For those of you who don’t already know, Melissa is pregnant. We’ve kept that pretty quite for the last month (it’s been hard). We were supposed to have an ultrasound before I went to SXSW, but it got canceled on us (weird, I know).
So, on my first day back home after SXSW, Melissa and I went to the doctor for an ultrasound. While, I thought I saw more than one baby initially, I figured I was crazy. I apparently wasn’t crazy. I can’t begin to describe the emotion when the nurse said (quite technically) “There are two babies”.
My heart started racing, Melissa’s hands got clammy, we were both saying ‘oh my god’ a lot. It’s kinda funny, ’cause I always wanted twins. The thought of getting the whole ‘baby’ thing out of the way definitely appeals to me. Melissa thinks I jinxed the whole thing. It’s especially surprising, since neither of us have twins in our family.
First, let me publicly announce something: SXSW was worth my time, and I did love going. I learned a few things about myself though, that I’ll remember for a long time to come.
First, while I love people, I cannot hang out with anyone for very long. This isn’t to say that I don’t love my friends who I hung out with at SXSW. I have some amazing friends, who likely saw an uglier side of me in Texas. That’s a shame, and I cannot express my apologies to them enough.
Second, celebrity fawning is just as much of an issue in tech circles as it is anywhere else. The very things I despise about Hollywood culture are very prevalent in the Valley culture as well. Anyone that knows me, knows how I absolutely despise treating people as anything more than that.
So last night I met my buddy Jon, and a couple of new friends for a secret Against Me! concert held in the ghetto of Orlando. The ‘venue’ was a garage covered in graffiti and surrounded by a barbed wire fence. There were opening bands, and Against Me hung out with all of the kids at the show.
I’m still (and always will be) a huge fan of Florida Death Metal. However, Against Me is still a great band, and really proved to me their ability to stay grounded.
Watching the crowed at the show was probably as much fun as the show itself. It was all the die-hard fans jumping all over each other. I can’t explain the stink of body odor in that garage, but trust me, it was rough.
More importantly, I can’t describe how surreal it was to see a bunch of white kids, probably living with their parents in a suburb somewhere, all hanging out at a place that provides no security, in the middle of one of the supposedly more violent places in the state of Florida.
I’ve been a freelance web developer for a week now. There’s been some ups and downs about it all. I still haven’t gotten any money, but I also haven’t head to deal with rush hour traffic either. I’ve had a few opportunities that look promising, but I’m still trying to be careful about how I spend money, and take work.
I filed for unemployment last week. Being a conservative guy, I can’t tell you how humbling a process that was for me. Politics aside, I do have a family to provide for. So, if President Obama is handing out money, I’ll take it until I can get stable cash flow back in the house.
I have a few opportunities though. Pretty quickly after being laid off, I picked up some work from Eric. The initial project has been a bit of a learning curve about each other, but I’m pretty excited to be working with him. He’s a super smart guy who’s been around long enough to spot bullshit in advance. With my penchant for security, that’s a great trait in a partner.
So now I’m able to wake up and go to bed on my own terms. This week was a bit different than most though, since I managed to get my ass over to FOWA Miami. So, on Monday I was scrambling to get my shit together in advance, and drove to Miami that night. Tuesday and Wednesday were a total crap-shoot. I was out of town, working on an odd traveler’s schedule. Anyways, I guess it’s a little early to make assumptions on how the day to day things will change.
One of the cooler things to happen since I’ve been an independent contractor, was being approached to speak at Ignite Orlando (Thanks Gregg!). The ignite concept has been floated in Orlando for a while now, and I’m glad that Dan’s finally making it a reality. If you don’t know about Ignite, it’s definitely something worth checking out.
As cool as everything is, the one thing that still looms heavy over me now is money. I guess it’s pretty obvious. Melissa and I have no savings and we hold a good amount of debt on credit cards. One slip up, and we’ll be in a whole lot of trouble. I think there’s a lot to be said about living within your means. Lately that’s come to have a lot more meaning than it did before.
First, let me publicly announce something: 