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Putting the free back into freelancing

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    Putting the free back into freelancing

    Looking back over the last 12 or so years I've been contracting one thing remains the same, I'm still free!

    Free from bosses.
    Free from company politics.
    Free from the career ladder.
    Free from 2 hour commutes.
    Free from stagnated work places.
    Free from a mortgage.
    Free from debt slavery.
    Free from marriage slavery.
    Free from kids and the 18 years of parent enslavement.
    Free from having a pension worth anything.
    Free from being tied to one company, location, house, or country.

    The best bit: All I need is a workable plan B and I'll be even free-er! [insert smug grin here please]

    Ok so not all the above may be seen as true positives but I feel like the littlest hobo so it can't be all that bad:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Littlest_Hobo

    "Maybe Tomorrow"

    There's a voice that keeps on calling me
    Down the road is where I'll always be

    Every stop I make, I'll make a new friend
    Can't stay for long, just turn around and I'm gone again

    Maybe tomorrow, I'll want settle down
    Until tomorrow, I'll just keep moving on

    Down this road, that never seems to end
    Where new adventure, lies just around the bend

    So if you want to join me for a while
    Just grab your hat, come travel light
    That's hobo style

    Maybe tomorrow, I'll want settle down
    Until tomorrow, the whole world is my home

    So if you want to join me for a while
    Just grab your hat, come travel light
    That's hobo style

    Maybe tomorrow, I'll want settle down
    Until tomorrow, I'll just keep moving on

    (Toilet and Instrumental Break)

    Maybe tomorrow, I'll want settle down
    Until tomorrow, I'll just keep moving on

    There's a world, that's waiting to unfold
    A brand new tale, no one has ever told,

    We've journey'd far but, you know it won't be long
    We're almost there and we've paid our fare with the hobo song

    Maybe tomorrow, I'll want settle down
    Until tomorrow, I'll just keep moving on

    So if you want to join me for a while
    Just grab your hat, come travel light
    That's hobo style

    Maybe tomorrow, I'll find what I call home
    Until tomorrow, you know I'm free to roam

    ----------------------

    Stay free, just leave the odd contract for me.
    Feist - 1234. One camera, one take, no editing. Superb. How they did it
    Feist - I Feel It All
    Feist - The Bad In Each Other (Later With Jools Holland)

    #2
    On the flip side though:

    The Men That Don't Fit In by Robert William Service

    There's a race of men that don't fit in,
    A race that can't stay still;
    So they break the hearts of kith and kin,
    And they roam the world at will.
    They range the field and they rove the flood,
    And they climb the mountain's crest;
    Theirs is the curse of the gypsy blood,
    And they don't know how to rest.

    If they just went straight they might go far;
    They are strong and brave and true;
    But they're always tired of the things that are,
    And they want the strange and new.
    They say: "Could I find my proper groove,
    What a deep mark I would make!"
    So they chop and change, and each fresh move
    Is only a fresh mistake.

    And each forgets, as he strips and runs
    With a brilliant, fitful pace,
    It's the steady, quiet, plodding ones
    Who win in the lifelong race.
    And each forgets that his youth has fled,
    Forgets that his prime is past,
    Till he stands one day, with a hope that's dead,
    In the glare of the truth at last.

    He has failed, he has failed; he has missed his chance;
    He has just done things by half.
    Life's been a jolly good joke on him,
    And now is the time to laugh.
    Ha, ha! He is one of the Legion Lost;
    He was never meant to win;
    He's a rolling stone, and it's bred in the bone;
    He's a man who won't fit in.
    Work in the public sector? Read the IR35 FAQ here

    Comment


      #3
      I suppose it boils down to permie v contractor.

      I've come across many contractors who want the permie lifestyle (settled roots, family, et al) but then sacrifice their 'quality time' by having to work away from home most of the week.

      I took a different approach, freelance wherever the work is and if I happen to find the right woman I'd then think about settling down in one area, buy a house and making roots.

      So far 'the right woman' hasn't been right enough and maybe never will, I like the freedom too much, been too independent for too long. It's all about the state of mind, some no doubt think I'm mental. I can't be, I've not been banned on here yet for going off my trolley!
      Feist - 1234. One camera, one take, no editing. Superb. How they did it
      Feist - I Feel It All
      Feist - The Bad In Each Other (Later With Jools Holland)

      Comment


        #4
        Do you never think it would be nice to have kids?

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by PAH View Post
          I suppose it boils down to permie v contractor.

          I've come across many contractors who want the permie lifestyle (settled roots, family, et al) but then sacrifice their 'quality time' by having to work away from home most of the week.

          I took a different approach, freelance wherever the work is and if I happen to find the right woman I'd then think about settling down in one area, buy a house and making roots.

          So far 'the right woman' hasn't been right enough and maybe never will, I like the freedom too much, been too independent for too long. It's all about the state of mind, some no doubt think I'm mental. I can't be, I've not been banned on here yet for going off my trolley!
          "So far 'the right woman' hasn't been right enough and maybe never will"

          Amen brother!!!

          lol .........

          Comment


            #6
            As you get older you'll find the proportion of available women your age who are psychos increases.

            I'm told that women find the same happens in the pool of single men.

            There's 'miss right' and then there's 'miss right enough'. Leave it too late and you might well find yourself with a psycho who is really good at hiding it, until it is too late.

            Only a gentle warning of your future.
            Insanity: repeating the same actions, but expecting different results.
            threadeds website, and here's my blog.

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by threaded View Post
              As you get older you'll find the proportion of available women your age who are psychos increases.

              I'm told that women find the same happens in the pool of single men.

              There's 'miss right' and then there's 'miss right enough'. Leave it too late and you might well find yourself with a psycho who is really good at hiding it, until it is too late.

              Only a gentle warning of your future.
              You're telling me! Another thing is if you find one that is living in the tropics; the heat and bright sunlight makes them worse. ex-Mrs HAB was completely When I look back, I think old age had made me desperate; why did I ever get involved with her.

              Now I've seen the light and dress on the other side. I recommend you, PAH, do the same. You'll be a lot happier.
              How did this happen? Who's to blame? Well certainly there are those more responsible than others, and they will be held accountable, but again truth be told, if you're looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror.

              Follow me on Twitter - LinkedIn Profile - The HAB blog - New Blog: Mad Cameron
              Xeno points: +5 - Asperger rating: 36 - Paranoid Schizophrenic rating: 44%

              "We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to high office" - Aesop

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by DieScum View Post
                Do you never think it would be nice to have kids?
                WHA ?

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by threaded View Post

                  As you get older you'll find the proportion of available women your age who are psychos increases.

                  I'm told that women find the same happens in the pool of single men.

                  There's 'miss right' and then there's 'miss right enough'. Leave it too late and you might well find yourself with a psycho who is really good at hiding it, until it is too late.

                  Only a gentle warning of your future.
                  There's a maths puzzle asking how to maximize your chances of meeting the perfect partner over time.

                  If memory serves, I think the correct answer is to wait exactly "e" years, ditching all comers, and than take the first person who comes along.
                  Work in the public sector? Read the IR35 FAQ here

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by OwlHoot View Post
                    There's a maths puzzle asking how to maximize your chances of meeting the perfect partner over time.

                    If memory serves, I think the correct answer is to wait exactly "e" years, ditching all comers, and than take the first person who comes along.
                    What, 2.71828 years? Bit young to be settling down isn't it

                    Comment

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