I don't believe this! - Page 2

Willem · April 1, 2003, 04:47

Quote:

Originally posted by korn469
Willem

i really hate that this happened. I hope that the things you mentioned in my thread work out for you. It'd suck if a stupid driver destroyed your entire livelyhood, but I do know that every bad thing gives people a chance to change for the better.

Well it was time for a change, I'd be the first to admit that. I just wish I hadn't been thrust into so abruptly. I kind of hit a dead end last year and I've been procrastinating like crazy about changing directions. I guess that decision has now been forced upon me. I'll manage. Like I said, it's not the first time in my life I've had to start over. Hopefully it will be the last though.

At least I have some people to spill my guts to, it makes things a bit easier being able to communicate at least.

korn469 · April 1, 2003, 04:49

Quote:

At least I have some people to spill my guts to, it makes things a bit easier being able to communicate at least

i completely agree!
i mean hell i may be an utter fyckup at times, but it's nice to know that people can understand

Willem · April 1, 2003, 05:59

My babies are all gone!

It's 5 AM, I've been running around and working my ass off since 2 PM; with a few 'Poly breaks, and I've just lost my livelihood. I haven't even given myself the chance to eat anything today, I've just been to upset. And I'll still have more work to do tomorrow.

So how was your day?

Asher · April 1, 2003, 06:02

Well, I was wigging out over the presentation I've got to give tomorrow night and the extraordinary amount of assignments and group projects I've got due within the week that I don't know where to start/how to start, but this thread (and the "my life" thread) have really put things into perspective for me...

Chemical Ollie · April 1, 2003, 06:13

This story reminds me of when my wife (a teacher) visited the local police station with her kindergarten kids. The police displayed cars, handcuff and guns but also showed confiscated stuff. When they took out a moonshine booze destiller, one of the kids said:

- Daddy has one like that! And the police replied:
- Ooh, what's his name?

Willem · April 1, 2003, 06:19

Quote:

Originally posted by Asher
Well, I was wigging out over the presentation I've got to give tomorrow night and the extraordinary amount of assignments and group projects I've got due within the week that I don't know where to start/how to start, but this thread (and the "my life" thread) have really put things into perspective for me...

Yes count your blessings, it sounds like you're starting on a pretty good path in life. And for God's sake, stay in school and get yourself a good career. I've made some poor choices over the years, though not all of them my fault, and here I am at 45 starting all over again. I should have listened to my history teacher back in high school; I could have been a teacher now like my sister, with a nice pension plan to look forward to. At least I still have a few years yet to rectify my mistakes.

Willem · April 1, 2003, 09:22

Quote:

Originally posted by Olaf Hårfagre
This story reminds me of when my wife (a teacher) visited the local police station with her kindergarten kids. The police displayed cars, handcuff and guns but also showed confiscated stuff. When they took out a moonshine booze destiller, one of the kids said:

- Daddy has one like that! And the police replied:
- Ooh, what's his name?

Well I guess I'm not the only one with lousy luck then. For some reason though it doesn't make me feel much better. I could accept getting busted, that's the known risk I took. But to go down because of a stupid car accident is almost unbelievable.

God it's now 8:30 AM and I'm so tired, but I'm just to strung out to sleep. So many more things to do! At least the most incriminating part has been taken care of.

And thank you to all the anti-marijuana people for not slamming me about my predicament. I have enough to deal with at the moment.

Alex · April 1, 2003, 12:25

Bad luck, man.

Hope things turn out better for you.

Arrian · April 1, 2003, 13:14

Heh, I'll chime in as the 3rd person who only now understands the whole Mary Jane part of this drama.

(@ me, not you).

I had no idea that's what you did for a living. I mean, doing it on the side is one thing... but as your only source of income? Risky... obviously. The best laid plans of mice and men, laid waste by an idjit with a driver's license. Oh, the humanity!

Anyway, this does indeed suck hard. Good luck.

-Arrian

MRT144 · April 1, 2003, 14:00

willem, dont you realize this is all a message telling you to move to B.C.

Willem · April 1, 2003, 14:01

Quote:

Originally posted by Arrian
I had no idea that's what you did for a living. I mean, doing it on the side is one thing... but as your only source of income? Risky... obviously.

It was never my intention to base all my income on it, things just worked out that way. I went back to school a few years ago and picked up some skills designing web sites and CDROMs, but it turned out that London, ON really sucks for that type of work. Business people here are still rather neolithic when it comes to the value of the Internet, or they have a son/daughter/nephew/niece/neighbour's kid that would be more than happy to do it for free.

I lost a client last summer to a 16 year old who redid a site I had already done for the guy, and it didn't cost him a thing. It's rather difficult to compete with that! And the dot com crash didn't help matters either, people just weren't hot about the Web anymore, especially around here.

But yeah, I should have been looking for another line of work last summer, when it finally sunk in that I was going nowhere with it. That was my plan at the time but then my father died and threw me off kilter for quite awhile.

Well I guess I have no choice now. Maybe it's better this way, being as how I'm such a terrible procastinator. And a complacent one at that, or at least I was until now. That'll teach me I guess!

Willem · April 1, 2003, 14:10

Quote:

Originally posted by MRT144
willem, dont you realize this is all a message telling you to move to B.C.

Well I used to live there a long time ago, in Victoria for about 8 years, and I've often thought of going back again. I really loved it out there. But with the economy being ***'s up because of the softwood lumber dispute, it's not really a good time right now.

That's actually one reason why I've been thinking of getting back into cooking, something I used to do many moons ago; if I get a few years under my belt again, I shouldn't have to much trouble finding a job there, at least during the tourist season.

So who knows, I just might make my way back there again. I sure do miss the place, even after all these years.

MRT144 · April 1, 2003, 14:15

before deciding on audio engineering i thought about cooking. my favorite meal to make was ham and mushrooms in a cheese sauce over pasta...so ****ing good!

as my mom says, food is love

SlowwHand · April 1, 2003, 14:21

A good chicken-fried steak is heaven.

MRT144 · April 1, 2003, 14:24

tis, slowwhand, tis!

Spec · April 1, 2003, 14:31

Quote:

Originally posted by Willem

Well it's not actually my house, I'm only renting. But it will be the driver's insurance company that pays for the repairs. In the meantime, I'm going to have my life disrupted with contracters and engineers poking around. So I'll no doubt be a nervous wreck by the time it's all finished, which by the sounds of it will be a few weeks.

So you wont be able to watch any porn during work hours.

Spec.

Willem · April 1, 2003, 14:34

Quote:

Originally posted by MRT144
before deciding on audio engineering i thought about cooking. my favorite meal to make was ham and mushrooms in a cheese sauce over pasta...so ****ing good!

as my mom says, food is love

Audio engineering eh? Another tough nut to crack. I was thinking about that myself when I first moved back to Ontario. I was a musician/songwriter back in Victoria. But then I kept running into these guys here who had taken a program and couldn't really find any work. So foolish me I decided to get into printing instead, and discovered soon after that technology was making those skills largely obsolete.

I have a close friend who has a studio in his home, using Cubase, and he doesn't get much of a return for his overall $100,000 investment. He gave up on the idea of being a commercial studio after a few years, though at least he still likes playing with all the knobs and dials.

The bottom line is if you want to do anything artistic, you have to be prepared to hustle like mad, because the odds are against you. That's been part of my problem, I'm not aggresive enough. It's just not in me, I like being laid back.

MRT144 · April 1, 2003, 14:41

yeah, i find that is a problem for myself, im not really a self starter, except when it comes to music. I think i can find a job doing audio but it wont be all glamorous, like working for dr.dre doing mastering, but there are jobs out there, it just depends on how wide your scope is. sure you might be doing sound for great white (

) but hey thats a job, and if you love it, amen brother, amen.

Willem · April 1, 2003, 14:53

Quote:

Originally posted by MRT144
yeah, i find that is a problem for myself, im not really a self starter, except when it comes to music. I think i can find a job doing audio but it wont be all glamorous, like working for dr.dre doing mastering, but there are jobs out there, it just depends on how wide your scope is. sure you might be doing sound for great white (

) but hey thats a job, and if you love it, amen brother, amen.

The thing is there's only so many openings and there's alot of people who would love to do that type of work, and who also have the skills. So you're dealing with a fair bit of competition. The same goes for any artistic endeavour really, I ran into it with the web site design as well. I also do photography and it's the same thing in that field too. Unless you're prepared to meet the competition head on, you're going to get lost in the shuffle. And that's something I've never been very good at, I back off to easily.

PS Isn't Great White North the label that handles Bruce Cockburn? Now that would be a great gig to get in on. He's my hero!

MRT144 · April 1, 2003, 14:58

thats the beauty, competition in music makes me wet. also i figure canada isnt really a hotspot for music that new york

, L.A.

, or nashville

are.

i dont like country music, but if theres a job to be done in nashville, id do it.

Willem · April 1, 2003, 15:05

Quote:

Originally posted by MRT144

i dont like country music, but if theres a job to be done in nashville, id do it.

That buddy I mentioned is a classically trained pianist but he's been working the country circuit around here for years. Go figure. At least they're more country/rock, not just the typical Nashville stuff. I suppose you've heard the one about what happens if you play a C&W song backwards?

MRT144 · April 1, 2003, 15:08

indulge me willem, what happens when you play C&W song backwards...

Japher · April 1, 2003, 15:09

you get your dog back, your wife back, your truck back...

Willem · April 1, 2003, 15:09

Quote:

Originally posted by MRT144
indulge me willem, what happens when you play C&W song backwards...

You get your job back, you get your girlfriend back, you get your dog back.

Damn you beat me to it.

MRT144 · April 1, 2003, 15:13

ill have to remember that!

Willem · April 1, 2003, 15:14

Quote:

Originally posted by MRT144

ill have to remember that!

I'm surprised you've never heard that before, it's a very old joke.

MRT144 · April 1, 2003, 15:16

and im a very young person

Willem · April 1, 2003, 15:31

Quote:

Originally posted by MRT144
and im a very young person

Well thanks for sharing your thoughts with me MRT, you've helped take my mind off my problems for awhile. But I really should try to get some sleep, I've been up since yesterday. I started dosing off early this morning, but as soon as I did I heard that loud bang again. I've been really shaken by the whole ordeal, and not just because of the legalites of the situation. It's the second time in six months that someone has missed the corner I live on, so I'm feeling rather nervous about this place now.

At least the first guy had the decency to hit the tree in the yard and not the house itself. God, I must be a jinx, what are the odds of two people hitting/almost hitting the same house in such a short period of time? I think someone is trying to tell me something. I believe I get the message now, thank you very much; you can stop sending these kamikaze drivers my way whoever/whatever you are.

MattyBoy · April 1, 2003, 19:21

Just like Asher, I must admit to relief that somebody is having a worse day than me.

Hang in there, Willem. I hope you manage to turn things around and relax a little.

Willem · April 1, 2003, 20:43

Quote:

Originally posted by MattyBoy
Just like Asher, I must admit to relief that somebody is having a worse day than me.

Hang in there, Willem. I hope you manage to turn things around and relax a little.

Well I just got some good news today so I'm feeling much better now. I sent a message to my sister telling her what happened and it seems my mother, who's now in an old age home, has an extra $1000 sitting in her bank account that I'll be getting soon. So with that and what I have myself I'll be able make it through for a couple of months at least before the **** really hits the fan for me, and leave here without having unpaid utility bills hanging over my head.

And I'm sure I can find a job in the meantime. The Canadian economy has been doing fairly well lately so there's some work to be had out there at any rate. Provided this war doesn't screw things up! It's going to suck for awhile taking a drop in income once I do get one, but I'll manage. I'm going to have to start from the bottom as a dishwasher somewhere until I get a few of my old cooking skills back again. It's been a very long time since I've done it. I guess in retrospect, I should have stuck with it back then. That'll teach me for wanting to be an artist. What on earth was I thinking?

I really appreciate all the support I've been getting here, it's been making me feel much better being able to spill my guts without getting shot down. I've been kind of expecting some anti-marijuana person jumping down my throat about it, but it hasn't happened. I guess maybe they figure I've been through enough already. Geez, what dumb luck! What are the odds of something like this happening? Probably astronomical.