Yes it has, I am afraid. Mostly by circumstances, but also by my own free will. I will be pursuing a job else where. With several canceled jobs and several which I cannot seem to get in contact with, I have decided to put a hold on Thought Design for a bit, and get a real job with real hours and real income, the last of which being my favorite. There are several companies in Tucson looking for web designers/developers and so I will be sending them my resume and several letters of recommendation that past clients and instructors have been kind enough to write for me. Even though I don’t have a degree, I am hoping that my experience will be sufficient to land me a decent job. Most of the job listings never even mention a degree actually, so I am not too worried.

Some of you (who ever it is that actually reads this thing) might be concerned for me, but I assure you, this is actually something that I am really looking forward to. It is very stressful not knowing when or where your next paycheck will come from, and I am tired of trying to budget on a $1,000 a month, it is pretty much impossible actually. So, I am really looking forward to this now. It is easier working for someone else, and I think the fact that I have worked for myself for the better part of two years will make me appreciate it even more.

So, what is to become of Thought Design? Well that all depends on the sort of job that I manage to acquire. There are several companies in town who are not design firms, but are simply looking for a web guy to manage their own web needs. If I can get into one of these positions, then in all likelihood I would still do work on the side through my company and see how it develops. I feel this would be alright as it is not a conflict of interest and it would be on my own time. Of course, I would check with my employer beforehand. This would be ideal.

If I end up with a job at another design firm, then Thought Design will go into hibernation, waiting for the right time (if ever), to reappear on the scene. I think it would be good for me to work at another design company to see how they run things, and then bring that experience to Thought Design in the years to come. We shall see though.

All in all, either way has its perks and I would be happy in both positions, though I think I would still like to be able to do freelance work on the side, just to pad the income a bit. Prayers would be greatly appreciated. As they say, God never closes a door without opening at least a window of opportunity.

Matt

Gravatar is back up and running. I’m not really sure how long it has been back to full operational status, but they are accepting new accounts again, so if you don’t have a gravatar, then get yourself one right here. More and more blogs and forums are supporting gravatars now and though they aren’t what I would call some amazing web tool that will revolutionize your day to day existence, they do serve as a cool identifier from blog to blog.

If you are running Wordpress, but do not yet support gravatars, then look no further my friend.

I am, at the very least, an open book. Often times I am more then that. Often times I am more like a billboard, large and obnoxious about my life, advertising what is going on. I have no scruples about what I share or even who with for the most part. If I call you friend, then I feel you are entitled to know who I am in total.

This is all well and good, for me, but it can create problems for others at times. More often then not, I fear, most people don’t want to know me in the whole. There are things better left to the imagination I guess. What is more, I often forget or do not even realize that others are more private and reserved then I am. It can create tension when I forget that some things are best left unmentioned.

Yet another problem is that, most likely, my future spouse, who ever she may be, will not be as open as I am. She may not enjoy the freedom that is complete and brutal honesty like I do. Nor am I saying that she should, or that anybody, for that matter, should be as blatant as I am. I have never been one for reservations, but I need to respect others need for them.

It is not something that I completely understand, privacy, but something I need to look into a bit more. I do not know why I was born without the need for it, but it is clear that others were and I need to try to understand and respect that.

For even God has hidden certain things from us. Not in some grand scheme, but because we are just not capable to handle them yet.