This weekend I powered through emptying my house with the help of my two sons. I'm still recovering from two-plus days of carrying heavy things, climbing stairs, and moving boxes. Still a bit to do there, but the biggest parts are done.

It's the end of an era. I bought that house in 2008 (the process started in the autumn of 2007) , and moved in shortly thereafter. It was a house, a meeting place, a home, an office, and a photography studio. With my technology business, we helped dozens of local businesses on their path to success, and modernization. We worked multi-million dollar projects for an international medical manufacturer, hosted technician training for their contractors, developed wireless network assessment calibration , and reporting techniques, and policies, software R&D for their products, and customer support, all while implementing their solutions at hundreds of hospitals across North America, and Australia. I hosted monthly networking meetings for over four years to bring Buffalo businesses, entrepreneurs, and clients together.  I designed creative photography concepts, and hosted collaborative photography sessions involving photographers, models, and other artists. That house saw fund raisers that raised thousands for organizations like the SPCA, Family Justice Center, and Buffalo Animal Shelter. I hosted marketing events for Xerox, and other local businesses. It saw mimosa Sundays, and New Year's Day gatherings for friends. It hosted meetings for 48-Hour Film projects, and outdoor movie nights on the back deck. I raised chickens, and gardens, and provided a place for my kids to explore, be artistic, play games, and have fun. It gave a home to friends who needed a place to land, and most recently, Rika, who also needed a place to land. It experienced joy, and happiness. It experienced sorrow, and heartbreak...

Now, it needs to evolve for someone else.

I often feel like I have failed in so many places in my life. Stretched too thin, not enough resources, not  significantly financially successful. Closing that business was heart wrenching. Saying good-bye to things I worked so hard for makes me feel less than. Mistakes when I feel like I needed to be perfect. There's very little forgiveness in entrepreneurship, finances, and even relationships. 

The last eleven years have been...  interesting, to say the least.

A new era is beginning.  But for those of you who enjoyed my house / office / photo studio, and everything it helped me to provide, feel free to join me for a drink one of these nights, and give thanks. I'll be at Doc Sullivan's this Thursday at 7:00PM. Come say hi, so we can say good-bye to the old pile of bricks, and I'll buy you a whiskey. 

Whiskey absolutely helps with the recovery!

Summer Photo Fun

I've been slowly releasing photos that Cortney, and I worked on last summer. Actually, most of them were done in early autumn, but that's still summer here. Here are some samples of our work. The entire set will be going into my Portraits / Modeling portfolio. Check them out there.

 

The Weigh-In Wednesday

I actually remembered to weigh myself this week! After such a busy weekend, and start to this week, I've kind of got off track on getting to the gym again. Still haven't changed gym memberships - Fitness 19 still mostly works for us given our schedules to this point, but I did stop in at Catalyst Fitness on Elmwood a while back. It was busier than one could have imagined. Although the reps at the front desk assured me they're not normally that busy, it was still discouraging. I can generally get through my workouts at Fitness 19 without waiting on equipment, but I literally couldn't get on any equipment at Catalyst when I wanted to. I often bounce between two machines during a set to work opposite muscle groups at the same time, and reduce how long I'm there. That would have been impossible at Catalyst that night, so for the total time I was there, I probably got half the workout. That isn't time well spent.

 

Anyway, 216.2. Nothing there changes much. Perhaps I need more cardio...

 

The Job Hunt Blues

Still looking for that one job that will allow me to blend my 20+ years in technology, and management, with my strong graphics, photography, and video skills, as well as my penchant for growing a smaller operation, working with people who are also passionate about what they are doing, and also pays a wage that is commensurate with all the expectations they have.

"Full time!  Requirements: Expert videographer, Expert with Adobe design software, 7 years in marketing, photography, writing copy, partner relationship management, project management...  starting $35,000-$40,000...."  

Wait. What?  Starting at how much?

And you want an "expert" at all these qualities?

So, right away, as a company, you've shown me you're completely out of touch with what an "expert" designation is, or how long, and how much time, effort, and experience goes into being an "expert" at all of these skills, and what all of that is worth. Because you obviously don't think it's worth that much, but I can guarantee that if you get less than "expert" results, you'll be dissatisfied. So maybe hiring on a contract basis, or project basis would be more cost-effective for you rather than wasting an "expert's" time with requiring full-time hours be put in for half of what should be compensated if you're expecting 40+ hours of work per week.

Just a suggestion from someone with 20-25 years experience working in many, many business environments.

By the way, for the businesses out there looking to contract photographers for day-long, or longer events at $20/hr... or less, check your local college photography schools. Professionals deserve to make far more than that for what we bring to the table.

End rant.