It’s coming around to that time of the year when work is slim pickings. Oh the joys of the holidays for a freelance website designer.

HAVE YOU SEEN MY STAPLER?@?!!?!?!

Can you believe it’s been 10 years? It’s insane that it’s been so long. I made sure to pay a visit to my mom and just took it easy. Everyone who suffered more than the average citizen was in my thoughts.

It’s no surprise that I move a lot.. My clients know it. It’s not an instability thing, its more of a “not sure where i want to park my a$$” thing..lol. I came to Arizona because there wasn’t much work for my girlfriend where i was previously, in Big Bear California, and although I can work anywhere and LOVED to look out my window while i was working and see the awesomeness that was Big Bear, I didn’t want to be that person that didn’t compromise. So we packed up and moved to Arizona, and here I am, Unhappy, with foreign allergies that I’ve never had to deal with before in my life.

I’m not being dramatic! I seriously feel like every ounce of moisture has been sucked from my body and I’m slowly dieing in a desert! I’m dizzy 24/7, and to top it off, my poor guitar is withering away into a dried up tooth pick that no humidifier can salvage! Winter time was perfect! It was great! I felt wonderful, had a wonderful run with my music.. but now leaving my house is torture! My electric bill is outrageous to boot, and the poor thing can’t do any better than 82 degrees.. i have it set on 76, and i NEVER get 76!! I get 82 at best. O_o

So the solution? Time to pack it up and get out of dodge. I’m going back to Big Bear, closer to my family and to a place where I can leave the house without melting. Yes, there’s snow..lots of snow.. but I’d much rather deal with cold snowy winters, than Hot Hot, beyond anything that anyone should ever live in, Hot summers. And people think it’s tolerable because it’s a “dry heat”.. I’ve lived in the humid heat of Louisiana for a few years and NEVER had any problems.. the crawfish kept me alive out there.. but the dry heat.. whoa, its like the life is being sucked out of you.. dry heat is gods way of saying “PEOPLE YOU SHOULDN’T LIVE HERE”..

So that’s my shpeal on this hot summer day in Scottsdale, Arizona. The heat didn’t beat me, I’m just allergic.

I came across a hilarious comic strip today about a freelance designer and the life of a freelancer.. here’s a couple “episodes” that i found THOROUGHLY amusing (the funniest stuff is the stuff you can relate to!):

hiLARious.

Time to leaven the comforts of my office desk chair, and venture out into the 110 degree weather of Arizona.  I’d love to bbq but because we’re in Arizona in 11o degree weather my apartment complex won’t allow us to have bbq’s.. i even asked if i could bring a george forman out on my balcony and ‘fake bbq’.. that was a negative on that idea also. Arizona, not my favorite place right now, ya’ll are cuttin into my bbq time and it’s not welcome… not welcome.

You would think that by now, ANY downtime i have would be welcomed with open arms, but sadly that’s not how us freelancers function. To us, every second of downtime is another bill that MIGHT NOT be paid on time! It’s panic! It’s heart racing, cold sweat, O.M.G.W.T.F, all out pandemonium. So in order for me to stay sane i do quite a few things to take my mind of the possibility of not having any work come my way.

1. I do my best to remind myself that this is what i’ve been doing for years, and any downtime i get, i should ENJOY, because lord knows that in 1-2 weeks i’ll be swamped again and wishing I wouldn’t have freaked out when I had no work, but instead went to the park and had a subway sandwich and watched the birds chirp their little chirp.. aka. RELAX.

2. As a website designer, as I’m sure even none website designers can relate to, the tech world doesn’t walk, it sprints. So when I don’t have much work on my plate, i do webinars, re-fill/fill up my toolbox with the latest and greatest, do tutorials, and brush up on my graphic design skills.

3. …… exactly.

So that’s what i do when i’m frantically bored with barely any work load. It comes with the territory of working for yourself, whether you’re a freelance website designer or any other kind of service provider.. You learn to roll with the punches.

I’ve read through some of my posts and I seem to keep reiterating the fact that I love what I do to the point where it’s border line cheesy, but what can i say, i’m proud of where this career path has taken me, and I look forward to many more miles down this road.

On another note, this website designer is also a musician. Bet ya didn’t know that! On my free time (or in some cases, lack of free time), I’ve been playin some shows in the pheonix area. You can check out some videos and tracks at http://stephborel.com

This sunday 4/17/2011 @ 5pm, I’ll be performing at harold’s corral in cave creek, az for the semi finals Chicks with Picks contest. If you’re in the area, come support the local female artists. There’s some HUGE talent out here, and I have to say, i was blown away and surprised.