A Little Fun At a Jerk Buyer's Expense

Most buyers I deal with are spectacular. They're glad to get a qualified tech at a reasonable price, and I'm glad to get good work at a reasonable price. It usually works out where I don't get quite as much as I want; they don't pay as little as they want.

Every once in awhile, though, a jerk hops up on the scene. For obvious reasons, I need to keep the buyer anonymous, but I thought I'd post the response I WANTED to post. If I didn't need to maintain a decent relationship with them.

Here is the buyer's response to my offer:

The project is about as simple as it can get. Unbox new equipment and set it up on the desktop, plug in the Cat5 cable to the nic card and that is it. XYZ Company will do all of the work behind the scenes with regards to loading the OS and the dual monitor drivers. Other than that, if you think that $20 is below market value for A+ type work, then you must be making a killing in your area and I wonder why you would answer an ad like this. It's simple work. It is what it is. Call me if you are interested, (number omitted).

Here is the reply I wanted to make:

I agree, it's simple work, but as to why I would answer an ad, there is a simple reason. This is not Craigslist, this is not a random Internet ad, this is a platform where buyers in my profession connect with providers in my profession. And there is a good deal of negotiating that goes on.

I do have to take issue with your characterization of A+ techs, though. Even the most newly minted A+ tech still put in significant time and effort to get where they are, and do not deserve to be diminished by buyers like you, who bask in the glow of the monitor in your mother's basement while working tickets between quests to find the Sword of Azeroth.

$20 an hour is a fair price for a self employed individual to mow my lawn, or stop by for twice weekly housekeeping. It is not a fair price for PC deployments for large companies. There is a certain professionalism expected, and it's not received by paying dirt cheap wages. For a 1099 employee, $20 an hour usually nets about $12 an hour, and that is before expenses like gas and tools are figured in. You certainly could get cheaper, but the quality of tech that you're likely to receive for less than $20 an hour probably makes it necessary for you to keep a close eye on the White Out and the alcohol based hand sanitizer.

Also, if you consider better than $20 an hour a "killing", then you must be moonlighting at the comic book store, because even full time $20 an hour W2 employment is a decent salary of $40K, hardly a "killing" unless you live in Bangladesh or your mother's basement. I'm wondering which is true of you.

I will refrain from replying directly because, well, your reply is so rank that it's impossible to reply without telling you what a lowballing dirtball you are. And because you might tattle.

I had hoped by applying for your job to get work in the direction I needed to go, but I think there are probably enough cans on the side of the freeway to pay for most of the trip. If I come up short, I have a half eaten, week old cheese danish that I could probably sell to make up the balance. If you pay extra, I may even deliver. But warning: I'm not a WoW fan, so if you want to discuss that while I'm there, there's a whole other surcharge.

Thanks for your phone number; I've posted it to a variety of fetish boards across the Internet. Hope you don't mind.

The Home Internet's Back On!

I am pleased to say that this is the week we see ourselves finally getting back to "normal". After a VERY rough start to the summer, I was able to get the Internet back on at home. This may sound like a luxury, but it's essential to business. I even skipped taking the laptop down to the coffeeshop this morning because I was getting a little weary of the electronic ball and chain.

Fortunately, I get a bit of a slowdown, as we start school next week and I'll need to focus on teaching. I may also be working the boards at the local radio station for the high school sports; just minimum wage work, but we're at a point where every little bit truly counts. It sounds like a little thing, but my proudest accomplishment on this last roadtrip was not cashing in the coins OR the cans. They are our emergency money; when I cash them in, it feels like our safety net is gone.

And despite the brake work on the van, we did manage to emerge from this stretch with a small cash reserve. We have a few looming bills that will eat that up quickly, but that's tomorrow's problem, not today's, and I am learning to appreciate that fact.

I have the luxury of work in town tomorrow. Next week I won't be on the road much, as I need to try to confine the bulk of work to the days my wife is NOT working. And, for the first time in six months, we aren't looming very close to cutoff on most of our bills. I know it won't always stay this way, but for today, just today, I don't feel like a hamster stuck in a wheel.

And that's a pretty nice feeling.

The Slowdown

Well, school starts Monday, which to me is ridiculously early,  but no worries. We're going to basically follow the school calendar in our return to homeschooling, because it's just easier that way.

So that means that my work will be confined to later in the week, as I will be doing most of the instruction. I might be able to take the kids along on certain assignments, but that's not a workable usual practice, so I think I will try to book Thursday and Fridays with whatever's available, and head out and gig on the weekends. I may be able to schedule some day assignments earlier in the week, but that will be hit or miss.

I picked up a second job to follow up last night's assignment, which is good because supplies took a decent chunk out of the profit of that job, and today's job was basically bonus. It was an Internet connectivity issue, and given those are super easy, was a quick fix (although I did extra work...ALWAYS offer extra work on a quick fix, is my motto!).

So as I was heading out of Lubbock late last night, I drove by the airport, and because I was exhausted, briefly wondered why the airport was not named after Buddy Holly. Then I kicked myself for the stupidest question in the history of humanity, glad I hadn't lingered around long enough to ask that question of any locals. When I drove in, it was apparently shift change for the PD, because I briefly felt like I was in the middle of the OJ chase of the early 90's, as TEN police cars pulled on and gradually around me on their way to their assignments. And here I was sitting with my GPS on my lap, afraid to look at it and possibly net a souvenir ticket from the PD!

I pulled into the rest stop north of Lubbock. This rest stop has two bathroom buildings, so that when one is down for cleaning, the other is available. The lovely night janitor had both closed and locked, and was so kind to GLARE at me when I tried to come in. I later saw her silhouette in the rest stop's office, apparently sleeping. I was briefly tempted to dash across the Interstate for the southbound rest stop, but thought better of it.

To add to all my fun, Straight Talk apparently chose this month to NOT send reminder texts that my service was expiring, so I had to rush out and get a card so that I could schedule this morning's job. Fun times!

I did get a fair amount of songwriting done. At least the easy part of it!

Lubbock, Texas on the roadmap

So tonight I'm rolling out to Lubbock for an overnight install. I was hoping to piggyback a printer job with it, but it didn't come to pass. I'll probably finish up in the wee small hours of the morning, but planning on holding over to see if anything pops up near me.

Next week, school starts, and we're homeschooling again. So that means road trips will be limited; I'm probably going to pick up more day trips. That means less money, but I might be able to take the car to economize.

I am also trying to crowdsource Hobo's List, so far without success. Most folks I have discussed it with think it is a good project, but I cannot get funding lined up. What that tells me is I need to expand my reach, and the way I am working is a good way to do it.

I may have to pull out some research material to take with me on the road. I admit to being more than a little inspired by the work of Tim Z. Hernandez, and so I may have to start gathering stories. I've heard a lot of folks say that they thought everything had been written that was worthwhile, but as long as people keep living, as long as injustice and oppression exist, there will be stories to tell. And sadly, injustice and oppression will probably always exist.

So if I don't spend tomorrow working, I'll likely spend it writing. There are a few stories I may not be able to escape.

Busier on Down Days than Up

So I'm sitting here with no certainty for the upcoming week (prior to Friday). At this point, I am thinking I need to hit the road more for exposure than anything, as I really need to get the fundraiser rolling. It's not coming from the people I already know; that much is abundantly clear, and so somehow I will have to reach people who I can get to understand what I am doing.

It isn't easy; in fact, it's probably my biggest frustration. How I can spend so much time on the planet and have only a very small number of people (too small to constitute a genuine funding base) understand what I am doing is beyond me. It's very frustrating.

What I do know is this: if the coming year is anything like last year, we will be moving. We don't have a lot to sell, but maybe the sale of our house would net us enough to get a decent apartment in a city that isn't so isolated and is a bit more politically diverse.

The frustrating thing is, I do enjoy the community (another hard thing to get people around here to understand; criticism doesn't mean I dislike you; in fact, it usually means the opposite).

But I've garnered a lot of opposition because I refuse to take a $10 an hour job and basically throw my degree away. Of all of the mindsets around here, thst one is the single most annoying one. For years, I was told that I was short changing myself; that I needed to earn a degree. So I listened, and I did it. Now the very same folks are telling me to ignore my degree, take a nearly minimum wage job and "work your way up". Probably to include getting another degree at some point (in fact, I HAVE been advised by a few folks to "go back to school"; my answer is simply that if my Bachelors isn't doing much for me, I don't see a Masters doing anything more than adding debt.

It's not a matter of complaint; it's a matter of fact. Right now things look OK, but we haven't hit the slow season yet. If the coming year is like the last one, we will be gone by this time next year. There frankly won't be a choice!

Downtime, Brainstorming and Fundraising

Right now, there are limited prospects for the upcoming week. The beauty is, that can change literally at a moment's notice, but for the moment what that means is I am going to have to make creative use of my time.

One of the projects at the center of my attention is funding Hobo's List, I project I started 2-3 years ago as a clearinghouse of resources for the poor and needy. As the economy has worsened for many of America's workers, the need has increased, but the awareness has not. Food banks, shelters, and other deserving organizations have limited resources to advertise their services, and too many go without.

As I travel, I am exposed to the need. I am aware that it is substantial, and am also aware from some of my other interactions that most folks are oblivious to how great the need is in this country. They will turn away from the guy begging on the street corner because many believe they are all scam artists. And the scam artists exist, to be sure, but so do the people with very real, very pressing needs. And we need to make them aware that there are resources to assist with their needs.

And thus, the crowdsourcing campaign to assist with startup funds. I recently renewed the domain, but barely had the money for that, as the last three months have seen me replace three tires, get a substantial amount of brake work for Townes, throw out $500 worth of food because of refrigerator failure, and double pay an electric bill. And now we're in back to school season, with Christmas following not too far behind.

And so this weekend's focus, in addition to building a set list, hunting for work, and household projects, is on building an effective crowdsourcing campaign. It's harder than it sounds. Maybe if I was asking for money to make potato salad.

Stopping is a GOOD Thing!

So, the brakes are fixed on Townes. This means I can start scheduling out for next week. I am very seriously trying to nail down something near Santa Fe so that I can get "back in the saddle" and head out to busk. At this point, the money is secondary; the experience is primarily what I'm after. Since I didn't make anything the first go round, that's a good thing, but I'm going to have to start thinking money before too long, and summer's nearing the end.

The focus right now is on the Hobo's List fundraiser. I'm not a fundraiser by nature, but it is becoming increasingly apparent to me that's a skillset I'm going to have to learn, both as a busker, and as an activist. Since all my work is freelance, I'm getting better at it, but it's hard to take a person with social anxiety issues and a healthy distaste for bureaucracy and make them a fundraiser overnight.

So here's the deal: if you have any ideas good or bad about how I can actually make it work, I'm all ears. I am working on getting some graphics together so I can do merchandise, both for the music and for Hobo's List, but I lack the capital to launch into it full on. Although it's frustrating, it's probably better that way, as it's forcing me to learn the process the hard way.

I'm also learning to use my downtime more efficiently, which is pretty important in the big scheme of things. I still have a ways to go, but I'm getting better at it.