networking - Still chatting away with anyone who cares to listen! Some client projects have fallen by the wayside, others I need to aggressively chase after and yet others are developing more and more as the days pass! I've still got the fingers crossed and the brain cells humming while I keep working away at the hush-hush projects (so that I can finally announce them and you can all be impressed)!

The week has flown by so far. Not insomuch that it's been overwhelmingly busy, but just that the first few days seem to have gone by in the blink of an eye. I've had a blog post sitting on the burner since the weekend - I just never seemed to getting around to wrapping it up so I could post it. Now I have, and I hope that there will be far more quality posts to come in the next while!

So guys, it's late and I need to hit up the sack, because I'm hammering away at my day-to-day workload like a jackhammer, granted that I have enough energy to do so :)

The 2010 20K Running Total = $192.14

Thank you and keep reading!

--case p.

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The 2010 20K: Day 42 - Things I'd love to be doing with the blog // Cover Letter Tips

Hey all, hope your Wednesday was good!

I hope you're enjoying the blog that's more laid-back and pensive for the time being! I've been keeping myself occupied as of late with life in general, and it's been good :) On top of just networking and keeping the contacts buzzing in order to build the foundation to achieve the 2010 20K, I've been trying to do other things like:

  • Make more time for creative pursuits
  • See friends I haven't seen in a while
  • Commit to the weekly/biweekly things that I say I'll do
  • Purge the excess in my life wherever possible
The hustle's been hard, but not impossible. There's been a lot of pro bono work too as of late - especially with the resumes, tax advice and whatnot, but maybe this is all part of a practice round to get the word out about my missions and the skills I bring to the table. I'm starting to ask my clients to refer me over to other people needing help for a nominal fee, and then I'll just build it up as time passes. I think I have a market that I can really grow with services that cater to the economy we're in right now.

So from the title, you can guess that I've been doing some thinking about the blog :)

  • Seeing what penny stocks can do for the 2010 20K
  • Getting involved in a lot more design contests, such as the ones you see here: http://en.guerra-creativa.com/
  • Listening to the advice my friends give me and trying to figure out ways to make money that're quick, fast and exciting. Oh yeah, and legal.
  • Using more of the online opportunities to get paid for blogging and networking like a madman
I came across this article in yesterday's t.o.night newspaper - a small publication designed for the people commuting out of the city - and I thought it touched on a lot of key points of how to make your cover letter better. I use the tips below in how I go about improving the voice used in resumes and cover letters. Some would say I'm shooting myself in the foot by sharing something like this, but if no one has money, no one gets paid, right?



So yes, the hustle continues a day at a time :) I've had people make promises to donate if I do certain things, I have projects on the go and I have moves that I've yet to make to really start pressing forward. Thanks for the support, and I hope that:

You keep reading
You pass the blog's link on to your friends
You help a brotha out with ideas, cash, advice or whatever if you feel so inclined.

The 2010 20K Running Total = $192.14

Peace out, homefries,

--case p.

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The 2010 20K: Day 41 - Busking

http://www.metronews.ca/toronto/local/article/456474--busking-is-like-public-art

So it would seem that busking in the TTC might not be the best idea if I want to reach this goal in a timely fashion. If we consider that:

  • There's a $150 annual permit for busking in the TTC
  • One would need to commit to six-hour shifts three to four times a week, which would definitely cramp on sleeping time
  • I have limited musical talent - I don't think I could very readily pass a serious audition
  • It's a subway station. Those things are COLD.
So maybe we'll look to something more like street performing. Or maybe doing portraits of people - but WAIT!

http://www.toronto.ca/licensing/pdf/rd_allw_fees.pdf

  • If I'm just busking or drawing with chalk on the sidewalk, we're looking at a $35.69 permit fee.
  • If I want to draw portraits of people as takeaway items - it's a $300.00 permit fee. THREE HUNDRED. I'll need to think this over - see what approach might even be good to take care of this =/
  • The application for this is pretty lengthy - and there're a gajillion rules and regulations and bylaws associated with the practice - man. Buskin' ain't easy! I'm going to need more me's just to make this work!
I was going to enter one of those surveys you see on the back of your receipts from the fast food joints - you know - let us know your thoughts and you could win $1,000 - but damn! The recession must've hit Wendy's hard, because their is "tell us about this visit and we'll give you a free Single hamburger"! Wow, Wendy's. Wow. And you can only redeem one every thirty days. You know what - how about I fill it out and give it to a homeless person? Least I can do with this thing. Note: I actually would've done this, but just realized that I needed to fill in the survey within 48 hours of my visit. It's been 79 h 23 min. My bad, random homeless person :( Also, in an amusing side, it appears that Burger King (huh - guess I have fast food more often than I think) doesn't even WANT your two cents - only a portion of it:



Still collecting Air/Aeroplan Miles like a fiend - kinda hoping that I'll be able to supplement some of the trips to come with these.
  • Aeroplan Miles to date: 1263
  • Air Miles to date: 609
If anyone has ideas on how to optimize collecting and using these, let me know! I'll post some ideas that I found and go from there - I expect that I have some fellow avid collectors out there!

And now, observe as I forge out into the snow to try and get to work on time!

Plus I have another couple of resumes to look at - commuter reading! Woo!

Digits:

The 2010 20K Running Total = $192.14

Have a great day, y'all!

--case p.

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The 2010 20K: Day 40 - From Pocket Change to Potential

I love pay day - seriously love it. New possibilities, new options - it's like waking up and unwrapping a new present to do with as you wish.


As of late, though, my pay days mean more that I get to see my credit card balance reduce at an accelerated rate moreso than getting the shiniest new whatever's out there. With my regular income, I've devoted myself to getting rid of the invisible shackles that hold me down and being able to go into the future a bit more carefree and content :)

I remember the days of living cheque to cheque - I mean, I'm 26 with no kids or mortgage, so thank goodness I didn't really have anyone else relying on me to feed or clothe them - it would've been a horrible situation. No, oftentimes it was because of that desire I just mentioned. To be the best dressed. Have the new toy. Eat the finest foods. It was really just me valuing all the wrong things and doing whatever I needed to do to get them.

On one hand, I think that these are the kinds of lessons we all need to learn in our lives at one point or another - and for me, I'm glad that it's something I came across early on - but at the same time, one would hope that people are given enough teaching that they can avoid falling into similar pitfalls. Not everyone gets the same opportunities in life, as we can often see from the disparity between the rich and the poor in our world. I can remember from my time spent as a Financial Sales Representative that I'd often have to counsel people twice my age on their finances, simply because they were never given the same access to knowledge about investing, credit, budgeting, etc. that I had. Now that I'm at a point in my life where I'm purging items more than I am collecting, I can see the benefits of all this and hope that I can eventually pass on what I know to others in such a way that it very practical and easy to follow.

Some easy tips come to mind:

  • Don't spend what you don't have - if you must do so, find the method that costs least (borrowing interest, especially) and/or can be paid off the quickest
  • Try to make do with what you have - mend a tear if you gotta - make notes on envelopes - reuse jars like crazy - do what you gotta!
  • Shop smarter, not cheaper - cheaper isn't always better - example: dollar store batteries versus a solid set of rechargeable batteries, ESPECIALLY if you have a charger! Over time, the money you save from not having to dash out to the store repeatedly to replace those batteries will start to look pretty good once you keep using quality rechargeable batteries through their lifespan - they can last a VERY long time. There are a number of instances like this in life where what seems like a massive investment compared to alternatives in the beginning may turn out to be the better option.
Just some food for thought.

In other news:

  • I did sell that RAM, but my friend discovered that their computer won't actually accept anything higher than what they already had, so we're trying to figure out what we can do to fix the situation
  • The last chart I released in my other blog (chart is NSFW!) became more widespread than I'd expected - about 240 diggs, 70 total comments, 40 notes on Tumblr and 3,250 views on Huffington alone. I'm pretty encouraged by that, despite the rather embarassing nature of the chart itself, lol - I'd like to create something Olympics-related, but nothing's come to mind just yet that really knocks my socks off. If anyone has something they've always wanted to see in chart form, please let me know!
  • I got those three resumes that were on my plate out of the way, and I'm happy to say that the clients are all very happy with the new products I put together for them. I got one person a job in two months after years of looking - maybe I can do the same for you? Let me know!
Otherwise, it's been your regular sort of week - I have a cousin getting married this weekend, so the work time will be reduced significantly, but other than that, the hustle continues as per usual. I have noticed that I haven't quite made it easy to share my blog posts on Facebook, Twitter, what have you - so worry not; new functionality will be on its way!

So, in closing, thanks for joining me once more - please feel free to contact me with any questions, concerns or ideas - they're always welcome in the 2010 20K. I can't wait till this cold is over and it gets dark later so I can get out in the world and REALLY do some stuff!

The 2010 20K Running Total: $192.14

Winter, you can't stick around FOREVER, homey!

Have a great Friday, y'all,

--case p.

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The 2010 20K: Day 39 - Back in Full Effect

Oh, man - after suffering a violent illness, I'm back on track! This really helps to remind me why I was frequently blogging in the first place:

  • When you don't do it as often, it's harder to get back into it
  • When you don't do it as often, you have WAY more that you want to cover in a blog post, making it HARDER to get it all down
  • When you don't do it as often, people never know when to expect the next installment from you.
Guess I need to get more of that content out! So as I sit here listening to some of Hall & Oates' live work, let me fill you in on what's up and what's what.

So I haven't been up to nothing this week, that much I can promise. It's had its ups and downs and definitely a lot of just being plain busy, but I'm working with the hope that the projects I'm on right now will get me to the point where it will make sense once more to do the 2010 20K on a closer-to-daily basis.

WEEK IN REVIEW

So first off, let me list off what's been going down this week. (I actually had to check my BlackBerry to verify some of this, because it's been THAT insanely busy!)

Sunday:

  • Discussions with the R in Team R&C over next steps to be taken on various business ventures - information that you too will sooner than later be privy to!
Monday:
  • Blogged about the rumours of a new MacBook Pro coming out, which turned out to be false for the time being, and making a parody song to go with it, on top of that. (If I already had a Mac, I'd have just made my own music with GarageBand, but no...)
  • Got some extra promotion of the blog from a friend in exchange for lending her money. (Fortunately, I know that she always pays back!)
Tuesday:
  • Got a new commission request from a friend down in NY - on top of another I have, I need to get my software up to date and these out of the door ASAP. Fortunately, tomorrow is Family Day in our fine province, so there'll be the opportunity!
  • Also scored my first ShopItToMe gift card - don't hear me complaining about that! Free money is free money!
Wednesday:
  • Did some pro bono web consultation for a friend of a friend (though in this case, the friend was more useful than I was - it does happen here and there!)
  • Got two new resumes to edit - I love taking them in, retooling them some in order to let peoples' real skill shine through, and then seeing them get jobs from them later - my most recent success story is getting a friend in the US out of a job that she loathed and facilitating a new job and move for her by getting her resume up to speed and far clearer at explaining what she's all about :) I hope to do the same with the resumes I still have on my plate - another three.
Thursday:

Hit up some dim sum (ha ha!) for lunch with the work team for Chinese New Year, met up with Kevin shortly to lend a hand with something and had a nice dinner with Sarah and some friends for the night to start up a nice, restful long weekend. All seemed well, except for the headache and slight stomachache I was having - but as it usually goes with me, I figured I could shake it off with some sleep and get back to 100% in the morning.

Friday:

  • (1:30 am) Food poisoning! What started as a lieu day suddenly became a sick day! (Yay :S)
  • (4:00 am) Round two!
  • (7:00 am) Round three!
  • (11:30 am) Finally wake up without beelining for the washroom, and I feel like someone went to town with a crowbar on my insides. Most of Friday was spent relaxing (or, in my case, recovering) with friends, playing board games and being tricked into watching The Time Traveller's Wife (yes, Sarah, I said tricked!) - all in all, decent day, though I really did NOT feel well.
Saturday:
  • Got a new chapter of a manuscript to edit - hope to get to that soon, as well!
  • Baby Shower! For all y'all thinking that men don't attend baby showers, let me get you up to speed - it's 2010, baby! Let's get modern! It was good times with my friend Mel and her friends and family - and oddly enough, I actually made a little bit of money - or, shall we say "converted" - I'm still counting it, though, because the 2010 20K is partly about the stories to be told, right? So our mother to be asked for me to go to the underground store (it was literally underground and not so much under the governmental radar) to get some matches so we could light some candles. So I did. Matches are 10 cents and when I handed the middle-aged cashier my $5 to buy them, he gave me a look of dismay as if I had just wiped by behind with it and was handing it over to him to dispose. Anyway, long story short, I got conned into buying a Cash for Life scratchcard so that he wouldn't have to (Lord forbid) break a $5, but made the $4 it cost back in winnings. I'll take pleasures in small victories where I can :)
  • Brokered a deal to sell some RAM I've had lying around - perfectly good 2 x 2 GB RAM I'd bought some time ago anticipating that I could buy a MacBook Pro and upgrade it with it, but then good ol' Stevie had to go and make 4 GB of RAM standard in the MacBook Pros. So then I had the bright idea of updating my current computer with the RAM to tide me over until an upgrade. Only to find out that its motherboard can't handle more than 2 x 1 GB of RAM. So I was left with RAM that was essentially useless to me. Thank goodness for other Mac users who need to get their units upgraded! I'm expecting another $60 for that.
  • Dried out a Copic marker tip - kinda sucks that the chisel tip of my Grayish Lavender BV23 opened up in my bag while in transit, drying it out beyond repair - fortunately, there's a reason why you pay extra for a Copic - I can just walk to the art store up the street from my office (I KNOW. THIS IS POTENTIALLY DEADLY TO MY WALLET. EVEN MORESO THAN WHEN I WORKED ACROSS THE STREET FROM A MAJOR MALL. WITH AN APPLE STORE. OKAY, NO MORE CAPS LOCK) and get a replacement - so it's not all bad!
WHAT'S GOT ME PUMPED?!

I spoke with someone this week who seems to have the same kind of vision for future business that I do - looking to really develop things beyond the standard money-makers, looking to go outside the known and develop things that could truly advance the way we go about doing things right now. It's got me a little excited, because the potential to forge new paths ALWAYS appeals to me! MORE TO COME!

IDEAS FOR EVERYONE!

Don't worry - I didn't forget y'all. In the midst of everything else that was going on, I still found potential new ways to get some income in while you're in, or trying to get into, the day-to-day hustle.

  • One friend hipped me to NewAd, the agency behind all those people you see in the major areas of the city handing out freebies, club promos, etc. etc. Check out their site, give it a read and if you can swallow the thought of bumping into people you know while trying to get them to try a new flavour of gum, then hey! I say give it a shot!
  • My fellow Canadians - Doritos has got their contest for naming chips up and running again, with a top prize of up to $250,000! Oooh - ahhh! It runs from February 14, 2010 - March 21, 2010 - but remember - you'll be competing against me! Bring it on, my friends!!!
  • Now, I don't know if I'm abnormal, but I find that I spend a lot of time organizing things. Such as:
    • old files on the computer
    • ideas
    • scraps of paper
so if someone was organizationally-inclined, I'd go as far as to say that there's a market for getting people like me in check! I'm just saying!

Anyway, I think that's an epic enough update for now! It's way late, and I'm going to get some shut-eye.

But FIRST:

The 2010 20K Running Total: $132.14 (with another $60.00 pending)

There's going to have to be some good-sized projects to make up for lost time - I'm supposed to be at $2000 or so already!

Stay tuned,

--case p.

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The 2010 20K: Day 38 - Still at it!

Hey all,

So, as planned, my other blog has been good for just goofing off and getting original Casey Palmer content out. Today was a song - it's good times :)

But the 2010 20K still progresses! Some quick updates:

  • Still working on putting together a Statement of Work for a business reconstruction project
  • Sharon was kind enough to donate another $20 to the challenge, so thank you, my dear!
  • A friend brought up the idea of doing art auctions in order to fund some of the challenge money, which could be awesome
  • There's the possible prospect of getting paid for some manuscript editing, but that also is only in the talks
So you know, despite a weekend with me resorting to the reclusive side of my personality, things still move forward, with or without my active involvement.

I haven't QUITE quit yet ;D

Still working on those websites and hope to have them up soon as well - Wordpress is working well with me, but there'll be a good deal of experimentation before I really get it all where I want it to be.

Anyway, just checking in! Hope everyone's been awesome, and may you have a great week! I hope to come with some more news sooner than later!

Until then, comrades,

--case p.

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Filed under  //   2010 20k   updates  
590 Views // Posted February 8, 2010
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The 2010 20K: Day 37 - The Days Off, Day 3 of 4 - A Shocking Turn of Events!

10:49 am: I'm going to make some money for this blog today if it KILLS me. But from where?

I feel, and correct me if I'm wrong, that people really don't take me seriously on this goal. Maybe I seem to laissez-faire. Maybe it's the fact that there's no apparent cash flow coming in on a regular basis. Well, I think those are valid points, but my sincerity is there. I will achieve this.

From the poll I conducted recently (with 4 replies at this point - but who am I kidding? It's 11 am on a Saturday - people probably have better things to do than read a blog on their first escape from the office for the week) it seems that there's at least one person who would like to see more interesting stories come out of the 2010 20K - one of the things I'm thinking is perhaps I'll need to break out of my comfort zone and just DO stuff in order to really make this happen. People want conflict. Excitement. Action. A protagonist who really seems like they're trying to get the task at hand completed - not one who simply conjectures upon whatever comes to mind and LETS things happen.

So what do I have on the plate?

  • a logo design, which I plan to work on as soon as another deal goes through (I haven't forgotten, promise. Just waiting on an email.)
  • a business proposal to help a restaurant become more successful
In creating my blog and site content, I'm finding that my history of packratism is rearing its ugly head - I don't know how many of you deal with this, but I'm finding that I wrote a lot of notes to myself on how I'd like the site to appear, things I'd like to post, etc. But they're all over the freaking place. Different text files, mind-mapping programs, Google Docs - it's ridiculous. Half of figuring out how exactly I'd like these sites to look is figuring out what exactly I've thought up already. Kinda weak.

So what do I do, guys? Do I go out on the street and start handing out business cards? Do I panhandle and beg for money as people pass by?

Jon raises a valid point, though - maybe I DO work too much. Perhaps my workaholic tendencies have got the better of me in life.

Is it possible to make a goal like this happen WHILE having fun? How do I merge the two without making it seem like a daunting project that I can't accomplish without a crapload of backbreaking labour?

*ponders*

I don't know. I wish I had an answer. It would make it a lot easier to do, that's for sure.

Some good friends have mentioned that:

  • Daily updates for the 2010 20K may not be feasible when there's not much going on in a day
  • Too much talk about the 2010 20K may seem more like I'm pushing a brand or product than trying to accomplish a personal goal
So seeing as how as I seem to have lost sight of myself in this, how about this. The 2010 20K will be a blog to focus on the 2010 20K. When a project comes along, when money comes in, I'll update it. But there's another side of me. The guy who just wants to goof off. The guy who likes to draw random doodles of crap to pass the time. The guy who listens to video game music mixed in with classic rock, cheesy disco and deep moving ballads.

That is Casey Palmer. That is Case P. That is Doomz. Forever.

http://doomzforever.posterous.com

The 2010 20K isn't dead. Far from it. But I need to find myself so that I can better attack such a large project. I'll post updates there when there are updates to be had. For now - it's Doomz time.

Case P out.

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Filed under  //   2010 20k   dream office   swag  
675 Views // Posted February 6, 2010
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The 2010 20K Day 36 - The Days Off, Day 2 of 4 (aka 50 Firefox Tabs Open and No Ideas? I Think Not!)

Day 2 of being at home just chillin'. Today I literally didn't leave the house except to salt the driveway and take out the trash. I got some more art, reading and organization done, and I got around to installing Wordpress - now I'll just need to build my sites from the snippets I have hiding in various folders and other hidey holes on my various hard drives. Worry not - I'll make this work!

Being without human contact for too long, however, can defiintely make one squirrely. I should've put on an album I loved and had that on repeat for the day - but noooo - I wanted to multitask, so it was a busier day mentally than maybe I should've had - but whatev! I'm on my weekend - I can do what I want, right?

Anyway, in looking over some of the many tabs I mentioned having open in this entry's title, I have a few opportunities I spotted to maybe get some more dollars in the pocket:

  • HarperCollins lets up-and-coming writers submit stuff here: http://inkpop.com/
  • Reminder to self: start running your ideas for the Toronto Star Short Story Contest to people so you can get a head start on actually WRITING the entry
  • Jon's suggested sitting my butt on ChatRoulette all day and convincing people to send me money.

Someone probably needs to chain me to a desk or something, though, so that I actually output everything that needs outputting.

So I was talking with a friend last night about how to inspire more interaction in my blog, and I think I've come up with a few ideas.

  • Subscribe! I know there's some of you who read on a daily basis, and trust me - I really appreciate it. But why not take it one step further and make it easier for yourselves? Along the right side of the main page of the blog, you'll see a link to subscribe to the blog - click that and you can subscribe through email to get regular updates :) That way you won't need to remember to hit up the blog daily - but again. That's your prerogative, Bobby!
  • Podcasts! Is it a pain to download all the fun stuff I put up on here like videos and audio to your iPod to carry with you wherever you go? Sure it is! Well, there's an answer for THAT! Click on this link: itpc://doomz.posterous.com/rss and you'll be able to get all that fun stuff from this blog to carry with you! It'll be like having a mini-Casey to keep you company :D I know, creepy right? And by creepy, I obviously mean FANTASTIC.
  • Polls! Yes, I really do want to know what you think about how I should proceed with the 2010 20K! So I'll put out polls to see what you think I'm doing right and wrong and where I should go next with it.

In fact, here's one now!


Oh, so you answered "Other"? Weellllll... huh. It seems that the poll below doesn't work, which kinda sucks. Feel free to email, comment or smoke signal to let me know what you had in mind. I'll try and investigate why that didn't go as planned!


I hope you all take some time to answer the questions so that I can build a better blog - thanks in advance for whatever help you can provide!

I've been informed that light text on a dark background is difficult to read. Seriously? Why did no one inform me of this previously? I love it from an aesthetic standpoint, but if you guys are straining your eyes in order to read the awesomeness I've put together, that's a problem. Hopefully I'll get around to some template changes and harmonization over the course of the weekend. No guarantees, but I'm always open to change if I think it'll be beneficial :)

Starting using my DeviantArt account again, but doubt I'll see any real action there until I start actually COMPLETING work *adds that to the to-do list*

Okay! That's all you're getting tonight! I have more madness to try and customize with all this Wordpress!

The Same Number You Saw Yesterday:

  • The 2010 20K Running Total = $108.14

Until tomorrow, Readerland!

--case p.

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Filed under  //   2010 20K   art   design  
694 Views // Posted February 5, 2010
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