Picking Sides and Sidedoors

Back in 2010, I was on Spring Break in Hawaii with a couple of girlfriends when Conan O'Brien announced his Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour on his Twitter-feed. Specifically, I was in a line at an airport towing my luggage when the announcement was made and I immediately tweeted my frustration at being nowhere that I could feasibly buy a ticket from. To my rescue swoop my Newfoundland friends, Brian and Lori (THIS is why technology is awesome), who speedily bought me an e- ticket for a Vancouver show (the sold out #conezone one) which they forwarded to me through email (again, technology = awesome) and which is why I am now able to sport the Team Coco branding.

It is beyond fitting that technology provided a loophole for me to acquire a ticket for this show in particular as the whole tour was a giant loophole through which Conan evaded the illegality of him being funny in the public arena. In a nutshell, when he split with NBC in early 2010, he was not allowed to perform on broadcast television until September 2010. Live performances and any subsequent photos, recordings, or streamed videos resulting from said performances were not covered by the contract however and thus, the tour was born, fed on a steady diet of social media/networking until it grew to the mammoth proportions of a Self-Pleasuring Panda.

err... yeah, not exactly sure where I can go from that link so that's all I got for today but I may decide to wear the other Conan shirt tomorrow...

With a Little Help

Short post today. 

I'm not the world's authority on any specific band. Instead, I tend to gather general (some would deem it trivial) knowledge on a wide range of music and musicians. However, while living in the UK, I made the pilgrimage to Liverpool almost specifically for the Beatles-value of the place. (For full disclosure, Liverpool also had a Hard Rock Cafe at the time). In my memory, it was a dynamic weekend of incidental experiences. Aside from the grumpier hostel lifers (who SNORE), I met a group of extremely friendly Irish students who were determined to treat me to the craic (a good thing) and, although I did not get the chance to take the "Ferry Cross the Mersey", I did spend a lovely afternoon exploring the revitalized waterfront and its shops and historical interest points. There was no footie on that weekend but I took some pictures around the Liverpool FC stadium, Anfield, while humming "You'll Never Walk Alone" (It occurred to me then that hockey lacks a lot of the singalong interactiveness that soccer has.)

Of course, I had a meal at The New Cavern Club which isn't EXACTLY where the Beatles were discovered but very, very close (and built with many of the same bricks as the original club) and took the Magical Mystery Tour with the amazingly knowledgeable tour guide (I want to believe his name was also John) who was a born and bred Liverpudlian and not only attended school with a couple of the Beatles but has chatted with Sir Paul in the past about the fact the tour has stopped at McCartney's childhood home more times than McCartney himself ever did.

By strange coincidence, my visit to Liverpool happened just after a tragic accident claimed the life of Vancouver musician Paul "Lolly" Lawton. A friend of Lolly's knew where I was heading and asked me to pick up an Everton F.C. scarf from the team shop while I was in Liverpool as Lolly had been an avid Everton supporter. It was a trick to find the shop as it was the most unassuming little hole-in-the-wall but I was happy to do it as it gave a rather frivolous jaunt some meaning in the big picture.

All in all, it was an interesting weekend getaway but traveling alone always reminds me of how much more fun trips can be when made with friends. Of course, it depends on the friends in question - some travel better than others - but experiences like exploring an unfamiliar city are often made richer for being shared.

Freelancing

It finally happened. I lost my place in my wardrobe. I had to go through ALL of my previous posts on this blog because at some time during my hiatus, my system of moving blogged shirts into a "done" drawer had broken down and I couldn't honestly remember if I had worn this shirt already or not.

Turns out I hadn't. Whew.























I believe that this is the last of my Red Vs. Blue/RoosterTeeth shirts. Tex was a mysterious character introduced late in Season 1 and, although affiliated with Blue Team in Blood Gulch, maintains a freelancer/mercenary status for the rest of the series (according to the Wiki). Tex is also the first female character brought into the series (besides Sheila, the tank) and, to begin with, the most lethal, competent, and relentless agent. This becomes a common set of traits among the freelancers. In a way, the Freelancer Project in RVB is the perfect device to illustrate the difference between agents with team connections and those working without social supports or safety nets.

I can't say that I've ever been a proper freelancer. I think to make a claim to that, I would have to be gainfully (and solely) employed as such. I do stuff I like to do to some net benefit but, whether it stems from an inherent fear of failure or a practical need for traditional, reliable employment, I've always relegated these activities - writing, acting, knitting, photography - to a category more akin to an organized hobby than a life priority. It doesn't mean that I don't try to create something meaningful when I do make the time for these things, just that I like to keep the things I do for fun, "fun".

Besides, although I consider myself to be a fairly optimistic person, I don't think that I could handle the rejection, criticism, and rebuilding that seems to be a given in the world of freelancing.

These sorts of ouroboros-like existences hold no allure for me and that's probably the best indication that I'm not cut out for that life.

Now, my quandary for readers today is: if we were to remove the requirement of cost-of-living monetary compensation or viable career from the definition of "freelancer", how many of us could call ourselves "independent [fill in the blank] contractors" or a "freelancing [fill-in-the-blank]? If you could monetize a hobby, what would it be? What skill is it that your friends look to you for?

For example, in certain contexts, I am a fairly organized person (although not in terms of my t-shirts today, obviously) and to a large extent, I really enjoyed planning my own wedding (the largest and most involved event I've ever planned) so the hubby and I discussed what my life as an event planner could look like as we drove back to Vancouver from the Valley a few weeks ago. After weighing a number of factors, we figured out it could never work as a business because I would have to insist on a "no-crazy" clause, even (especially) temporary-totally-caused-by-upcoming-event crazy. With this deal-breaker in place, I would be setting an impossibly high standard for most brides, grooms, and their families. But I still like event planning. So I'll help friends out, problem-solve with them, and brainstorm themes, decor and all sorts of DIY awesomeness if called upon. This approach also deals with the second issue we identified in the business plan - pricing. I could see event planning as one of those past-times that I'd feel awful to be charging for if I was having a great time doing it and which no amount of money could compensate me for if it all goes sideways. Getting paid isn't enough. Satisfaction is the key. Just off the top of my head, I know people who could realistically be identified as freelance chocolatiers, herbalists, florists, model designers, pastry chefs, artists, composers, therapists, or editors ... IF we determine that getting paid isn't a requisite. They pursue these avenues because it's what they do, it's what they need to do. In re-defining the term, "freelancing" isn't about freedom from a commitment to an employer or workplace, it's about a commitment to yourself.