on the hunt again

since family matters took me away from SF for a week and a half, i decided to end my full-time+ freelance gig prematurely. my mind had been elsewhere one day prior to my departure—i was at work while i was trying to get information from my mom and sis who’d been at the hospital for twelve hours. during those hours at work, i was useless. upon the insistence of my boss, i left early.

my departing airline ticket for the next day was one way, nor was i even sure of a returning date. though conditions have calmed down considerably, i anticipate a couple more trips out to the midwest before the year is up. this isn’t me predicting doom and gloom; this is me merely wanting to spend more time with my family given the circumstances.

fortunately, my employer was understanding during my unplanned absence and resignation, and i’m hoping that i didn’t burn any bridges in the process.

i consider myself lucky that i landed that job so quickly since moving here, but family situations always come first in my book, even during a recession when jobs are scarce. so now that i’m unemployed again, i’m trying to be a bit more selective about my next steps. i wasn’t completely content in my previous industry (the only industry i know, sadly, which is advertising), and having my dad’s health come into question only forced me finally to face some inner conflicts i’d been battling for a while.

trolling the interwebs for job postings has been enlightening, defeating, humbling, exhausting. and i’ve only been at it less than a week. honestly, it’s not even the job listings that are getting me down. it’s that age-old question of what i really want to do with my life. something that doesn’t make me cringe when i tumble out of bed in the mornings. but does that mean starting from scratch in skill set and paycheck? those are the scary parts. and honestly, is it really so bad that i only want to work about 32 hours a week to make room for all the other things that get put on the back burner as soon as i work late consecutive nights?

undoubtedly, when i worked for coudal partners before leaving chicago, i was completely and utterly spoiled. i’m doing no justice when i say the crew over at CP is crazy cool. they really only needed me part time to help out with jewelboxing and field notes fulfillment, and it worked out perfectly that i could do freelance gigs during my off days. i rarely was bored with that workflow. at one point, i had four regular freelance clients intermingling with my work at CP. it was like i had a full-time job with flexibility, and without the bullshit, politics and drama of real full-time life. and virtually no late nights. sigh

now if only i could replicate that same freedom from an employer and couple it with some freelance work.

(yeah, so, SFers, i’m lookin’ at you for some thoughts or leads.)

24 July 2009