As I sit here half-bloated from turkey and mashed potatoes, it seems like a good idea to take stock of those things I’m grateful for during this Thanksgiving weekend. At the top of that list, of course, is the fact that I am a freelancer.
I’m currently sitting on the couch at my friends’ house in Seattle, Washington. I don’t actually live in Seattle, mind you. Rather, we drove here on Wednesday afternoon, arriving just in time to watch Gonzaga (our Alma Mater) win the Maui Invitational Tournament. Hm, Thanksgiving in on Maui makes Thanksgiving in Seattle seem a little less glamorous all of a sudden.
Still, I’m so pleased that it was no big deal for us to load the car full of essentials—which in our world means Goldfish crackers, Elmo DVDs, and baby dolls—and head over the mountain passes. In the past, I would have had to request time off a month in advance while knowing that my co-workers with more seniority were probably going to beat me out for all the good days off. Since I own my own business, there’s no one there with more seniority, and even if there was, I’m the boss and would have come out ahead on any scheduling conflicts, anyway.
This trip comes directly on the heels of another to Helena, Montana last week. We were home for approximately 42 hours between trips. After this, we’ll go home for a week and a half, head back to Montana for a baptism, come home for a week or so and then go back to Montana, yet again, for Christmas. Imagine working for “the man” and trying to get that schedule. Yeah, right.
But, in the freelancing world, we’re in charge. I still have work to do and projects to keep up with, but the fact of the matter is that I can work in the car, during the baby’s naps at friends’ houses, or even during a screening of Star Trek on DVD (which our friend Kevin is putting in the player right now). Not a bad deal, eh?
So, when it comes to being grateful during this holiday, there’s no doubt in my mind that being a freelancer is way, way up on the list. It allows me to be all the other things I want to be: a good mom, a loving wife, and a friend who comes from miles away to crash your holiday parties.
Maybe you could write a post about how to refer to the islands in Hawaii. Each time someone says “I was in Maui…” my skin crawls. You go to Maui. You are ON Maui. How can you be IN an island?
Conversely, you are IN Hawaii, the group of islands. “Hi, Honey? I’m in Hawaii and will call you in ten years.”
When you go to Hawaii, the island, or as we call it, the Big Island, then you are ON Hawaii (and of course we never say that – we say we’re on the Big Island).
The main rule of thumb is IN the islands of Hawaii, ON a particular island. Otherwise you sound like a doofus!
Well, Angela, it’s not the first (or last) time I’ve sounded like a doofus. I probably won’t write that post, as it’s not the best fit for this particular blog, but I’ll be sure to refer folks to this comment if it ever happens to come up in conversation.