Ask MetaFilter questions in the work & money category

My stuff is their stuff, and their stuff is my stuff: sharing renters insurance

wet-raspberry — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 15:31:39 -0800

What insurance companies are ok with me putting my roommates on my renters insurance? I've been shopping around for renters insurance, but it seems that a lot of insurance companies won't let me put my roommates on my policy.

If you were able to get insurance in your and your roomates' names, what company did you get it from and are you happy with it? I've had some representatives tell me that their companies "frown on" people sharing policies.

None of us owns a car, so we can't really piggy back renters insurance off of car insurance.

good websites for part-time jobs in NYC

cotesdurhone — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 11:34:38 -0800

good websites for part-time jobs in NYC? What are some good websites for part-time jobs (or jobs in general) in NYC?

I'm moving back to NYC (brooklyn) at the end of the month, will be working on a personal project that requires 3-4 days free a week, and am looking for a part-time job to help pay the bills.

I haven't had to look for jobs in a while, so am a bit behind on the latest sites, so to speak.

I'd preferably like to find an office job in a capacity beneficial rather than detrimental to humankind, such as in the non-profit sector (where I was working before), but, ultimately-- any part-time job that helps pay the bills will do.

Idealist
Craigslist
what else?

thanks

Renting an apartment on a freelance income

Jeanne — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 11:05:01 -0800

How difficult is it to rent an apartment with inconsistent/freelance income? I am a writer with a publishing contract and a part-time day job, living in Brooklyn. I've been living in roommate situations for the past two years, but I'm really hoping to move out on my own when my lease is up. The problem is, based on either a pay stub or on my 2009 tax return, my income is too low to rent an apartment.

My credit is fine, and I can afford an apartment -- I have plenty in savings, and I'm expecting a check from my publisher in the near future. But how difficult is it to convince a landlord of that, especially in NYC? I don't think I can get a guarantor. Would they typically accept a bank statement, or paying an extra month of the rent in advance?

Making Bets And Paying Debts

Smarson — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 09:54:20 -0800

Help me pick out the perfect picture to go up on my co-worker's wall...FOREVER! My co-worker recently lost a bet that now entitles me to chose 1 picture to hang on his wall, and I quote, "until time standeth still our thine person is no longer employeth'd by said company."

Faced with such an awesome opportunity I'm now drawing a blank as to what this image should be. At first I was going to go with Nicolas Cage's Bird Hair, but now I'm not sure this image is epic enough.

Background: We work at a medium sized firm in Seattle with an open bullpen setting arraignmentand the picture would hang on a cork board he has hanging between our two desks. Atmosphere is pretty laid back, but we both are in plain sight of CEO and a bunch of VP's who also come over to our desks on a regular basis, can't be anything too wild (SFW goes without saying).

He's in his young 20's and is up to speed on most internet memes (meaning a Lolcat would only make him roll his eyes and say "wow, thanks 2006). We are both moderate geeks so all of that is fair game.

I'm trying to find an image that has the perfect balance of 1. hilarity, 2. ha-ha you lost a bet and now have to have this on your wall, and 3. the strongest reaction from management would be a raised eye brow signaling "kids these days..."

Wat'cha got?

I wanna work in pictures!

shewhoeats — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 09:18:33 -0800

I'm interested to get involved in tv production, ideally in a researcher or production management position, but I know I'll need to start a little bit further down the food chain. Trouble is I don't have any experience. Is this the most stupid idea in the world? I'm 27, in London, doing something I find desperately dull, want a new career, and I want to work in tv. I don't have any specific experience that would be applicable (no media/film studies degree and haven't ever worked in a film/tv environment, though I do have skills that I feel would be applicable), but I do have lots of enthusiasm, a good attitude and the ability to take on unpaid experience if I must. I've been looking into taking a short course, but I'm not able to take on more full-time study at the moment. I've been scouring message boards and websites, but there's so much information around and so much of it is conflicting, so I thought I'd come here and see what the hive mind had to say!

I guess my question is, am I likely to have any luck? I'm keenly aware that even unpaid work in the film and tv industry is highly competitive, so I just want to know whether I should wait until I've had some training/education or whether what I'm doing is completely mad. Is it possible to break into tv without any contacts or media experience?

How to find a local non-profit?

pecknpah — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 08:46:14 -0800

I am looking for a local non-profit in D.C., Chicago, Boston, or NYC that would be willing to work with me on a research project that my university will hopefully fund. Any help would be appreciated. The application for my grant is due at the end of February. I have been looking at various non-profits on Idealist and through various google searches, and have up pretty empty-handed in terms of finding good, reputable local groups that would be willing to have me.
This grant is meant to fund research (think: social engagement, not hard data) that would benefit the non-profit I would work with. The non-profit has to be connected in some way, then, to the research I’d be doing.

So, my questions are:

1. Do you know of any solid, local non-profits that are a great asset to their communities, and wouldn’t mind a college student tagging along for the summer? I am interested primarily in the area of poverty/hunger prevention, but I am willing to consider any project that sounds interesting and where I could reasonably help. If you know of a great group that isn’t in one of the cities I mentioned above, I would certainly be willing to consider it.

2. What types of projects could a college student actually make a difference with? Going door to door handing out surveys? Interviewing people? I’d rather not sit at a computer filling out excel spreadsheets all summer. I do that for my job anyway and I’d rather not spend my time doing more of that. Obviously, data entry is important to an organization, but I don’t want to submit a grant proposal to enter data. Any suggestions would be helpful.

Thank you for your time! Please feel free to memail me, especially if you could help me brainstorm more in depth.

They already took 30% once, I don't want them to do it again.

Vorteks — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 08:42:15 -0800

What's the best way to save money for the express purpose of later giving it to someone else? My parents have had some rough financial years, and I've helped them out from time to time. I fear that they may have rougher times ahead, and I'm considering establishing some kind of savings account or fund so I can set aside money now to help them out later.

The question is: how can I do this while minimizing tax penalties and maximizing any interest/dividends? My understanding is that if I save up $10,000 (just throwing a random number out there) that I've already paid taxes on, and then give it to my parents in one lump sum, that they'll have to pay taxes on it again, resulting in a lot of money lost to taxes. Is this not so? Is there any way to avoid this? Some sort of special fund or account or other arrangement? If I do save money, is there a relatively risk-free method of maximizing interest while it waits to be given away? I know about CDs, but perhaps there are other options?

I live in the metro Detroit area, Michigan, USA. My parents do too. I have not decided whether to do this or not, but if I decide to do so I would prefer if I could do it without them knowing (accepting the relatively low chance of them coming across this question via Google or something).

Part time EMT?

kturner — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 08:20:27 -0800

I am wondering about pursuing EMT certification for a part time job or a way to volunteer. I don't want to pursue a full time career, just supplemental. Is this feasible for that job and environment? Any advice on the best types of EMT jobs that can be part time? I am in Seattle but perspective from anywhere is great.

Archiving Freelance Internet Writing

spicynuts — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 06:26:10 -0800

How do freelance web writers/journalists archive their published work for portfolios or C.V.s or other reasons? Let's say I want to create a portfolio or resume that has links to my published work on the internet, but I know that over time many of the links will become obsolete as the sites I was published on remove outdated articles. Is there a tool or site that exists that lets you somehow cache your published work as a web page or otherwise allows you to continue to link to web versions of your published work? What I'm trying to avoid is having to create screen grabs or pdfs of my work...I'd rather have a portfolio that's just links.

Losing Truck Without Losing My Shirt

Anonymous — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 21:44:35 -0800

Have: 2007 Toyota Tacoma pickup, $7000 in payments to go, good credit, and practically nothing in the bank. Need: $4000 in cash, something to drive, and good credit to remain intact. What's my best course of action? Now that my wife and I are divorcing, her mother is calling in the $4000 loan she gave us to put down on my truck. Under my particular circumstances, I'm on the hook for the entire amount, and repaying the loan in installments is not an option.

I'm fine with selling the truck to repay mom-in-law, but I need something to drive (job requires it), and I still owe about $7k in truck payments. The Kelley value on the truck is about $11,000, though I suspect that's a little high for the market in my area.

I'm not terribly savvy about these matters, so... sell to a private party? Try to get a dealer to work with me? Some other arrangement? I'd like to maximize the amount I get to spend on a new vehicle, and minimize the degree to which a dealer can take me for a ride (har har). I'd also like to avoid any arrangements with the bank that will harm my credit or jeopardize my getting a new loan. Your ideas?

...new year=another wasted year of your life panic

Eicats — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 13:14:12 -0800

Wouldn't being hired as a graphic artist (graphic designer/in-house desktop publisher) mean that my work involves some form of artistry? Long story: I apologize in advance.
I was hired at an engineering firm for a graphics/publishing position. Although the firm has an in-house marketing group, I was hired to work exclusively with one practice area because of their heavy workload. It started out good and I ultimately widened my skill-base with new software and production experience and I have enjoyed working on a lot of different, interesting projects. Now, I am fully capable and experienced with all types of layout and design projects: anything from formatting hundred-page documents to creating presentation backgrounds, logos, handouts, and doing expert photo manipulation, and animated graphics. You name it! I have also recently received a nice level of success with my personal artwork at a local gallery.

The trouble: the group I was hired on to went through many changes over the last ten years; my position in the group ended when the person who became my supervisor had a major temper blow-out and dictated that any artistic layout/production documents done for the group were to be done with word processing software. That was the last straw for me! But luckily, instead of quitting my job completely, I was able to transfer to another group within the company because that group's manager had wanted me to work with them. Good move- I had a ton of new, exciting work- it was good.

Unfortunately, the head of this new group, is no longer the manager as of the first of the year. That in itself is not a huge problem, but there have been issues managing the workload in the group, and for the last month, the design work that I have had to do in the group has gone from an extreme backlog to none- so in place of graphic design, I have been doing writing, copy-editing projects, etc. And I am afraid that the new group manager already has a view of me as a glorified secretary or proofreader. *sigh*

I have a bad feeling that I've gone as far as I can with my abilities in an engineering firm. Now that I've helped them with their backlog of design work, I'm not sure how often I will have projects that require the level of artistic design that I want to do. However, because of my tenure with the firm and the company's stability, I hate to jump ship--especially in this economy. I also realize that based on my location in the midwest, I may have elevated my skills past any alternate available position/better salary. [no, I do not want to relocate.]

Since I do have a stable job with considerable tenure, do I suck it up and put up with doing other tasks since I know I will still have more artisticly-inclined projects from time to time? Or do I have I really hit a plateau here? But what options do I have...? I will be miserable if I keep doing copy-editing and stuff like that, but realistically, I'm not sure how much time is spent doing actual artistic design at other businesses with similar positions (ad agencies, for example). Do I just have a bad case of "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence"? Maybe any graphic design position has lulls between the fun designing part?

I just want to be challenged and do what I love to do! Which is to create awesome, polished, impressive work!

My questions aren't presented very well-- so thanks to anyone who makes an attempt at responding!

Anyone have experience with an animal-assisted therapy organization in NYC?

coffeeflavored — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 11:38:25 -0800

I want to be an animal-assisted therapist. I need to find AAT organizations in the New York City area that will take me on as a social work student intern. Have any leads? I'm a first-year social work student who loathes her current internship placement and wants to make sure her second-year placement goes well. I've always been interested in working with children affected with autism; since I'm a huge animal lover and strongly believe in their therapeutic benefits, I'd love to join the two interests.

A lot of social work schools offer placements in the animal-assisted therapy field, but I don't think that my school, NYU, is one of them. I'm going to have to do some legwork in securing an AAT placement on my own, except that I'm having difficulty finding ones in the New York City area. Does anyone here have any experience with any that I can contact? I keep accidentally contacting organizations that only use volunteers, not therapists. I can keep doing that indefinitely until I find something, but I could use some guidance in my search.

I'm pretty sure this is a long shot, but I have a greater chance of finding an answer here than anywhere else.

Help me survive my new intense job!

lemonade — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 11:31:33 -0800

I need some mental strategies (and very probably need some managment strategies as well) to help me survive my new job.
I started a new position at my company in August. My previous job was very technical (engineering), with few meetings, few deadlines, and plenty of time to polish the analysis I was working on. My new job is much faster paced. I am now the operations lead for a major piece of subcontracted hardware, so I am now managing a small team (3) plus a few other occasional-assignees, now have 20-30 hours of meetings every week, have constant interaction with a somewhat distracted, not up-to-speed-yet and thus tardy subcontractor, an always-watching-over-my-shoulder customer, and a miles-long list of products and documents to produce before a major program design review in the fall.

So my question is, how can I survive this major change to my work habits and style? I used to work primarily on my own, and now I spend so much time managing, in meetings, solving urgent problems, prodding the subcontractor, calming the customer, and tracking down answers to urgent design questions that I come home every day totally exhausted and too drained to exercise or do any of the other things I enjoy. I don't even have my own office anymore, so I can't shut the door for a break to get some real work done. The thing that has helped me the most so far when the sub-contractor doesn't have their act together and the customer is being annoying is a comment someone made to an AskMe Q a couple months back (can't find it now, of course) which suggested treating work interactions as a game--when I remember this, it actually makes a HUGE difference in my stress level (still just as exhausted though...).

So please: advice on mental strategies, small-team management, dealing with constant people-interaction, how to find time to do some actual work between the meetings, how to unwind enough to have a life in the evenings/weekends.

Baby you can drive my car / I promise I'm not a druglord using you as a patsy

yomimono — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 11:26:01 -0800

I'm considering driving a car cross-country for a stranger in exchange for money. What do I need to know and do to protect myself? Alternately, is there a succinct and easily Google-able phrase that describes transporting a car for someone by driving it? I've responded to this craigslist posting asking for someone to drive a car from Wisconsin to Arizona, in exchange for a flat cash reimbursement. The poster seems legit enough (well-written and sensible e-mails, actual local person) but I'm a little worried that this is some kind of elaborate scam. How can I get cheated here? What do I need to know, and what questions do I need to ask to avoid being taken advantage of?

I feel like this is common enough that there's probably a "dumb kid's guide to not getting duped" out there, but I can't figure out how to find it. This seems like a really cool opportunity, and I'd really like to help these people out and get a free trip to a place I've always wanted to visit. Help me feel good about it!

Can I make a good living being a good person?

Anonymous — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 07:06:13 -0800

Is it possible to make a decent living in the midwest by doing good deeds? Mid-life, established career, but feeling the pull to do something more with the bulk of my days than generate money for a corporation. Feeling the urge to go build houses, or work with children, or something.

The problem is, I'm the sole breadwinner for a rather large family. I make about $60k at my job and have great benefits, which is not chump change, and I don't know if it's possible to even start daydreaming about leaving that behind for a "good" job.

In my current situation, work days are long and sleep is too little, so suggestions to do charitable work on the side are not terribly practical - plus, I'm already doing that as much as family and work commitments will allow. But it doesn't assuage the need to have the bulk of my efforts go to something that feels worthwhile.

Specifics: midwest, late 30s male, healthy. Anonymous because I don't want my boss to know I'm thinking about this.

What does 20% savings really mean?

amfea — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 21:58:05 -0800

What does "you should be saving at least 20%" really mean? I'm hoping someone could clarify the advice about saving X% of your salary that you see in magazine and newspaper articles this time of the year.

These articles are never very specific. Does this mean 20% of your gross pay or take home pay? Does it include what you already put into your 401K? Does this mean that you should literally save 20% by putting it into a savings account or does it mean that you should save 20% over all, some of it for retirement and some of it for shorter term investments? Does saving money for a car or vacation or house count towards this percentage?

Credit cards 101

sarahj — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 17:28:27 -0800

How and where to apply for a credit card? I'm a credit-cardless college student. Currently I have a joint debit/checking account with my mom that I'm the sole user of, and nothing else. I am very good with my money, have a good amount of savings and have no loans and also no previous credit-related infractions (at least not that I know about).

Over the summer I applied online for the amazon.com credit card, was rejected after a month or so, poured out my heart into a reconsideration letter, sent it in, and have since (unsurprisingly) heard nothing. I want to try applying for another credit card but I have a million zillion questions and confusions about this.

Is it too soon for me to apply for another card? I last applied in August.

My bank doesn't have a credit card program (that was going to be my next step). How can I find legitimate student credit card programs or ones that would be likely to ... accept me? There isn't really a particular store I like, but would a store credit card program be a good idea?

I want to apply for a credit card in person, right? Could that have been a reason why I was rejected for the Amazon card?

Should I check my credit score even though I don't think I have any credit? (how do I do that?)

And also, assuming I end up applying for another card soon: would it be a better idea to list my school address (where I get my mail and will be living until summer) or my home address (where my parents get the mail and they will be living there indefinitely) on a credit card application?

Thanks so so much!

Am I in the wrong sort of job?

trillian — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 11:39:58 -0800

Has anyone "cured" a bad procrastination habit by taking a new job that has strict deadlines -- i.e., one that leaves you with really no way to procrastinate while managing to keep your job? I've noticed that my current job and my couple previous ones have or had laid-back, lenient bosses; long-term or vague deadlines; and cycles of work that were longer than daily or weekly.

I've been thinking, maybe I just need to find a job where that isn't the case? (I've tried LOTS of other ways to deal with procrastination, and nothing works.) I have an interview later this week for a job that fits the criteria...

How do I remove consultant from my job title.

choppyes — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 03:12:54 -0800

How do I remove consultant from my job title. I am revamping my CV and need to sex up a couple of job titles.

Job 1. Short term online marketing consultant. I specialised in transitioning large agency-managed accounts inhouse. I generally would spend a couple of months migrating and optimising paid search accounts, training new staff on everything from basic SEO to advanced analytics, and generally just hanging around. I would really like a snappy job title that conveys some of this, as consultant to me just shouts unemployed freelancer.

Job 2. I just spent two years setting up an online services business from scratch, wearing every hat under the sun, which employs 6 full time staff is more or less self managing. i am bored silly, so I now want to promote the manager to director, so I can go work in a large multinational as a search exec or something similar, I am a little concerned that employers won't take my application seriously if I give them this information. i know I wouldn't hire me based on my current CV. (I am 30, with no other management experience, so i'll probably aim fairly low) I need a job title which stresses my lack of day to day involvement with the company, which doesn't have director in.

Thanks muchly

help my friend get unfired!

veol — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 22:12:06 -0800

For my friend: She was working as a waitress at a restaurant. She handled money. 40 dollars went missing. Owner accused her of stealing money. Friend was consequently fired. Only other person who handled the money that day was the owner's daughter... what can she do? My friend works as a waitress at a sushi restaurant in a somewhere in BC, Canada. She handled money that day, and the only other person who handled money was the owner's daughter. Of course, the owner would not accuse her daughter of stealing money from the restaurant, so my friend got the blame. She didn't take the money, there was no proof, and when my friend tried to talk to the owner about this, the owner told her that she did not even want to talk to my friend. So now my friend is angry, and not without reason.

Now, I would tell her to just cut her losses and find another job. She's only doing it part time while she's attending university. But the thing is, the owner knows more than half the people who operate in the city, and its likely that because of her influence, my friend will not be able to hold a job here.

I'm a little skimpy on the details, and this is everything that my friend told me. I would like to help her, but I don't know how. This is a pretty shitty way to start the new year, so I'm trying to make it a little better. Any advice? Thanks!

Help us Find a Settling Location in the Soutwest

Dag Maggot — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 19:25:37 -0800

I'm a US expat living in Australia and am thinking of moving back to the US. But I have juxtaposed requirements for a settling location that I'm not sure I can meet. Here they are:
1. Need to be within a day's drive of my ageing parents in Las Cruces, NM.
2. Need a place that will support/employ a techie nerd type guy (me)
3. Need a place that has an alternative lifestyle culture that supports traditional midwifery and doulas (my partner)

I owe more on my car than it's worth. Help.

Anonymous — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 16:58:25 -0800

I owe more on my car than it's worth. Help. I'm in California. I've come to the decision that for my financial well-being, I have to sell my car. 1/4 of my monthly income currently goes to monthly payments and car insurance and that's no longer sustainable. Getting out from under this debt would go a long way towards getting my financial house in order and I don't plan on replacing the car anytime soon.

Unfortunately, I owe more on the car than it's worth, don't have the funds for necessary repairs to get it ready to sell, and I have no idea how to proceed. I'm looking for specific, detailed advice on what my options are.

My credit is awful; I've been turned down for refinancing and don't have anyone who can cosign a loan with better terms. What do I do next? Do I file bankruptcy? Will any used car place buy it for the payoff amount? I'm sure there are solutions I haven't thought of, and that's where you come in.

Thank you, Metafilter - you're my only hope.

Bonus points if you can answer without telling me I'm a bad person or suggesting I get a second job. TIA.

Am I an jerk to consider quitting?

Anonymous — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 14:05:53 -0800

I'm lucky enough to have a job. Am I an jerk to consider quitting? I graduated from college last year, and was lucky enough to find a job in social justice as I had long hoped. I've struggled with being happy at this job for the half-year that I've been employed, for a few reasons: I had never done this type of work before, and am being trained through a system of constant constructive criticism, with little to no actual praise (which affects my confidence); my direct supervisor and I have difficulty communicating; I work very long hours and haven't been able to develop any meaningful balance between myself and my work, which wears me down. I believe intellectually in the work that I’m doing, but haven’t been able to summon the driving passion I have in other jobs.

On the one hand, I know I’m incredibly lucky to have a job I can believe in, especially considering the economy. On the other hand, I’ve been trying to find my footing at this job for half a year, with marginal success. Additionally, I just graduated from school, and my urge to travel, “find myself” (you know what I mean), and leave my hometown are making it hard for me to focus and commit to this work, which merits focus and commitment.

Other factors of note:
1) I’m a temporary employee, and my contract runs out in the next few months, at which point they may or may not offer me a full position.
2) I’ve been saving from all my paychecks, and have a few thousand dollars set aside to tide me over in an emergency.
3) I’ve dealt for years with seasonal depression, and the job intensity started building up as the weather got harder to deal with.
4) I’ve been working part-to-full-time ever since I was able to work, and I’ve always been responsible and hard-working. I’ve also always wanted to live abroad, and have never been able to do so because I’ve been supporting myself.

In this economy, in a job where I could potentially be happy, is it a bad idea for me to consider quitting? feetofhey@gmail.com, if you have questions or advice. Thank you.

Do I Need a Dead-Tree Catalog, Too, or are Electrons Enough?

webhund — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 07:52:31 -0800

In 2010, what role does the printed "mail-order" catalog play in small retail businesses who have an on-line store as well as a brick-and-mortar shop? How much does it contribute to either new sales or existing customer retention? I'm working on a business plan for a new retail shop that will have 200+ items in its product line. Our plan is to have both a small physical store and an e-commerce store online. In writing up the business plan, the question of a printed catalog has come up and so now I'm trying to understand both the economics of it (production cost, postage, increased sales, etc....) as well as the role that a printed, paper catalog would play in our marketing plan. It appears that MeFites love their dead-tree catalogs. Unfortunately, my googling turns up a lot of direct-mail marketing hype noise and not much in the way of helpful, real-life usage information. If you have a small business that produces a printed catalog in addition to your online marketing efforts, how does it affect your bottom line, directly through sales to new customers or indirectly as part of customer retention, triggering new orders, etc...? How do you produce it? How and to whom do you use/distribute it?

Unemployment Opportunities

digitaldraco — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 18:59:04 -0800

Recently fired from my job, I'm wondering if there's something I can do with this time on my hands besides immediately looking for a new job, keeping in mind that I still have bills to pay. I was recently (read: yesterday) fired from my job. I am re-hireable should I want to return, and I have already for unemployment.

I have bills to pay. Car insurance, car loan, cell phone, credit cards, student loans, and so on. I received a payout that can keep me afloat for about a month or so, but I'd rather not use it all if I don't have to. I do not have health insurance any more, as I was insured through my employer. I have enough money in the bank to last me until when my next payday would have been this coming week, and then I'll need to start tapping into my payout check.

My immediate response was to start hunting around craigslist.org and Monster.com, updating my resume and job hunting. I have a B.A. in psychology, 8 years of retail experience (some of that at a supervisory level), and both creative writing and grad school aspirations, but I know that school and work aren't all there is to life.

Part of me is wondering if there isn't something else I could do with all this free time I now have. I'd been talking about wanting to take a week off to catch up on my personal life, to do things that keep getting put aside after or before work.

Maybe I could do something more than just catch up.

But, what?