Don and I were talking about the small things in life that make one happy, and realized that we both agreed on projects. The idea of small projects: doing many exciting, interesting things and, more importantly, being able to create the energy and the mental space in which to do them. Something like being in high school, except running the extracurricular activities yourself.
I'm not really concerned about my happiness on a macro level -- I've always found ways to adapt and explore -- but I think it is important to evaluate your life deeply and often on a micro level. I want to catch myself before I flatten out! It's the sneaky, micro things that often destroy people's lives, relationships, and passions. I'm afraid of people who use the phrase, "...and then one day I woke up, and..." I don't want to ever wake up and suddenly realize something. I want to be aware of myself constantly.
On that note, my New Year's Resolution: monthly micro projects. These can be anything from weekend camping trips to making pasta to finally buying that weighted hula hoop I've wanted since I leanred hula hoop tricks at Burning Man. I got boxing gloves for Christmas, which I think is a pretty good place to start.
Aiding me in this venture is my semi-new job: freelancing. I've gotten to a place where I am working on many small projects at once (projects!), for many different clients, and making enough to live. It's the best. I work at home, I take two-hour lunches, I exercise more, I cook more often, I spend less money, I pet the cats whenever I want to. The only downsides are the endless forms (quarterly taxes, contracts, hours tracking...) and the capricious payment schedules of my clients, which I'm currently very unhappy about (and so is Chase bank).
But the pros outweigh the cons by far, and I'm hoping I can get enough work to keep this going for years. It's the flexible dream job: Don and I could sublet our apartment while we rent a different apartment half a world away, and still do our jobs. (Did I mention Don is a part-time investor?) We make our own schedules and can take vacations whenever we feel like it. I'm living the antithesis of the American Dream -- unmarried, no kids, no 401K. It's awesome.
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| Christmas Skype with Megan in Bangkok (re-posted from Megan's blog, which you can see here) |
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| The New York Public Library |
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| Blizzard in New York, Times Square |
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| Wolcott Pool, Levittown |
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| A Very Levittown Christmas, Wolcott Road |
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| Rocks Bros., Wolcott Pool, Levittown |
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| Christmas, Levittown |
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| New Year's Eve on a rooftop in Times Square... before the cops kicked us off |
