Today I started and Etsy Shop called Shards of Arcadia for selling some of my Photography. I’m certainly not quitting my day job, but I hope that this will blossom into something valuable for me down the track. At least it’s inspiring and provides a little bit of hope that an escape is possible.
Archive for November, 2014
The Sinking Ship or the Lifeboat…
2014 -
11.24
I’ve decided to take the chance and start trying to market some of my Photography. Clearly I’m not in a position to leave my day job, and I doubt I will be for some time to come.
Yet it feels to me that now might be the right time to make that plunge into the alternative economic options for my future. I have to say that my current job is driving me crazy. Feeling shackled by the Golden Handcuffs is clearly not helpful for my depression. If I don’t give it a go, I won’t know, as they say! If I can put as much energy and work into it as I did twenty years ago for computing I may just be able to make an accpetable (to me) living from photography or a combination of that and some other options.
Furbag Summary…
2014 -
11.21
Well Chemoux’s been here three weeks now and it’s all working out better than I could have hoped in this short time. Tigga and Chemoux were literally playing at wrestling on the bed all over me while I was trying to sleep the other night. Then they’d go “plop” landing on the floor, race around upstairs, and rolling all over the bed again. Awesome but inconvenient at that time!
I’ve also noted: two cats equals twice as many lizards on the floor, and twice as much cat fur everywhere including the desk and computer screen! Still I couldn’t be happier with how Chemoux has fitted in and how well Tigga has accepted her to Darriwell Territory.
Change, Change, Change…
2014 -
11.18
I wasn’t really planning it, as I said the other day, a bit of retail therapy, which was definitely NOT necessary, but will prove useful. I’m just finishing off configuring up the iPhone 6 that arrived today, and am just about to get to the new iPad Air 2 that also arrived. The iPhone looks great in it’s new Otterbox Defender that also arrived conveniently at the same time.
If I was to cite my most immediate benefit, I suppose it is being able to synchronise the whole iTunes library now, instead of having to pick a selection to synchronise due to capacity limitations. Not much to some, but it’s been a real pain for me over several versions of the iPhone preceding. From the iPad it’s handy to have more capacity with regard to photos, and the extra processing power is handy too.
Thud and Pick Myself Up…
2014 -
11.18
Well a bit of a crash with the depression, but picking myself up again. Much quicker these days, and I’ve had time to get into perspective the precipitating events and interactions. Work is a significant trigger of these cycles. I’m just going to have to keep coming up with strategies to get me through while I work on the alternatives in the background.
Fruit Retail Therapy…
2014 -
11.13
Oh and I forgot, I may have had some other retail therapy yesterday with a little slip of an iPad Air 2 & an iPhone 6! Which of course has necessitated the purchase of an Otterbox Defender which unfortunately wasn’t as cheap as the last two I bought for the iPhone 5.
Sparks in the Dark…
2014 -
11.13
Despite the funk that’s been hanging over me the last three days, I’ve done some positive things to try and move forward; both out of this dark space, and with my medium to long term goal of trying my hand at the Photography Profession.
I’ve pulled out “The Happiness Trap” by Russ Harris again, as well as another useful tome called “Your Life on Purpose”. These were helpful early on, but I don’t think two years ago I was quite in the space to make the most use of them. Now perhaps I’m better equipped to do so.
I’ve bought a couple of extra gizmos, such as the Oregon 600t Garmin GPS and a Hahnel Giga T Pro II 2.4Ghz. I’ve also ordered some business cards, just a small number for the time being, that I can use to give people when asked. I’ve been planning both an additional website and a new domain for a while, and once a few minor expenses are out of the way, I’ll get those up and running too.
I’ve traded cars with Dad so I’ve not got a Sports Cherokee Jeep, which although not exactly a heavy duty 4 wheel drive, will with a change of tires be helpful in getting me to some of the locations I want to get to for my wildlife shooting.
Climbing Into the Lifeboat Again…
2014 -
11.13
Well seems I’m not out of the woods with the depressive patches. I have been having a very down period this week; partially bought on by painting and varnishing in an enclosed area with what I thought was as much ventilation as I could manage. Clearly it wasn’t enough! Headaches & Nausea for about 36 hours afterwards.
That in itself wasn’t the depressive trigger, but it did have me feeling sick and uncomfortable enough to let some things at work take root and bring me unstuck for a few days. Why do some people insist on trying to mess with others trying to do their best at work? Why do others seem to think that theirs is the only way to work, and that others are just procrastinating or not work?
People have different working styles: that’s a fact. It doesn’t mean they’re any less effective, or efficient than anyone else, nor any more I suppose. However if it’s effective for them and gets results that should be what’s important provided it’s all in keeping with being respectful and helpful with regard to others in the workplace.
Anyway it’s been eating at me for three days now, and I’ve had enough. I’ve pulled out the initial exercises from my early psychological sessions, and rereading a couple of texts I found useful early on too. Fortunately I’ve had a GP appointment already in place for today, and I’ve tried to get a last appointment with my Psychologist for the last couple of years before she retires (lucky person)! Wouldn’t mind being in that position myself. So to begin moving forward I’ve got Barb coming to stay for a couple of days for some company and she’ll be visiting others too, so still have some time to myself to work on things. I’ll be back to work tomorrow, and starting afresh next week.
Packages, Packages, Everywhere Packages…
2014 -
11.06
Well ALL the Bookdepository orders have shipped, the Garmin Oregon 600t Handheld GPS arrived today and also the Impala Blue Cat Deterrents. So Chemoux is going to be pushing for the outside world now. Unfortunately I’ve not yet broached the subject of her arrival with Bob & Jan. No dodging it any longer I guess. Seems like a job for Friday!
The Price of a Day Off…
2014 -
11.04
Sometimes it can be costly staying at home for the day! This morning it was Bookdepository, and this afternoon it was a Garmin Oregon 600t Handheld GPS that I’d had my eye on for some time. Both purchases were significant, and both for the Photography.
Additionally over the weekend there was the purchase of 2 more Cat Deterrents to ease the idea of Chemoux with my neighbours who like to provide a bird friendly environment in their home. I bought two when the advised that Tigga was concerning them with her presence in the areas they provide to encourage birds to the property. They seem to have been quite successful every time I’ve asked about their effectiveness. I can only assume that a couple more won’t go astray with another cat about the place.
Now it’s simply a matter of what arrives when…