
Logged two hours of work today for Arcus, my first two ever as an independent contractor. Picked up plenty of useful advice from veteran contractor (and Arcus bossman) Jim, on when and when not to bill. Figuring out how to navigate the customer's whacked-out labyrinth of existing databases and APIs: bill. Thinking to self about how to solve the problem at hand: bill. Having chosen a particular attack path, figuring out how that is supposed to work, prior to actually applying it to the problem: do not bill.
I've been using a little OS X dock app called AtWork as my clocky tool, though Adam thinks I should learn how to use the time-tracking Emacs mode he heard about. GEEK
Charles says that he has successfully phoned my employment references, and presented this information, at long last, to the super-busy landlord and her husband. (Said employers corroborate this, though I do trust Charles, who, I remind myself, hangs directly off the small but succulent trust network I've built in Boston -- and views me in exactly the same way, with the same network.)
This news came in the nick of time, as, after speaking with my parents about the situation, I had resolved to leap at the other opportunity if the first was still stalled by day's end. And so, the waiting game continues, now through a second weekend.
The mail from friends, gaming groups, and social circles in Boston really makes me pine to be there again, despite the fact that I don't get out much, no matter where I am. :)
Gaming... there is RPG madness due to happen, a critical point in our Nephilim campaign, possibly a Big Fight, when I really should be there. Should I say "foo" and drive down and maybe hope for crash space? Dunno. OTOH, there is no lack of stuff to get done here. Like, oh, I dunno, the book? Mumble
I had better set about fixing my homesite, which is still littered with debris and broken internal links from the move. Between laziness and general disconnection from the rest of the world (something that definitely fuels the former), I haven't so far been bothered with it. Bad, bad. This is not the time to be ambivalent about my face to the world, friend.