The old saying goes: "When you get knocked down, just dust yourself off and start over."
So I am asking here for a whisk broom, because I got a little dirt on me.
I got laid off today. At first, the job was 4 days a week. And then two. And then one. And now, it's over. He says that he will be able to use me as a subcontractor, but I really kind of doubt that. They simply weren't ready for employees.
So, now, I have a choice: either I can look for another job as an employee or I can work on ym own business. I lean toward option two for myriad reasons, but there is surer money in option one. I am so confused.
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
Sunday, November 14, 2004
Arg.
So, I have been working almost continuously doing graphics for a client, and, it seems, no matter how long I spend doing it, no matter how many changes I complete for this client, no matter how little I charge this client, this client is NEVER happy. "I want this changed and that changed and this changed and that changed... and I think you charged me for something you didn't do, so you will do these next edits for free... and I don't like this or this or that or that or this or THAT, especially... oh, and I will need a complete audit of everything you've done for me and how long you've spent on it and what you charged me for it...."
I don't need this. I don't need clients that badly.
This is how my life has gone since Friday:
I got up Friday and finished up some band posters for the gig on the 3rd. I then drove to a place that does copying and made 50 copies of the posters and then drove almost 30 miles to deliver what I thought would be the final revisions on the projects for this interminable client. This client kept me there for almost three hours telling me all the stuff she wanted changed, but, before even greeting me, announced that I had charged her for work I had not done. At first, I could not figure out what happened in that scenario, but I remembered that the job had only taken me about 20 minutes, and I was doing printing for her at the same time, so I didn't charge her for the other project, which was to convert 72 dpi RGB JPEGs into 300 dpi CMYK TIFs. I did the project, but I thought, "how odd... simply converting a poor quality photo into a higher quality will only tick the printer off, because it doesn't make the picture better, it just shows off the flaws more." But my job is not to think too much. It's just to do what I am told. Anyway, I did do it, and it only took a few minutes, so I didn't charge for that. But then this client wanted more edits, including doing things she had never mentioned to me before (such as making a certain video box be able to hold two VHS tapes instead of one), including ISBNs and bar codes that she had never given me, and making DVD disk art for four DVDs... with no images to work off of.
Okay, so I agree and then I ask for a check for the work I have done, which totals $170. This is where she asks me to audit everything I have done. I don't think this will be a problem since I kept a reference file on my other hard drive before it died and had to be replaced. I figure that I will just pull the files off that hard drive (including that one) and everything would be fine.
Okay, so, after I left there, I went to the bank and cashed my check and then took the posters to the bar. I met the band that would be playing there that night, and they seemed like really nice guys, even offering to find us other gigs. After that, I went shopping and then went home, exhausted and starving since I hadn't eaten all day, something that is dangerous for me since I am hypoglycemic.
Well, Saturday, I go to Richard's house to have my files extracted from this old hard drive (because putting it in my computer would void the warranty), and find out that, when the drive crashed, it wiped EVERYTHING off it. Irreplaceable pictures; 200 pages of the sequel to Night Cries, A Night Borrowed; my graphics work; and the file that kept track of all my freelance work. I had backups that went back to just before my appendix incident, but I had been sick and/or busy thereafter, so I lost about 100 files. I was devastated, not only because I had lost all that stuff, but because I could not prove A) that I had done the work converting the JPEGs to TIFs; B) that I did have the converted files and had merely copied the wrong folder to that CD that I gave to the client; C) that I had not charged the client for the work; and I did not have that file that would have proved all of it in one fell swoop.
Anyway, so I will end up doing these FINAL edits for free. I am upset about all of it.
The other thing that happened Saturday was that I went to the bar where we will be playing on the 3rd, and the band that was playing WANTED me to sing "La Bamba" with them, and everyone was impressed when I could do it without ever playing with that band before. I was pleased about that.
I don't need this. I don't need clients that badly.
This is how my life has gone since Friday:
I got up Friday and finished up some band posters for the gig on the 3rd. I then drove to a place that does copying and made 50 copies of the posters and then drove almost 30 miles to deliver what I thought would be the final revisions on the projects for this interminable client. This client kept me there for almost three hours telling me all the stuff she wanted changed, but, before even greeting me, announced that I had charged her for work I had not done. At first, I could not figure out what happened in that scenario, but I remembered that the job had only taken me about 20 minutes, and I was doing printing for her at the same time, so I didn't charge her for the other project, which was to convert 72 dpi RGB JPEGs into 300 dpi CMYK TIFs. I did the project, but I thought, "how odd... simply converting a poor quality photo into a higher quality will only tick the printer off, because it doesn't make the picture better, it just shows off the flaws more." But my job is not to think too much. It's just to do what I am told. Anyway, I did do it, and it only took a few minutes, so I didn't charge for that. But then this client wanted more edits, including doing things she had never mentioned to me before (such as making a certain video box be able to hold two VHS tapes instead of one), including ISBNs and bar codes that she had never given me, and making DVD disk art for four DVDs... with no images to work off of.
Okay, so I agree and then I ask for a check for the work I have done, which totals $170. This is where she asks me to audit everything I have done. I don't think this will be a problem since I kept a reference file on my other hard drive before it died and had to be replaced. I figure that I will just pull the files off that hard drive (including that one) and everything would be fine.
Okay, so, after I left there, I went to the bank and cashed my check and then took the posters to the bar. I met the band that would be playing there that night, and they seemed like really nice guys, even offering to find us other gigs. After that, I went shopping and then went home, exhausted and starving since I hadn't eaten all day, something that is dangerous for me since I am hypoglycemic.
Well, Saturday, I go to Richard's house to have my files extracted from this old hard drive (because putting it in my computer would void the warranty), and find out that, when the drive crashed, it wiped EVERYTHING off it. Irreplaceable pictures; 200 pages of the sequel to Night Cries, A Night Borrowed; my graphics work; and the file that kept track of all my freelance work. I had backups that went back to just before my appendix incident, but I had been sick and/or busy thereafter, so I lost about 100 files. I was devastated, not only because I had lost all that stuff, but because I could not prove A) that I had done the work converting the JPEGs to TIFs; B) that I did have the converted files and had merely copied the wrong folder to that CD that I gave to the client; C) that I had not charged the client for the work; and I did not have that file that would have proved all of it in one fell swoop.
Anyway, so I will end up doing these FINAL edits for free. I am upset about all of it.
The other thing that happened Saturday was that I went to the bar where we will be playing on the 3rd, and the band that was playing WANTED me to sing "La Bamba" with them, and everyone was impressed when I could do it without ever playing with that band before. I was pleased about that.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)